Matthew 26:55

Mat 26:55-56. In that same hour, Jesus said to the multitude — And particularly unto the chief priests and elders, &c, Luk 22:52, Are ye come out as against a thief, &c. — Or robber, that would make a desperate resistance, armed in this way with swords and staves, as if you came to seize me at the hazard of your lives? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple — When you had opportunities in abundance to have secured me, if there had been any crime with which you could have charged me: yet then you laid no hold on me — Ye took me not; so Mark. All this was done, &c. — I know the reason of all this better than you yourselves do: you have hitherto been kept under a secret restraint, which is now removed; and this is your hour, in which God has let you loose against me, and the power of darkness is now permitted to rage with peculiar violence, Luk 22:53; for it is under the instigation of Satan and his infernal powers that you now act, with whatever pious names you may affect to consecrate the deed. That the Scriptures might be fulfilled — That is, hereby those predictions of the prophets are fulfilled which were uttered under an infallible prescience that all these things would be done. “This,” says Dr. Doddridge, “was a consideration which, if duly applied, might have prevented his disciples from being offended at his sufferings: and it strongly intimated that he still kept up the claim, which he had formerly made, of being the Messiah; and that what he was now to go through was so far from being at all inconsistent with that claim, that, on the whole, it was absolutely necessary, in order to make it out to full satisfaction.” Then all the disciples forsook him and fled — Immediately, it seems, as soon as they saw him in the hands of his enemies, notwithstanding that they might have followed him with safety, as the priests had no design against them. “Perhaps, however, they were afraid that the action of Peter would be imputed to them all, and might bring their lives into danger. But, whatever they apprehended, their precipitate flight in these circumstances was the basest cowardice and ingratitude, considering not only how lately they had been warned of their danger, and what solemn promises they had made of a courageous adherence to Christ; but also what an agony they had just seen him in; what zeal he had a few moments before showed in their defence, what amazing power he had exerted to terrify his enemies into a compliance with that part of his demand which related to the safety of his friends, Joh 18:6-8; and especially that his prophecy of their continued usefulness in his church was equivalent to a promise of their preservation, whatever danger they might now meet with.” But thus our Lord’s prediction concerning their being offended and forsaking him, Mat 26:31, was fulfilled; and by his permitting them to act in this false and cowardly manner, we may learn not to depend too confidently on the friendship and fidelity even of the very best of men.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26:55 The leaders’ clandestine behavior was driven by fear of the masses who revered Jesus (see 21:26, 46; 26:3-5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 26:55. Τοῖς ὄχλοις, the multitudes) Our Lord calmed their violence, so that, even though now under the influence of the chief men they did not return to sanity, they might do so more easily at a future period.—ὡς ἐτὶ ληστὴν, as against a thief) against whom, in a sudden tumult, all staves are used for arms.—καθʼ ἡμέραν, daily) Especially from the Feast of Tabernacles, to that of the Dedication in the same year.—ἐν τῷ ἰερῷ, in the Temple) where you might easily have laid hold of Me.—οὐκ ἐκρατησετε Με, ye laid not hold on Me) An instance of Metonvmia Consequents; q. d. “You were not able to take Me before;” cf. Luk 22:53.[1156]

[1156] You took me not, i.e., rebuking their insincerity, “Ye were afraid of the people to take me openly.” So Olshausen. Beng. seems to make the idea implied this—Ye were not then able to take me, for “your hour and the power of darkness” were not then, but are now. Luk 22:53.—ED.

John, for a considerable time before his being beheaded, was kept in prison. But the world was obliged to permit Christ to walk at large, and discourse unrestrictedly, up to these His last moments.—Harm., p. 532.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_26:55. Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ] in that hour, in which that was going on which is recorded between Mat_26:47 and the present passage, subsequently, however, to the scene with Peter, and while the arrest was taking place. Comp. Mat_18:1, Mat_10:19.

τοῖς ὄχλοις] not to the high priests, etc., as Luk_22:52 would have us suppose. What is meant is the crowds of which the ὄχλος πολύς of Mat_26:47 was composed.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 26:55-56 . Jesus complains of the manner of His apprehension . ἐν ἐκ . τ . ὥρᾳ , connects with ἐκράτησαν αὐτόν in Mat 26:50 . Having said what was necessary to the bellicose disciple, Jesus turns to the party which had come to arrest Him, here called τοῖς ὄχλοις . ὡς ἐπὶ λῃστὴν , etc.: the words may be taken either as a question or as a statement of fact. In either case Jesus complains that they have arrested Him as if He were a robber or other criminal. A robber as distinct from a thief ( vide Trench, Synonyms ) is one who uses violence to possess himself of others’ property, and Christ’s complaint is in the first place that they have treated Him as one who meant to offer resistance. But the reference to His past habit in the sequel seems to show that He has another complaint in His mind, viz. , that they have regarded Him as one hiding from justice . The allusion is to the invasion of His privacy in the garden, and the implied suggestion that they have put a false construction on His presence there. They think He has been seeking escape from His fate when in fact He has been bracing Himself up for it! To what misconstruction the holiest and noblest actions are liable, and how humiliating to the heroic soul! It was thoroughly characteristic of Jesus that He should feel the humiliation, and that He should at once give expression to the feeling. This against Brandt (p. 6), who thinks this utterance in no respect appropriate to the situation. καθʼ ἡμέραν , etc.: Jesus asks in effect why they did not apprehend Him while, for several days in succession, He sat in the temple precincts teaching. To this it might be replied that that was easier said than done, in midst of a miscellaneous crowd containing not a few friends of the obnoxious teacher (so Brandt). But what Jesus is concerned to point out is, not the practicability of arrest in the temple, but that His behaviour had been fearless. How could they imagine that a man who spoke His mind so openly could slink away into hiding-places like an evil-doer? Brandt remarks that the complaint is addressed to the wrong persons: to the underlings rather than to the hierarchs. It is addressed to those who actually apprehended Jesus, whoever they were. Who composed that crowd it would not be easy in the dark to know.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 55. Are ye come out as against a thief] At this time Judea was much infested by robbers, so that armed men were obliged to be employed against them-to this our Lord seems to allude. See Clarke on Mt 26:52.

I sat daily with you] Why come in this hostile manner? Every day, for four days past, ye might have met with me in the temple, whither I went to teach you the way of salvation. See Clarke on Mt 21:17.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(55) Are ye come out as against a thief?—Better, as against a robber with swords and clubs. The word is the same as that used in Joh_18:40, of Harabbas, and points to the brigand chieftain of a lawless band as distinct from the petty thief of towns or villages.

I sat daily with you teaching in the temple.—The statement referred primarily, perhaps, to what had passed in the three days immediately preceding, but it looks beyond this in its wide generality, and is important as an indication, occurring in one of the first three Gospels, of a ministry in Jerusalem, which their narratives pass over. The “sitting” in the Temple implied that our Lord took the position of a teacher more or less recognised as such (comp. Note on Mat_5:1), not that of one who was addressing the multitude without authority.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

55. a thief] Rather, a robber; see St Joh_10:1, whence the two words are distinguished. See note, ch. Mat_21:13.

According to St Luke these words were addressed to “the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders,” where it appears that some members of the Sanhedrin had in their evil zeal joined in the capture. The same Evangelist adds, “this is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luk_22:53).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled,.... Some have thought these to be the words of the evangelist, making this remark upon what was said and done; but by what both Mark and Luke record, Mar 14:49, they appear to be the words of Christ himself; who observes this, partly to make himself, as man, easy under the treatment he met with; and partly, to fortify the minds of his disciples against offence at it; and also to throw conviction, or confusion, into the minds of his enemies. The Scriptures of the prophets he refers to, as having, or about to have, by this conduct, their accomplishment, were such, as regarded the betraying him by Judas, the taking him in this secret, private, insidious, yet violent manner; in all which he showed great meekness, calmness, and submission, as Psa 41:9. As also what respected the scattering, and hasty flight of his disciples from him, Zac 13:7, which in the next clause is shown to be accomplished,

Then all the disciples forsook him and fled; not only went away from him, and left him alone, as he foretold they would, Joh 16:32, but they ran away from him in a precipitant manner, like timorous sheep, the shepherd being about to be smitten; and they fearing, lest Peter's rash action should be imputed to them all, and they suffer for it; or lest they should be laid hold on next, and bound, as their master was, or about to be. Every thing in this account is an aggravation of their pusillanimity, and ingratitude; as that they were the "disciples" of Christ that forsook him, whom he had called, and sent forth as his apostles to preach his Gospel; and to whom he had given extraordinary gifts and powers; who had forsaken all and followed him, and had been with him from the beginning; had heard all his excellent discourses, and had seen all his miracles, and yet these at last forsake him, and even "all" of them: John the beloved disciple, that leaned on his bosom, and Peter, that professed so much love to him, zeal for him, and faith in him; the three that had just seen him in his agony and bloody sweat, and everyone of them left him; not one stood by him, and this too, after they had had a fresh instance of his power, in striking the men to the ground, that came to take him; and when he was sueing for them with their enemies, to let them go peaceably and safely: so that they had no need to have fled in such haste; and to leave him "then", in the midst of his enemies, in his great distress and trouble, was very unkind and ungrateful: and to this account of the evangelist, pretty much agrees what the Jews themselves say of it; for they report (p), that "when his disciples saw that he was taken, and that they could not fight against them, , "they ran away on foot", and lift up their voice and wept greatly.

Though they also pretend, that the citizens of Jerusalem killed many of them, and that the rest "fled" to the mountain, which is false,

(p) Toldos Jesu, p. 16, 17.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

Ver. 55. Are ye come out as against a thief?] Secretly, and by night, with all this clatter of people and clashing of arms, so to make the world believe strange matters of me? whereas, had your cause and conscience been good, you would have taken a fitter time, and I should have had fairer dealing.

And ye laid no hand on me] Ye lacked no will, but ye could never find cause: and which of you now accuseth me of sin? It is doubtless very lawful, and in some cases needful for Christians to defend their own innocence, and vindicate their wronged credit, as did Moses, Samuel, Paul, Melancthon: "I never have sought profits, pleasures, nor preferments," saith he, "neither was I ever moved with emulation or envy against any man," Hanc conscientiam aufero, quocunque discedo. This conscience I carry with me withersoever I go. Christ of all that ever lived, might best challenge his adversaries of injury: for of him it might be truly affirmed, what Xenophon doth of Socrates, what Paterculus doth of Scipio, Quod nihil in vita nisi laudandum aut fecit, aut dixit, aut sensit, that he did all things well, as the people testified of him, and never said or thought anything amiss.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In that same hour, &c. The reason why the Jewish princes did not seize our Lord in the temple, was, because they feared the multitude; on which account Jesus retired, that he might give them an opportunity, both from the circumstances of place and time, to apprehend him: thus shewing us, that without his permission they could not so much as lay a finger upon him. The evangelist informs us in the following verse of the reason of this conduct; that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. (St. John Chrysostom) See Luke xxii. 53.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Mark hath the same, Mar 14:48-50. Luke, Luk 22:52,53 hath it thus: Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. What our evangelist reports as spoken to the rabble, Luke reports as spoken to the chief priests and captains of the temple, (that is, of the soldiers, who at that time were the guard of the temple), some of which, it should seem, came along with the rabble, to whom our Saviour directeth his speech.

I sat daily with you teaching in the temple. I observed before, that it was their usual manner for those that taught in the temple to sit while they taught, to testify their authority; Christ, when he came up to the passover, was wont to teach in the temple.

And ye laid no hold on me: I did not hide myself, nor go about to raise a party to defend myself, but quietly taught in the temple. If I had been guilty of any crime, you might easily have taken me; why are you now come out against me as against a thief, upon whom you had need to raise the country? Why come you against me with swords and staves, as if you thought I would make some resistance to defend myself? You never saw any such thing in me as should give you a jealousy of such a thing.

But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled, the many scriptures which spake concerning the sufferings of Christ. Luke addeth, but this is your hour, and the power of darkness, that is, this is that which God hath determined. Wicked men and persecutors of Christ and his gospel have their hour. There is a time which God in his wise counsels hath set and determined, when, for the trial of his people’s faith and patience, he suffers the devil, by vile and wicked men, who are his instruments, to imprison and otherwise vex and molest his people. That such a time is their hour, and what they do is by the permission and according to the counsel of God, and but an hour, a determined and short time, are great arguments to persuade us to the exercise of faith and patience.

And the power of darkness; a time when the prince of darkness is putting forth his power: or, the power of darkness, that is, a time of exceeding great darkness, of affliction to me and my disciples. Wicked men’s hour is always to Christ’s disciples the power of darkness.

Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. Probably all of them fled at first, though Peter and another came back again: or, all here signifieth the most of them. We never know our hearts upon the prospect of great trials, until we come to grapple with them, and to be engaged in them. These disciples had all said they would not forsake him; when it comes to the push, not one of them stands by him. But although they shrunk at first, not without the providence of God permitting them thus to fail in their duty, then governing their failures to his own glory; yet they again returned to their duty after Christ’s resurrection, owned Christ, preached his gospel, and at last drank of the cup, which he drank of first, and were baptized with the baptism wherewith he was baptized. All must not be condemned for flight in a time of persecution. We must observe whether they apostatize from their profession, or whether they do not return again, before we pass a judgment against them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

55. In that same hour — While led in bonds by the band. To the multitudes — Luke says, “to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders.” It was doubtless in hearing of the multitudes, but intentionally aimed at the dignitaries mentioned. Come out — Voluntarily, not sent out by authority, like the poor soldiery. These dignitaries were the principal and guilty movers. And so anxious were they to see it done, that they compromised their dignity in coming out to the spot at that late hour. As against a thief — Rather a robber. They knew his purity, his holiness, his mysterious power of rebuke. Yet they would slay him as a malefactor. To take me — Why was so formidable a body sent to apprehend a single individual? Doubtless they feared his miraculous powers, and had a sort of vague notion that a mighty force was necessary to overcome him. When they felt his miraculous repressive influences, and saw his last miracle of healing, they were probably alarmed. But when they saw him still submit they imagined themselves too strong for him.

Daily — His teaching was daily; their assault is nightly.

Luke adds to our Lord’s words, “but this is your hour and the power of darkness.” These words further explain that our Lord submits because his ministry is finished, and the work of suffering at the hands of sinners has commenced.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The multitudes. St. Luke says that Christ addressed "the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders, which were come against him." He submitted to indignities, but he felt them deeply; he allowed himself to be treated as a malefactor, but was not insensible to the shame of being supposed to have been capable of acting as such. A thief; a robber. One at the head of a band of lawless ruffians, who would resist you with arms in their hands a sicarius, a cutthroat, who lurked in secret places to murder the innocent. I sat daily with you (pro , probably an interpolation from Mark). All the past week, at any rate, Christ had taught quietly and openly in the temple. He had none of the habits of the robber; he had not courted secrecy; he had no company of armed men to defend him; why did they not arrest him then? According to St. Luke, Christ adds, "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mark xiv, 48; Luke xxii, 52

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Reproving the enemies:

v. 55. In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take Me? I sat daily with you teaching in the Temple, and ye laid no hold on Me.

v. 56. But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Christ’s point is well taken, especially since He addressed these words chiefly to the rulers and to the guards of the Temple. Their manner of apprehending Him was an insult to Him and was unworthy of them, if they still had respect for themselves. As for a common murder or some other criminal they had gone forth, with swords and with clubs, in order to surround and to catch Him. Their mode of procedure savors of shadiness and a bad conscience. Day after day He had openly, fearlessly sat in the Temple, since He had nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. He could explain and defend every word of His teaching, and would cheerfully have done so, had they approached Him at any time. But there they had made no show of strength against Him. But all this had to be done in just this manner that the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which spoke of His Passion and death in detail, might be fulfilled in the same detail. It is the eternal Word of the faithful God which is laid down in the canon of the Old Testament, every word of which is true and cannot fall to the ground. The fact that Jesus submitted so willingly to the shameful arrest filled the disciples with apprehension and terror. With their Master in bonds, they were helpless and without hope. They fled in precipitate haste, leaving Him to His fate. Even so, weak Christians that do not always perceive the almighty presence of God are apt to forget the firm promises of the Bible and become traitors and deniers of the truth in effect, if not in deed.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We had an account of our Lord’s apprehension in the former verses; here, the sad effect of it upon his disciples: They all forsook him, and fled. Had this been done by the giddy multitude who followed him for the loaves, it had been no cause of wonder; but for those who had already forsaken all to follow him, who were faithful though fearful friends; what an addition to his sufferings must this be! no doubt, but the ingratitude of his friends made deeper wounds in his soul than the malice of enemies could make in his body. They that said all to Christ, verse 35, Though we should die with thee, yet we will not deny thee, do here all of them desert and forsake him; when it came to the push, not a man of them stands by him.

Learn thence, That the holiest of men know not their own hearts when great temptations and trials are before them, till they come to grapple with them, and to be engaged in them. We know not our own strength till temptation puts us to the proof.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

55, 56. Are ye come out as against a robber? Not a thief, but a robber, a brigand. Among all the indignities heaped upon Jesus by his enemies, the only one that he complains of is that he should be bound like a robber.

Then all his disciples … fled. The eleven apostles who a little while before thought they never could forsake the Lord. As soon as the Lord was seized they fled into the darkness.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Have you come out with swords and clubs to seize me like a robber?

Jesus is using this question to point out the wrong actions of those arresting him. AT: "You know that I am not a robber, so it is wrong for you to come out to me bringing swords and clubs" (See: Rhetorical Question)

clubs

large pieces of hard wood for hitting people

in the temple

It is implied that Jesus was not in the actual temple. He was in the courtyard around the temple. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled

This can be stated in active form. AT: "I would fulfill all that the prophets wrote in the scriptures" (See: Active or Passive)

left him

If your language has a word that means they left him when they should have stayed with him, use it here.

translationWords

sword

temple

prophet

fulfill

disciple

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

55. ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ follows διδάσκων in the textus receptus. The most ancient authority favours the change.

55. λῃστήν, ‘a robber,’ not ‘thief,’ as A.V. Cp. St Joh 10:1, where the two words are distinguished. See note, ch. Mat 21:13.

ἐκαθεζόμην διδάσκων. See note, ch. Mat 5:1 (καθίσαντος).

According to St Luke these words were addressed to ‘the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders,’ where it appears that some members of the Sanhedrin had in their evil zeal joined in the capture. The same Evangelist adds, ‘this is your hour, and the power of darkness’ (Luk 22:53).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

55.] Mark begins this with an ἀποκριθείς—it was an answer to their actions, not to their words. Luke, here minutely accurate, informs us that it was to the chief priests and στρατηγοὺς τοῦ ἱεροῦ and elders, that our Lord said this. It is strange that the exact agreement of this classification with μεθʼ ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ did not prevent Schleiermacher from casting a doubt on the truth of the circumstance (English Translation, p. 302).

In his submission to be reckoned among the transgressors, our Lord yet protests against any suspicion that He could act as such. There seems to be no necessity for putting an interrogation after συλλαβεῖν με.

καθʼ ἡμέραν—during the week past, and perhaps at other similar times.

ἐκαθεζόμην (Matt. only) to indicate complete quiet and freedom from attack.

ἐκαθεζόμην διδάσκων is the greatest possible contrast to λῃστής.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 55. In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, As against a robber did you come out with swords and staves to take Me ? Daily in the Temple I sat teaching, and you did not seize Me.] So Mk. with “daily I was with (πρός) you in the temple teaching” for “daily in the Temple I sat teaching.”—ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ] see on 8:13. For Mk.’s ἤμην πρὸς ὑμᾶς, see Abbott, Johannine Grammar, 2363a.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A thief [ληστην] . Better Rev., a robber. See Joh 10:1, 8; and Luk 23:39 - 43. It is more than a petty stealer; rather one with associates, who would require an armed band to apprehend him. Hence the propriety of the reference to swords and staves.

I sat [εκαθεζομην] . The imperfect tense, denoting something habitual. I was accustomed to sit.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.