Betrayal and Arrest

Betrayal and Arrest
Matt. 26:48-49

48 Now [de] he that betrayed [paradidomi] him [autos] gave [didomi] them [autos] a sign [semeion] , saying [lego] , Whomsoever [hos] [an] I shall kiss [phileo] , that same [autos] is [esti] he [autos] : hold [krateo] him [autos] fast [krateo] .
49 And [kai] forthwith [eutheos] he came [proserchomai] to Jesus [Iesous] , and said [epo] , Hail [chairo] , master [rhabbi] ; and [kai] kissed [kataphileo] him [autos] . KJV-Interlinear

48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him.' 49 And immediately he went to Jesus and said, 'Hail, Rabbi!' and kissed Him. NASB

Lots of issues leap out at us in these two verses. First, is the secret sign. The kiss. This is a word for a greeting as was customary in the Middle East. It is still used as a form of greeting in our current day. But as we know, or as we should know, the greeting kiss on the cheek is generally a light and quick little peck if even that. More of a courtesy, or formality. Kind of like a hand shake which is quick and polite.

The word used here 'phileo' is more for those who greet their closest of friends or relatives. It is a form of deep affection. Judas will use not only a close and affectionate kiss but also a warm hug along with the kiss 'kataphileo', which again is used only between very close friends.

You, know. You have shared some difficult times with someone with whom you have spent a lot of time. You got separated and then meet up with surprise at seeing each other again, and give each other warm hugs. This is not a sex thing. No place for the weirdo's here.

So beware of those who are not really your friends but those who would use you to advance themselves in some way. Politicians fall into this category often.

Judas plays to the crowd. He is a thief, and a common thief at that, Jn. 12:6. He pretends affection toward Jesus, on the one hand, and pretends service to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver, on the other, Matt. 26:14. Hypocrites care only for themselves, their self interest, their self advancement, and will remain 'loyal' falsely, to anyone with whom they feel will get them to where they want to be. When their usefulness gives out, then the hypocrite will discard them and move on to another unsuspecting victim.

Using various forms of deceit are the pattern of the hypocrites life. They masquerade through life, thinking that they are fooling others, but to the wise, they are as transparent as glass. To the unwise, they become the leaders of fools. And, to other hypocrites, they share a mutual mistrust and lack of respect, each using the other only while or until their mutual goals are satisfied.

So Jesus is the recipient of much disrespect, from Judas who betrayed Him with a deceitful show of affection, from the chief priests, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees who despised His popularity and His threatening of their financial livelihood, from the brutality of the soldiers who would beat Him, spit on Him, and place a crown of thorns on His head, from Pilate who was indifferent and would just as soon do whatever was expeditious in getting rid of a perceived problem, even to the extent of executing an innocent man.

Everyone thinks that they are doing the right thing with respect to what they themselves want. They all think that they have originated this plan for getting rid of Jesus, who calls Himself the Christ.

We have already seen that the word Jesus in the Greek is the same exact word, Joshua, in the Hebrew. And that the word Christ in the Greek is the same exact word as Messiah in the Hebrew. This is more than a name. It is a title and a purpose. Jesus will ask them in Jn. 18, 'Whom do you seek?'

Now they accuse Him of stating that He is the Christ, but their answer will be, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' They don't even have the nerve to tell Him to His face who they are looking for. They reject the Messiah portion of His name, totally and completely.

In eternity past this day was predetermined, Acts 2:23. God saw it, and God decreed it in the divine decrees that Jesus would be delivered to the Cross. The leadership of Judea just wanted Jesus out of the way. Dead would be good, and they cared not of how that was accomplished. The usual punishment method for an execution in Judea was stoning. But those days and the authority to do so were compromised by the Roman rule. So now in order to get rid of Jesus, the Romans were needed.

Satan on the other hand just wanted Jesus to fail in some way, such that he could prove that God was not infallible. Satan had his own agenda.

Everyone has their own agenda which served their own purpose, and at the expense of the masses. Jesus is here voluntarily for the benefit of all of mankind, even those who hated Him and were trying to destroy Him.

Subscribe Daily Bible Study Mailing List Receive Daily Bible Studies directly into your inbox.