LXVII.

The Betrayal and Arrest.

S. MARK XIV. 43-52.

43. And immediately, while He yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44. And he that betrayed Him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely. 45. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to Him, and saith, Master, Master; and kissed Him. 46. And they laid their hands on Him, and took Him. 47. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote

a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 48. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take Me? 49. I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took Me not but the scriptures must be fulfilled. 50. And they all forsook Him, and fled. 51. And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him : 52. and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

IN our bewilderment at the enormity of Judas's crime, we try to discover some trace of extenuating circumstances. There are so many instances in which men, who have not trained themselves to resist in lesser matters, have been caught in a whirlpool of sudden temptation, and carried away almost before they knew where they were, that it is just possible something of this kind happened to Judas. He had

an innate love of money, and instead of checking it in the beginning, put himself in harm's way; and it may be, by frequent little pilferings from the common purse, which his too trustful companions confided to his care, he lost the power of resistance s. John altogether. Then at last, when some overmastering impulse to gratify his ruling passion by a supreme act of treachery seized hold upon him, he yielded a ready obedience.

But even if we could satisfy ourselves that he was surprised in this way into that base covenant with the chief priests, there is no excuse, no palliation whatever, admissible after the bargain was struck.

xii. 6.

xxi. 32.

A moment's reflection must have opened his eyes and shown him that the paltry sum which they had offered (it was but the price of a slave-the blood- Exod. money for a slave who had been accidentally killed), was wholly inadequate to yield any compensation for the shame it entailed. No, if we may judge of the whole transaction from what is told of his conduct after the compact was made, it was a cold-blooded, deep-laid design, conceived and executed under no excitement of passionate impulse, nor any imperious temptation, but marked throughout by premeditated duplicity.

S. Luke xxii. 52.

Let us follow his steps from the moment that he leaves the Upper Chamber after discovering that his design is no longer a secret. His first object is to preclude, by the most careful precautions, all possibility of its miscarrying. He hurries first to the chief priests and reports to them that the convenient opportunity has arrived when their Victim may be secured "in the absence of the multitude;" for He was gone to pray in a retired spot, at some distance from the bustle of the city, in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He could hardly expect them to take part in the arrest themselves (though in their eagerness they actually did so); he therefore enlists the sympathy of their servants. He had no doubt that they would enter cordially into the plot, for they could not have failed to conceive an hatred of One Who had spoken such bitter things against their masters.

Then, having secured a goodly number of these, he seeks reinforcements from the officers of the Temple, and the company of Levites, whose duty it was to keep watch and ward at its gates and courts. This was amply sufficient for his purpose, if all went well; but if any unforeseen delay should arise, and the capture not be made till the morning, when the populace was astir again, it was quite possible that

a rescue might be attempted. The inhabitants were in an excited mood, as the Triumphal Entry a few days before had clearly shown, and they were as likely as not to create a tumult, which military force alone would be able to suppress. Nothing remains then but to appeal to the Roman governor. No doubt he supported his application by telling him that Jesus was a dangerous character, who aimed at the overthrow of the existing authority. His request was granted, and a detachment from the garrison stationed in the fortress of Antonia was told off for the traitor's purpose. The whole company must be armed. The soldiers of course had their swords; the officers of the Temple took their batons, and the rest such sticks or staves as they could procure; but even these precautions were not enough. It was night, and although the great Paschal moon was shining overhead, in that rugged Valley of Jehoshaphat there were clefts of rock, and there were deep shadows thrown from many objects, by which Jesus might conceal Himself and escape. A supply of lanterns and torches was provided for such an emergency; and then, just when this weird and motley crowd were prepared to start on their unhallowed search, one last caution was given by the traitor. Jesus was well known no doubt to many

of them, for "He was daily in the Temple;" but to the soldiers He was probably a total stranger; let there be no mistake then on their part, no arrest of another in the excitement of capture. "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He, take Him, and lead Him away safely." This preconcerted signal proved to be wholly unnecessary, but it was employed for another object, which gives still further proof of the traitor's resolute determination to carry out his wicked purpose.

We cannot be sure of the sequence of events, but a comparison of S. John's narrative leads us to place a very important circumstance before the kiss of betrayal. Jesus hearing footsteps approaching goes forth of His Own accord to meet the crowd, and before anything has been said asks the question, "Whom seek ye?" They answer, "Jesus the Nazarene ; to which He replies at once, “I am He," and all were panic-struck; there was something so wholly unlike what they expected. Whether, as some have thought, it was a second flash of the Transfiguration glory, a "ray of Divinity" streaming forth from His face in that hour of darkness, or Vell. Paterc. whether it was merely an intensified form of a mysVal. Max. terious power, which in moments of apparent helplessness has so oftened disarmed an assailant 2-the

S. Hieron.
Ep. cxl.

ad Princip.

ii. 19.

viii. 9. 2.