Lukas 22:47-53

Betrayal and Arrest

22:47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, ¹  and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up ²  to Jesus to kiss him. ³  22:48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴  22:49 When ⁵  those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, should ⁶  we use our swords?” ⁷  22:50 Then ⁸  one of them ⁹  struck the high priest’s slave, ¹⁰  cutting off his right ear. 22:51 But Jesus said, ¹¹  “Enough of this!” And he touched the man’s ¹²  ear and healed ¹³  him. 22:52 Then ¹⁴  Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, ¹⁵  and the elders who had come out to get him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs like you would against an outlaw? ¹⁶  22:53 Day after day when I was with you in the temple courts, ¹⁷  you did not arrest me. ¹⁸  But this is your hour, ¹⁹  and that of the power ²⁰  of darkness!”

Lukas 22:63-71

22:63 Now ²¹  the men who were holding Jesus ²²  under guard began to mock him and beat him. 22:64 They ²³  blindfolded him and asked him repeatedly, ²⁴  “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ²⁵  22:65 They also said many other things against him, reviling ²⁶  him.

22:66 When day came, the council of the elders of the people gathered together, both the chief priests and the experts in the law. ²⁷  Then ²⁸  they led Jesus ²⁹  away to their council ³⁰  22:67 and said, “If ³¹  you are the Christ, ³²  tell us.” But he said to them, “If ³³  I tell you, you will not ³⁴  believe, 22:68 and if ³⁵  I ask you, you will not ³⁶  answer. 22:69 But from now on ³⁷  the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand ³⁸  of the power ³⁹  of God.” 22:70 So ⁴⁰  they all said, “Are you the Son of God, ⁴¹  then?” He answered ⁴²  them, “You say ⁴³  that I am.” 22:71 Then ⁴⁴  they said, “Why do we need further testimony? We have heard it ourselves ⁴⁵  from his own lips!” ⁴⁶ 

[22:47]  ¹ tn Grk “While he was still speaking, behold, a crowd, and the one called Judas…was leading them.” The abrupt appearance of the crowd on the scene is indicated in the translation by “suddenly” and “appeared.”

[22:47]  ² tn Grk “drew near.”

[22:47]  ³ tc Many mss (D Θ Ë¹³ 700 pm as well as several versional mss) add here, “for this is the sign he gave to them: Whoever I kiss is [the one].” This addition is almost certainly not original, since most of the important mss lack it. It may be a copyist’s attempt to clarify the text, or the accidental inclusion of a marginal gloss.

[22:48]  ⁴ sn Jesus’ comment about betraying the Son of Man with a kiss shows the hypocrisy and blindness of an attempt to cover up sin. On “misused kisses” in the Bible, see Gen 27:26-27; 2 Sam 15:5; Prov 7:13; 27:6; and 2 Sam 20:9.

[22:49]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:49]  ⁶ tn The direct question using “if” in Greek is not unusual (BDF §440.3).

[22:49]  ⁷ sn “Should we use our swords?” The disciples’ effort to defend Jesus recalls Luke 22:35-38. One individual did not wait for the answer.

[22:50]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:50]  ⁹ sn One of them. The unnamed disciple is Peter according to John 18:10 (cf. also Matt 26:51; Mark 14:47).

[22:50]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[22:51]  ¹¹ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:51]  ¹² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the slave of the high priest mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:51]  ¹³ sn When Jesus healed the man’s ear he showed grace even to those who hated him, following his own teaching (Luke 6:27-36).

[22:52]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:52]  ¹⁵ tn This title, literally “official of the temple” (στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ, strathgo" tou Jierou), referred to the commander of the Jewish soldiers who guarded and maintained order in the Jerusalem temple. Here, since the term is plural, it has been translated “officers of the temple guard” rather than “commanders of the temple guard,” since the idea of a number of commanders might be confusing to the modern English reader.

[22:52]  ¹⁶ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:30).

[22:53]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[22:53]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “lay hands on me.”

[22:53]  ¹⁹ tn Or “your time.”

[22:53]  ²⁰ tn Or “authority,” “domain.”

[22:63]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[22:63]  ²² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:64]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:64]  ²⁴ tn The verb ἐπηρώτων (ephrwtwn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

[22:64]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Who is the one who hit you?”

[22:64]  sn Who hit you? This is a variation of one of three ancient games that involved blindfolds.

[22:65]  ²⁶ tn Or “insulting.” Luke uses a strong word here; it means “to revile, to defame, to blaspheme” (L&N 33.400).

[22:66]  ²⁷ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:66]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:66]  ²⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:66]  ³⁰ sn Their council is probably a reference to the Jewish Sanhedrin, the council of seventy leaders.

[22:67]  ³¹ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[22:67]  ³² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[22:67]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

[22:67]  ³³ tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. Jesus had this experience already in 20:1-8.

[22:67]  ³⁴ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:68]  ³⁵ tn This is also a third class condition in the Greek text.

[22:68]  ³⁶ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:69]  ³⁷ sn From now on. Jesus’ authority was taken up from this moment on. Ironically he is now the ultimate judge, who is himself being judged.

[22:69]  ³⁸ sn Seated at the right hand is an allusion to Ps 110:1 (“Sit at my right hand…”) and is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[22:69]  ³⁹ sn The expression the right hand of the power of God is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[22:70]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ pronouncement.

[22:70]  ⁴¹ sn The members of the council understood the force of the claim and asked Jesus about another title, Son of God.

[22:70]  ⁴² tn Grk “He said to them.”

[22:70]  ⁴³ sn Jesus’ reply, “You say that I am,” was not a denial, but a way of giving a qualified positive response: “You have said it, but I do not quite mean what you think.”

[22:71]  ⁴⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:71]  ⁴⁵ sn We have heard it ourselves. The Sanhedrin regarded the answer as convicting Jesus. They saw it as blasphemous to claim such intimacy and shared authority with God, a claim so serious and convicting that no further testimony was needed.

[22:71]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “from his own mouth” (an idiom).