Matthew 26:47-56

The apprehension (Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53). εἷς τ. δώδεκα, as in Matthew 26:14, repeated not for information, but as the literary reflection of the chronic horror of the apostolic church that such a thing should be possible. That it was not only possible but a fact is one of the almost undisputed certainties of the passion history. Even Brandt, who treats that history very sceptically, accepts it as fact (Die Evangelische Geschichte, p. 18). μετʼ αὐτοῦ, etc.: the description of the company to whom Judas acted as guide is vague; ὄχ. πολ. is elastic, and might mean scores, hundreds, thousands, according to the standard of comparison. ὄχλος does not suggest soldiery as its constituents, neither does the description of the arms borne swords and staves. Lk. (Luke 22:52, στρατηγοὺς τ. ἱεροῦ) seems to have in his mind the temple police, consisting of priests and Levites with assistants, and this view appears intrinsically probable, though Brandt (E. G., p. 4) scouts it. The Jewish authorities would make arrangements to ensure their purpose; the temple police was at their command, and they would send a sufficiently large number to overpower the followers of their victim, however desperate their resistance.