Mark 14:43

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

43 ¹And immediately, while he was still speaking, ²Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

Mark 14:43 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 14:43

And immediately, while he yet spake
The above words:

cometh Judas one of the twelve:
apostles of Christ, and which was an aggravation of his wickedness; the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic, versions add, "Iscariot"; and so it is read in one of Beza's copies. The Ethiopic version reads, "one of the ten", very wrongly:

and with him a great multitude;
a band of men and officers, with many of the chief priests and captains of the temple, and elders of the people, that mixed themselves with the crowd, to see how things would issue:

with swords and staves;
which they intended to make use of, should any resistance be made in apprehending him, or any attempt to rescue him:

from the chief priests, and the Scribes, and the elders;
from the Jewish sanhedrim, which consisted of these; (See Gill on Matthew 26:47).

Mark 14:43 In-Context

41 And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard."

45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 43-50, see Matthew 26:47-56; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:3-11
• 2. ver. 10; Acts 1:16