Matthew 26:49
in Matthew 26Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And straightway he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him.
KJV
And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
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This verse in Matthew 26
Commentary
13 notes on this verse(Verse 49.) And immediately coming to Jesus, he said, Hail, Rabbi! And he kissed him. Shameless indeed and wickedly confident, to call the master and to throw a kiss to the one he was handing over. Nevertheless, the disciple still has something of discretion, as he does not openly hand him over to the persecutors, but through the sign of a kiss. This is the sign that God placed on Cain, so that whoever found him would not kill him (Genesis 4).
This site's exposition
a great multitude with swords and staves
on Matthew 26:47-49
And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people shows the arresting party armed as if expecting resistance from a man who has just told his own disciple to put up his sword. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast, an ordinary greeting between a disciple and his rabbi turned into the very mechanism of betrayal. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him carries out the sign exactly as arranged, and the commentators read the ordinary warmth of the greeting against the coldness of its purpose as the scene's own indictment of Judas.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
If it be asked why Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, according to some it was because He desired to keep up the reverence due to his Master, and did not dare to make an open assault upon Him; according to others, it was out of fear that if he came as an avowed enemy, he might be the cause of His escape, which he believed Jesus had it in His power to effect. But I think that all betrayers of truth love to assume the guise of truth, and to use the sign of a kiss. Like Judas also, all heretics call Jesus Rabbi, and receive from Him mild answer.
There is a certain order to the different facets of Christ's suffering. But the reason for Judas's kiss was that we might discern all our enemies and those who we know would delight in raging against us. The Lord does not resist his kiss.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 83 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
But wherefore doth He say this? Because often when seized by them He had gone out through the midst, without their knowing it. Nevertheless, then also this would have been done, if it had not been His own will that He should be taken. It was at least with a view to teach them this, that He then blinded their eyes, and Himself asked, "Whom seek ye?" And they knew Him not, though being with lanterns and torches, and having Judas with them. Afterwards, as they had said, "Jesus;" He saith, "I am He" whom ye seek: and here again, "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" For after having shown His own strength, then at once He yielded Himself. But John saith, that even to the very moment He continued to reprove him, saying, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" Art thou not ashamed even of the form of the betrayal? saith He. Nevertheless, forasmuch as not even this checked him, He submitted to be kissed, and gave Himself up willingly; and they laid their hands on Him, and seized Him that night on which they ate the passover, to such a degree did they boil with rage, and were mad. However, they would have had no strength, unless He had Himself suffered it. Yet this delivers not Judas from intolerable punishment, but even more exceedingly condemns him, for that though he had received such proof of His power, and lenity, and meekness, and gentleness, he became fiercer than any wild beast.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The Lord suffered the traitor's kiss, not to teach us to dissemble, but that He might not seem to shrink from His betrayal.
(non occ.) Having said above that the Lord offered Himself of His own accord to His pursuers, the Evangelist proceeds to relate how He was seized by them.
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
And forthwith coming up to Jesus he said: Hail, Rabbi, and he kissed him. Here the completion of the betrayal is set forth. And first, he displayed the signs; secondly, he began to act. And he shows it first by word, when he says Hail, …
(Serm. de Symb. ad Catech. 6.) Exult, Christian, you have gained by this bargain of your enemies; what Judas sold, and what the Jews bought, belongs to you.
For Judas knew the Lord's love for mankind, and hence was emboldened to kiss Him. The Lord was patient even to the last moment, eager to win Judas by His long-suffering. Even so Judas was not brought to reason, whereupon the Lord caused the servants …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And forthwith he came to Jesus,.... As soon as ever he appeared, before the rest could come up; for, he went before them, as Luke says, and that not only as, their guide to direct them to the person they wanted, but he separated himself from them, that it might not be thought that he came with them, or belonged to them: and said, hail, master; and kissed him. Just as Joab asked Amasa of his health, and took him by the beard to kiss him, and smote him under the fifth rib, 2Sa 20:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
We see in these verses the cup of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sufferings beginning to be filled. We see him betrayed by one of his disciples, forsaken by the rest, and taken prisoner by his deadly enemies. Never surely was there sorrow like his sorrow. Never may we forget, as we read this part of the Bible, that our sins were the cause of these sorrows! Jesus was “delivered was delivered for our offences.” ( Romans 4:25 ). Let us notice for one thing in these verses what gracious condescension marked our Lord’s intercourse with his disciples.
We see in these verses the cup of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sufferings beginning to be filled. We see him betrayed by one of his disciples, forsaken by the rest, and taken prisoner by his deadly enemies. Never surely was there sorrow like his sorrow. Never may we forget, as we read this part of the Bible, that our sins were the cause of these sorrows! Jesus was “delivered was delivered for our offences.” ( Romans 4:25 ). Let us notice for one thing in these verses what gracious condescension marked our Lord’s intercourse with his disciples. We have this point proved by a deeply touching circumstance at the moment of our Lord’s betrayal. When Judas Iscariot undertook to guide the multitude to the place where his Master was, he gave them a sign by which they might distinguish Jesus in the dim moonlight from his disciples: he said, “Whomsoever I shall kiss that same is he.” And so, when he came to Jesus, he said, “Hail master, and kissed him!” That simple fact reveals the affectionate terms on which the disciples associated with our Lord. It is a universal custom in eastern countries, when friend meets friend, to salute one another with a kiss ( ). It would seem therefore, that when Judas kissed our Lord, he only did what all the apostles were accustomed to do when they met their Master after an absence. Let us draw comfort from this little circumstance for our own souls. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a most gracious and condescending Saviour. He is not an “austere man,” repelling sinners and keeping them at a distance; he is not a being so different from us in nature that we must regard him with awe rather than affection: he would have us rather regard him as an elder brother, and a beloved friend. His heart in heaven is still the same that it was on earth: he is ever meek merciful and condescending to men of low estate. Let us trust him, and not be afraid.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εὐθέως | eutheos | immediately | G2112 → | 87 times |
| προσελθὼν | proselthon | having come up | G4334 → | 86 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦ | iesou | to Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| εἶπεν· | eipen | he said; | G2036 → | 925 times |
| χαῖρε | chaire | Greetings | G5463 → | 74 times |
| ῥαββί, | rhabbi | Rabbi, | G4461 → | 15 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| κατεφίλησεν | katephilesen | kissed | G2705 → | |
| αὐτόν.¶ | auton | Him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εὐθέωςimmediately
eutheosG2112 →87 times
προσελθὼνhaving come up
proselthonG4334 →86 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
Ἰησοῦto Jesus
iesouG2424 →908 times
εἶπεν·he said;
eipenG2036 →925 times
χαῖρεGreetings
chaireG5463 →74 times
ῥαββί,Rabbi,
rhabbiG4461 →15 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
κατεφίλησενkissed
katephilesenG2705 →
αὐτόν.¶Him.
autonG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
it leads to
- Romans 16:16
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.
- 1 Corinthians 16:20
All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
- Romans 16:16
Through
1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:13
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
- Psalms 78:71
from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
- 1 Samuel 9:16
“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of…
- Psalms 2:12
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
- Acts 13:21
Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- 1 Samuel 16:13
Through
Matthew 26:25Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.”
it leads to
- Matthew 26:64
“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on…
- Matthew 26:64
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
- Angelology
- Archaeology and the Bible (the Evidence Ledger)
- Gethsemane (The Garden Called the Oil Press)
- Peter's Denial: Matthew 26 · Mark 14 · Luke 22 · John 18
- The Son of Man: Daniel 7:13-14
- The Blood
- The Bride & the Jewish Wedding
- The Cleansing of the Temple: John 2 · Matthew 21
- The Father's Will
- The Lord's Supper
- The Right Hand
- The Shepherd
- The Sword
- The Tree
- The Vine & the Vineyard
About Matthew
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew 32.2; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 83; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Pseudo-Augustine, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.