“THE BETRAYER REAPPEARS”

2 “Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.”

John 18:2-3

The betrayal of one's friend is perhaps one of the most painful experiences in life. As they say, "the ones you love the most hurt you the most." It's safe to say that our Lord Jesus was no stranger to this feeling.

Yesterday, we learned that as Jesus was getting closer to the Cross, He was also getting closer to defeating the enemy and going back to His glory.

Let’s proceed by getting to know the place where this event took place.

Kidron is a valley that starts north of Jerusalem and passes between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives going to the Dead Sea. It was the place where David was betrayed by his friend Ahithophel. David was crossing the Kidron and going up to the Mount of Olives. Interestingly, Jesus was just betrayed by His friend Judas while crossing the Kidron and going to the Mount of Olives.

A Bible commentator wrote about the symbolic significance of the killing of Passover lambs in the Temple and the pouring of their blood on the altar as an offering to God. The immense number of lambs slain for the Passover, with 256,000 being counted in a census taken thirty years after the time of Jesus. The blood of the lambs was then drained away through a channel from the altar to the brook Kidron. The bloody brook sets the preview of what Jesus is about to face just moments from now.

After being away for four chapters, Judas (“he shall be praised”) returns to the scene in verses 2-3. He comes with a group of Roman soldiers and Jewish servants. As we can see, the group is comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. The officers are the same ones previously sent to arrest Jesus in chapter 7. They were not policemen but court officers deputized by the Sanhedrin. The term “a band of officers” (“speira”) is a group of 600 soldiers under a military tribune. Why send that many soldiers? Since Jesus was welcomed by the people earlier in the day (chapter 12), there was good reason to expect trouble, especially during Jewish festivals such as this one (Passover).

Did you notice the things the men were carrying? They were armed with torches and lanterns to find the Light of the World; they had military weapons to arrest the Prince of Peace. A little ironic, isn’t it?

Pursue the Savior today!