Luke 22:21

A Final Discourse

22:21 “But look, the hand of the one who betrays 1  me is with me on the table. 2 

Luke 22:47-48

Betrayal and Arrest

22:47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, 3  and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up 4  to Jesus to kiss him. 5  22:48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 6 

1 sn The one who betrays me. Jesus knows about Judas and what he has done.

2 sn The point of Jesus’ comment here is not to identify the specific individual per se, but to indicate that it is one who was close to him – somebody whom no one would suspect. His comment serves to heighten the treachery of Judas’ betrayal.

3 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.”

4 tn Grk “drew near.”

5 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.

6 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.