Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders — the crowd with swords and clubs is the arrest party sent by the full Sanhedrin. The size and armament of the crowd (appropriate for apprehending a dangerous criminal or revolutionary) contrast with the reality of whom they are arresting: the one who had been in the temple teaching publicly every day.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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