Bible Question:
Who arrested Jesus In the Garden of Gethsemane?
Bible Answer:
The arrest of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is described in the four gospels of the Bible. They tell us that Judas and a crowd came with him to the Garden of Gethsemane for the purpose of arresting Christ. But who arrested Jesus? The answer is revealed by studying all four gospels.
The Garden of Gethsemane
Both Mark 14:43 and Luke 22:47 tell us that Judas was accompanied by only a crowd carrying swords and clubs. The crowd included the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Judas was walking in front of the crowd.
Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.” Mark 14:43-44 (NASB)
While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. Luke 22:47 (NASB)
In Matthew 26:47 we are told the crowd was large.
While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.” Matthew 26:47-48 (NASB)
Finally, John 18:3 adds that Judas was accompanied by a Roman cohort, officers from the chief priests, and the Pharisees. They brought lanterns and torches and weapons with them.
Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
. . .
So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first. John 18:3, 12-13a (NASB)
In summary, the arrest of Jesus involved Judas and a large crowd. Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. When he did, it was a sign to the crowd that Jesus was the one who should be arrested. The lanterns and torches were designed to give them light as they walked in the darkness of night. The weapons included swords and clubs.
The chief priests and the scribes and the elders would have included members of the Sanhedrin Council. Mark 14:43-44 reveals that these three groups were distinct groups since the Greek definite article is included with each group. Yet, they acted in unity.
The gospel of John tells us that a Roman cohort and the officers of the Jews was also part of the crowd. The Greek for cohort is speira. Leon Morris gives the meaning of speira as follows:
“A cohort was the tenth part of a legion and thus normally compromised 600 men (though in practice the number varied a good deal). . . . John will not, of course, mean that 600 or so soldiers took part in the arrest but that the “cohort” performed the task; in other words, a detachment was sent. Some point out that speipa was used on occasion of a maniple, which was one third of a cohort, that is, 200 men. But even this is rather large. John is surely not saying that the whole speipa was present, but rather using a form of speech like our “the police came to arrest the man.” Yet we must bear in mind that the Romans could use surprisingly large numbers of soldiers where one prisoner was in question (Acts 23:23), and that they may well have feared a riot.1
A Roman cohort referred to a “small band” secured from the Tower of Antonia. John 18:3 adds that some portion of a legion of Roman soldiers from the Tower of Antonia was sent. Most likely the Roman garrison was alerted to a potential riot by the religious leaders or the Roman garrison observed the crowd moving to the garden of Gethsemane. See both Acts 21:27-33 and Acts 23:23—25 for an example of a Roman soldier response to potential problems. Therefore, a crowd with weapons, officers from the chief priests (John 7:32, 45-46), the Pharisees, and soldiers from the Roman garrison known as Tower of Antonia were there also.
The officers of the Jews were the policemen of the temple. They would have come to make the official arrest of Christ, while the Roman cohort provided security for the event.
So, the picture we have of the arrest of Jesus was that Judas was the leader. He led the crowd composed of members from the Sanhedrin Council, Pharisees, a Roman cohort, and the temple police. We should not be surprised that Jesus displayed His deity before them when He said, “I am He.” John 8:6 reveals what happened.
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. John 18:6 (NASB)
Judas and the large crowd fell to the ground. That event alone demonstrated that Jesus was no ordinary person. It revealed that He was and is God! It should have caused every person in that large crowd to stop and realize that Jesus was God Himself in human flesh.
Conclusion:
Would you have wanted Jesus to have been arrested that Thursday night and crucified Friday afternoon? Before you answer the question, think about the fact that the gospels tell us that God caused Jesus to be arrested and crucified so that our sins can be forgiven. 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 captures what happened on Friday and the next three days. It says that Christ died so that each of us can have our sins forgiven if we will believe in Him. Have your sins been forgiven and do you have eternal life?
References:
1. Leon Morris. The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Eerdmans Publishing. 1995. . 656.