Church Fathers Commentary Luke 22:47-53

"While he yet spake, behold, a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them; and he drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? And when they that were about him saw what would follow, they said, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And a certain one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye [them] thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. And Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders, that were come against him, Are ye come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." — Luke 22:47-53 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: After first mentioning the prayer of Christ, St. Luke goes on to speak of His betrayal, in which He is betrayed by His disciple, saying, And while he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and the one who was called Judas.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: He says, "the one who was called Judas," holding his name in abhorrence, as it were. But he adds, "one of the twelve," to signify the enormity of the traitor's sin, for he who had been honored as an apostle became the cause of Christ's murder.

St. John Chrysostom: Just as incurable wounds yield to neither severe nor soothing remedies, so the soul, once it is taken captive and has sold itself to a particular sin, will reap no benefit from admonition. So it was with Judas, who did not desist from his betrayal, though Christ deterred him with every kind of warning. Thus, it says, And he drew near to Jesus to kiss him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Unmindful of the glory of Christ, he thought he could act secretly, daring to make a special sign of love the instrument of his treachery.

St. John Chrysostom: We must not stop admonishing our brethren, even if nothing comes of our words. For streams still flow on, though no one drinks from them. The one whom you have not persuaded today, perhaps you may persuade tomorrow. The fisherman, after drawing empty nets the whole day, takes a fish when it is late. In this way, our Lord, though He knew that Judas was not going to be converted, did not cease doing what pertained to him. It follows, But Jesus said to him, "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

St. Ambrose of Milan: I think this must be taken as a question, as if He stops the traitor with a lover’s affection.

St. John Chrysostom: And He calls him by his proper name, which was more like someone lamenting and calling him back than someone provoked to anger.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He says, "Do you betray with a kiss?" That is, do you inflict a wound with the pledge of love? With the instruments of peace, do you bring death? A slave, do you betray your Lord; a disciple, your master; one chosen, Him who chose you?

St. John Chrysostom: But He did not say, “Do you betray your Master, your Lord, your Benefactor,” but the Son of Man—that is, the humble and meek one. Since He has behaved so gently toward you, even if He were not your Master and Lord, He should never have been betrayed by you.

St. Ambrose of Milan: O great manifestation of divine power, great discipline of virtue! The traitor's design is detected, and yet forbearance is not withheld. He shows who it is that Judas betrays by revealing hidden things. He declares whom he hands over by saying, the Son of Man, for the human flesh is seized, not the divine nature.

However, what most confounds the ungrateful is the thought that he delivered up the One who, though He was the Son of God, wished to be the Son of Man for our sakes. It is as if Christ said, "For you, O ungrateful man, I undertook that which you now betray in hypocrisy."

St. Augustine of Hippo: When He was betrayed, the Lord first said what Luke mentions, "Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"; next, what Matthew says, "Friend, why have you come?"; and lastly, what John records, "Whom are you seeking?"

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord kissed him, not that He would teach us to be deceitful, but so that He would not seem to shrink from the traitor, and so that He might move him all the more by not denying him the offices of love.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The disciples are inflamed with zeal and unsheathe their swords. But from where do they have swords? Because they had slain the lamb and had departed from the feast. Now the other disciples ask whether they should strike, but Peter, always fervent in defense of his Master, does not wait for permission but immediately strikes the servant of the High Priest, as it follows, And one of them struck...

St. Augustine of Hippo: The one who struck, according to John, was Peter, but the one whom he struck was named Malchus.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For Peter, being well-versed in the law and full of ardent affection, and knowing that it was counted as righteousness for Phinehas that he had killed the sacrilegious persons, struck the High Priest’s servant.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Now, Luke says, But Jesus answered and said, "Allow them to go this far." This is similar to what Matthew records: "Put your sword up into its sheath." You should not be troubled by an apparent contradiction, where Luke says our Lord answered, "Allow them to go this far," as if He spoke after the blow to show that what was done had pleased Him up to that point, but He did not wish it to proceed further. In contrast, the words Matthew gives might imply that the entire incident in which Peter used the sword was displeasing to our Lord.

The truth is that when they asked, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?", He then answered, "Allow them to go this far." By this He meant, "Do not be troubled by what is about to happen. They must be permitted to advance this far—that is, to take Me—and so fulfill the things which were written of Me." For Luke would not have written, "And Jesus answering," unless He was answering their question, not reacting to Peter’s deed.

But in the delay between their question to our Lord and His answer, Peter, in the eagerness of his defense, struck the blow. Two things cannot be said at the same time, though one may be said while another is done. Then, as Luke says, He healed the one who was struck, as it follows: And he touched his ear, and healed him.

The Venerable Bede: For the Lord is never forgetful of His loving-kindness. While they are bringing death upon the righteous, He heals the wounds of His persecutors.

St. Ambrose of Milan: In wiping away the bloody wound, the Lord conveyed a divine mystery: that the servant of the prince of this world should receive a wound on the ear—not by his natural condition but by his guilt—because he had not heard the words of wisdom. Or, by Peter so willingly striking the ear, he taught that one ought not to have an outward ear who does not have a spiritual one. But why did Peter do this? Because he especially obtained the power of binding and loosing, and therefore with his spiritual sword he takes away the inner ear of the one who does not understand.

But the Lord Himself restores the hearing, showing that even those who inflicted the wounds during our Lord’s Passion could be saved if they would turn. For all sin may be washed away in the mysteries of faith.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, that servant represents the Jewish people, sold by the High Priests into an unlawful obligation, who, through the Passion of our Lord, lost their right ear—that is, the spiritual understanding of the law. This ear is cut off by Peter’s sword, not in the sense that he takes away understanding from those who hear, but that he reveals it has been withdrawn by God's judgment from the careless.

However, for those among that same people who have believed, this same right ear is restored to its former function by divine condescension.

It follows, Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and clubs?"

St. John Chrysostom: For they had come at night, fearing an outbreak among the multitude. Therefore He says, "What need was there for these weapons against one who was always with you?" As it says, "When I was with you daily."

St. Cyril of Alexandria: By this, He does not blame the leaders of the Jews for not having prepared their murderous designs against Him sooner, but convicts them of having presumptuously supposed they had attacked Him against His will. It is as if He said, "You did not take Me then, because I did not will it, and you could not take Me now either, if I did not surrender Myself into your hands of My own accord."

Hence it follows, "But this is your hour." This means a short time is permitted for you to carry out your vengeance against Me, but the Father’s will agrees with Mine. He also says that this power is given to darkness—that is, to the Devil and the Jews—to rise in rebellion against Christ. And it is added, "and the power of darkness."

The Venerable Bede: It is as if He says, "You are assembled against Me in darkness because your power, with which you are thus armed against the light of the world, is of darkness." But the question is raised how Jesus is said to be addressing the chief priests, the officers of the temple, and the elders who came to Him, when it is reported that they did not go themselves, but sent their servants while they waited in the hall of Caiaphas. The answer to this apparent contradiction is that they did not come in person, but through those whom they sent to take Christ, acting with the power of their command.