Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 26:47

"And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priest and elders of the people." — Matthew 26:47 (ASV)

Judas Iscariot arrives with armed men. What he received payment for was probably information as to where Jesus could be arrested in a quiet setting with little danger of mob violence. He may have first led the “large crowd” to the Upper Room and, finding it empty, surmised where Jesus and his disciples had gone (cf. Jn 18:1-3). The “large crowd” was comprised of both temple police and a detachment of Roman soldiers. Especially during the feasts the Romans took extra pains to ensure public order, so a request for a small detachment from the cohort would not likely be turned down. Thus Pilate might have had some inkling of the plot from the beginning, and if he shared it with his wife, it might help explain her dream (27:19).