Matthew 26:48

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Now	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
betrayed	παραδιδοὺς paradidous	G3860	to surrender · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
gave	ἔδωκεν edōken	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
them	αὐτοῖς autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
sign	σημεῖον sēmeion	G4592	an indication · noun — accusative singular neuter
saying	λέγων· legōn	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
Whomsoever	ὃν hon	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — accusative singular masculine
kiss	φιλήσω, philēsō	G5368	to be a friend to (fond of (an individual or an object)) · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 1st person singular
same	αὐτός autos	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
he	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
hold	κρατήσατε kratēsate	G2902	to use strength · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural
him	αὐτόν. auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
fast	κρατέω kratéō	G2902	to use strength

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Samuel 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, t…
2 Samuel 20:9-10 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
Psalms 28:3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
Psalms 55:20-21 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
Mark 14:44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 26:48

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign,.... By which it might be known who he was; for it being night, though they had lanterns and torches, as John says, John 18:3, yet Judas himself might not be able to discern, him, so as to point him out, until he came very near him: moreover, Christ and his apostles might be clothed alike, so that a mistake might be easily made, and one of them be took for him: and so the Jews say (l), that the two thousand men, they pretend were with him, were clothed with the same apparel; which story may take its rise from hence: add to this, that James, the son of Alphaeus, called the brother of our Lord, is reported to be very like unto him. Besides, it is very…

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John Calvin on Matthew 26:45-50

Matthew 26:45-50 Matthew 26:45-50 Mark 14:41-46 Luke 22:47-48 45. Then he cometh to his disciples, and saith to them: Sleep on now, and take your rest; lo, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46. Arise, let us go: lo, he who betrayeth me is approaching. 47. While he was still speaking, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, cometh, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, [210] from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48. Now he who betrayed him had given them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, it is he: take him. 49. And immediately approaching, he said to Jesus, Hail, Rabbi, and kissed him. 50. And Jesus said to him, Friend…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 26:39

If it is possible: Jesus’ heart’s desire was for uninterrupted communion with the Father instead of coming under God’s wrath. • Yet I want your will to be done: His resolution to do the Father’s will was firm (4:1-11; 16:23; John 6:38).

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

Or, because whenever they had hitherto attempted to seize Him, He had escaped them they knew not how; as also He might then have done had He been so minded.
— John Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

There is a certain order to the different facets of Christ's suffering. But the reason for Judas's kiss was that we might discern all our enemies and those who we know would delight in raging against us. The Lord does not resist his kiss.
— Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew 32.2

(Verse 48.) But he who betrayed him gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, that is he, hold him fast. Miserable Judas, and yet not pitiable, with the same unfaithfulness with which he betrayed his master and Lord, he believed that the signs which he had seen the Savior performing were not done by divine majesty, but by magical skills. And because he had heard that he was transfigured on the mountain, he feared that he might slip away from the hands of the attendants through a similar transformation. Therefore, he gave a sign so that they would know that it was him, whom he demonstrated with a kiss.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Betrayal · Of Jesus — Of Jesus
Enemies · The friendship of, deceitful — The friendship of, deceitful
Friends · . — .
Gethsemane · Jesus betrayed in — Jesus betrayed in
Judas (Jude) · .Betrays the Lord Jesus — .Betrays the Lord Jesus
Kiss · Of — Of
Meekness · OF JESUS — OF JESUS
Prisoners · Jesus — Jesus
Traitor · General references — General references

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).