While Jesus was speaking these things, Judas Iscariot came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.
Judas’ coming, with the phrase “one of the twelve,” again underscores the pain of betrayal. The crowd coming with him had swords and clubs, as if Christ were a dangerous robber. This shows the blindness of human evil: He who healed, taught, and blessed is now being seized as a criminal. This group, sent by the chief priests, scribes, and elders, represents the organized resistance of religious authority against the Son of God. Yet their power was only apparent, because Christ allows Himself to be seized according to the Father’s will.