Now the one betraying Him had given them a sign, saying, “The One I kiss is He. Seize Him and lead Him away with caution.”
Judas makes the kiss—the sign of love and respect—a mark of betrayal. This is a dreadful perversion of sin, when the most tender expression is used as an instrument of evil. The words “Lead Him away carefully” show Judas’s coldness and calculation. He not only betrays Him, but also takes care that the arrest succeeds. This verse reminds us that a hypocritical person can approach Christ with the language of love and piety, while in his heart he has already chosen betrayal. Christ also endured this bitter pain: being betrayed by a sign of friendship.