Now the one betraying Jesus had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the one. arrest him.”
This verse reveals the most dreadful depth of betrayal: it is carried out not with open hostility, but through a sign of love. Judah, who for many years had been a disciple of Jesus, now uses the very same means by which he once expressed love and respect to commit betrayal. The kiss, which by nature is a sign of peace and closeness, here becomes a symbol of evil. This shows the deep psychological nature of sin: here it hides beneath the appearance of goodness. Judah gives the crowd a “sign,” because they did not know who Jesus was. He who usually taught with calmness is now handed over like a criminal, by a secret signal. This detail underscores the logic of sin’s darkness: it works through hypocrisy, because it cannot stand in the light. Yet in that moment the Lord’s peace is not disturbed. He receives the kiss as the beginning of the path to death, but also as the beginning of the final work of love by which humanity will be saved.