Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:53
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
53. presently ] = “immediately”; see ch. Mat 21:19.
twelve legions of angels ] It is characteristic of this gospel that the authority and kingly majesty of Jesus should be suggested at a moment when every hope seemed to have perished.
legions ] In contrast to the small company of Roman soldiers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 26:53
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father?
War opposed to the precepts and spirit of Christianity
Show that war is opposed to the spirit of Christianity.
I. Offer such reasons as prove this.
1. The toleration of war under the New Testament dispensation is contrary to what Christianity was expected to be by the prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah, and by the Church of the Jews, to whom they were sent (Isa 9:6; Zec 9:9-10).
2. The advent of the Saviour was attended with revelations, which indicated peace. The angels sang of peace on earth.
3. The doctrine which Christ taught condemns war (Mat 5:3-9, etc.)
4. The example of Christ teaches the same truth. His life was unresisting.
5. War originates in a passion which Christianity condemns.
6. It can only be carried on by the use of those means which Christianity must condemn.
`II. Answers objections.
1. It is said that war was allowable under the Old Testament dispensation, that therefore it cannot be wrong in the abstract.
2. It is said that the predictions of the New Testament foretell wars in the course of Christianity through the world.
3. It is said that the civil magistrate shall not bear the sword in vain.
4. It is said that to argue in favour of these principles is a proof of cowardice and imbecility.
5. What will be the consequences if men act in this way?
III. Make a few reflections.
1. It calls for a close examination of the subject.
2. It is the duty of parents to be careful in training up their children.
3. I would urge that no professor of Christianity should think of bearing arms. (N. M. Harry.)
The willing surrender
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. The glory of Christ is in His willing surrender of that which belonged to Him, and which He might have always had and enjoyed. The multitude whom the chief priests had sent was arresting Jesus. Then one of His disciples drew the sword. Jesus bade him put his sword into its place again. He tells His eager followers that if He wants He can protect Himself. Thinkest thou, etc. The helpless prisoner looked up and saw the air thick with angels hurrying to His relief. A word from Him and they would have been His warriors. He had the power, but would not use it. The nobleness of this surrender of Jesus; no man becomes really noble who has not its repetition in himself. To give up some precious thing which is legitimately yours; to shut your eyes upon visions of glory, or safety, or luxury, which you might make your own without blame, that is one of the marks of nobleness. The man who is taking all that he has a right to take in life is always touched with a shade of baseness. Let us study the nobleness of voluntary surrender.
I. We want to feel how definite and distinct it is. There are base imitations of it. There are two kinds of renunciation of things which have this origin in unworthy motives.
1. The first is the renunciation which comes from idleness or lack of spirit. There will always be people who might be rich, learned, famous, who despise these things simply because of the trouble they involve. The surrender they make is a loss not a gain; it has nothing in common with the Divine relinquishment of Jesus.
2. The second of the two base forms of voluntary surrender is what we may call the ascetic form. It includes the renunciation of legitimate enjoyments, that we may be chastened by disappointment. Now turn back to Jesus. When He said, I will not call the angels, it was no pusillanimous submitting to His fate; nor was it any unnatural submitting of Himself to suffering that He might be cultivated and purified, or that the release from suffering when it came might be more sweet. It was the quiet surrender of what was His, because He could not have it and yet do His work and save the world. No man in this world has a right to all his rights. Here is really the key to the question of voluntary abstinence from certain innocent indulgences for the sake of others. Voluntariness lies at the root of it all. We talk of the glory of resignation to the inevitable; but the true glory is in resignation to the inevitable. To stand unchained, with perfect power to go away, and so standing to let the fire creep up to the heart-that is the truer heroism. Christ knew what it was to gain the life He lost, to have the thing that He surrendered. When He refused to call the angels to His help, the strength which was the meaning of the angels was surely entering into Him, and making Him ready for the battle which He was just about to fight. (P. Brooks, D. D.)
Self-surrender under the influence of a higher purpose
When a man who might be rich deliberately gives up the chance of wealth that he may be a scholar, men whose object in life is wealth, and who know that he has the same power to get wealth which they have if he should give himself to its pursuit, must honour him and feel the influence of his renunciation. It is not laziness, for he goes to work harder than any of them. It is not asceticism, for he has no foolish sweeping abuse of wealth with which to insult his fellow-mens intelligence, It is not incapacity, for he is as bright as the brightest. It is simply the power of a higher purpose. It is the calm, manly, uncomplaining choice to do this greater thing, and to surrender whatever would hinder the doing of it most faithfully and well. The man goes off into his study, and thinks that nobody sees him-indeed, does not think for a moment whether anybody is seeing him or not; but his life and such lives as his are the salt of the society in which they live. (P. Brooks, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 53. More than twelve legions of angels?] As if he had said, Instead of you twelve, one of whom is a traitor, my Father can give me more than twelve legions of angels to defend me. A legion, at different times, contained different numbers; 4,200, 5,000, and frequently 6,000 men; and from this saying, taking the latter number, which is the common rate, may we not – safely believe that the angels of God amount to more than 72,000?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father,…. Meaning, if he thought proper, or that there was any necessity for it, or that he was desirous of being rescued out of such hands he was falling into. This must be understood of him as man: for, as God, the angels were his creatures and ministering servants, whom he had the command of himself, and so had no need, as such, to pray to his Father to detach a number of them to his assistance, and which, as man, he could only want.
And he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels. A Roman legion consisted of about six thousand soldiers, or upwards; some add six hundred sixty six; and others make the number far greater. Twelve are mentioned, either with respect to the twelve apostles; or in allusion, as others think, to the Roman militia; a proper and full army with them consisting of such a number of legions: and that there is an innumerable company of angels, thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, is certain; and the Persic version here reads; “twelve myriads” of legions; and that these are at the command of God, and he can dispatch them at once, on any emergent occasion, is very evident; and what is it that such a company of angels is not capable of, when a single angel slew in one night an hundred, fourscore, and five thousand men,
2Ki 19:35, wherefore had Christ had any inclination to have been rescued from the present danger, he stood in no need of Peter’s sword.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Even now (). Just now, at this very moment.
Legions (). A Latin word. Roman soldiers in large numbers were in Palestine later in A.D. 66, but they were in Caesarea and in the tower of Antonia in Jerusalem. A full Roman legion had 6,100 foot and 726 horse in the time of Augustus. But Jesus sees more than twelve legions at his command (one for each apostle) and shows his undaunted courage in this crisis. One should recall the story of Elisha at Dothan (2Ki 6:17).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Twelve legions of angels. Compare the story of Elisha at Dothan (2Ki 6:17).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
53. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father? Now follows that special reason which I mentioned a little ago; for Christ reminds them, that he would have at his command a better and more legitimate kind of defense, were it not that he must obey the decree of the Father. The substance of what he says is this. “As he has been appointed by the eternal purpose of God to be a sacrifice, and as this has been declared by the predictions of Scripture, he must not fight against it.” Thus Peter’s rashness is condemned on another ground, that he not only endeavors to overturn a heavenly decree, but also to obstruct the path of the redemption of mankind. Not only did Peter draw his sword unlawfully, but the disciples were foolish and mad; for—though they were few in number, and feeble—they attempted to make some resistance to a band of soldiers and a very great multitude. On this account, the Lord, in order to make their folly more manifest, employs this comparison. “If he wished to have a guard to defend his life, he would immediately obtain not eleven angels, but a large and invincible army, and since he does not implore that angels may be sent to assist him, much less would he resort to ill-considered means, from which no advantage was to be expected; for the utmost that could be effected by the disciples would be of no more service than if a few rooks were to make a noise.”
But here some commentators labor to no purpose in inquiring how Christ could have obtained a commission of angels from his Father, by whose decree it was that he had to suffer death. For the two things are inconsistent: that he exposed his Son to death naked and defenseless, because it was necessary that it should be so, and because it had been appointed; and yet, that he might have been prevailed on by prayer to send him relief. But Christ speaks conditionally, that he has a far better method of defending his life, were it not that the will of the Father was opposed to it. This takes away all contradiction, for Christ refrained from presenting such a request to his Father, because he knew that it was contrary to his decree. Yet from this we draw a useful doctrine, that those who resort to unlawful means on the plea of necessity pour dishonor on God. If a man is destitute of lawful aid and support, he runs headlong to wicked schemes and sinful undertakings; and the reason is, that few look for the secret protection of God, which alone ought to be sufficient to set our minds at rest. Are we threatened with danger? Because no remedy can be discovered according to the flesh, we make this or the other contrivance, as if there were no angels in heaven, who — Scripture frequently tells us — are placed as guardians for our salvation, (Heb 1:14.) In this way we deprive ourselves of their assistance; for all who are impelled, by their restlessness and excessive anxiety, to stretch out their hands to forbidden remedies for evils, do unquestionably renounce the providence of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(53) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray . . .?There is a strange and suggestive blending of the possible and the impossible in these words. Could He have brought Himself to utter that prayer, it would have been answered. But He could not so pray unless He knew it to be in harmony with His Fathers will, and He had been taught, in that hour of agony, that it was not in harmony, and therefore He would not utter it.
Presently.The modern English reader needs to be reminded once more that the word means immediately, without a moments delay.
Twelve legions.The number is probably suggested by that of the Apostles. Not twelve weak men, one a traitor and the others timorous, but twelve legions of the armies of the Lord of Hosts. Note the Roman word appearing here, as in Mar. 5:9; Mar. 5:15, as the representative of warlike might.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
53. Thinkest thou Addressed to Peter to show him that there was no place for, because no need of, a human sword. How contemptible to suppose that He needs thy sword, at whose prayer legions of angels would troop from the skies.
Twelve legions A legion to each apostle, naming the official number notwithstanding the defection of Judas.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Or do you think that I cannot beseech my Father, and he will even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?”
Then He reminded His disciples that they were not so see what happened to Him as evidence of His failure to achieve His aims. Had they not realised Who He was? Did they not remember that He had said that angels were subject to His command? (Mat 13:41; Mat 16:27; Mat 24:31; Mat 25:31). Did they not yet appreciate that He had only to call on His Father and would then be sent twelve legions of angels, a far more effective force than He and the eleven disciples all acting together? After all even Elisha had been surrounded by angelic forces (2Ki 6:17). How much more therefore was Jesus? So they must see that this was not happening to Him because He was powerless, but because it was a necessary step in the purposes of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 26:53 . ] or , in case this should not be sufficient to induce thee to thrust back thy sword.
] this instant . See on Gal 1:10 .
The interrogation does not extend merely as far as , in which case it would lose much of its significance, while the language would be rendered too abrupt, but on to ; yet not as though (for that , ) introduced a broken construction, but thus: Thinkest thou that I am not able and He will (not) place at my side , etc.? so that I can thus dispense entirely with thy protection! The force of the negative runs through the whole sentence.
(see the critical remarks) is a genuine Attic usage, according to which it is permissible to have the neuter or without a change of construction, or even without inserting . Lobeck, ad Phryn . p. 410 f.; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Apol . p. 17 D; Khner, II. 2, p. 847. The number twelve corresponds to the number of the apostles, because of these only one had shown a disposition to defend him.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1402
CHRISTS APPREHENSION
Mat 26:53-54. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
THE Christian is by profession a soldier: he is to fight a good fight, and to war a good warfare: he is not for one moment to lay aside his armour, or to make a truce with his enemies: nor is he to be satisfied with defensive operations; he must carry the war into the heart of the enemys country, and attack his strong-holds: whenever he gains a victory, he must exercise no lenity; he must not spare one single foe; he must extirpate all without exception and without mercy: he must hew Agag in pieces before the Lord. But the weapons of his warfare are not carnal: his armour, whether for defence or assault, is all of heavenly temper; it is the armour of God, in which he is clothed; and the sword of the Spirit, with which he attacks his enemies. If he be combating with a persecuting world, then especially must he be armed with love and patience. These indeed are not arms suited to our sinful nature: the fierce and vindictive tempers of men would lead them rather to repel force by force, as Peter attempted to do in defence of his Master. But Christianity disclaims such aid: it is neither to be propagated nor maintained by such means. Our Lord has declared that they who take the sword shall perish with the sword: and has shewn us, by his own example, that we are rather to possess our souls in patience; and to conquer, not by shedding the blood of others, but by suffering our own to be poured forth with meekness and resignation.
These observations naturally arise from the reproof which our Lord gave to Peter, when, with well-meant, but unhallowed zeal, he had attempted to withstand his enemies with the sword. Our Lord tells him that such exertions were both unlawful and unnecessary: they were unlawful, because they were quite contrary to the spirit of his religion; and unnecessary, because, if he judged it expedient, he could in one moment have legions of angels sent to rescue him from their hands. But as, for the exemplifying of his religion, he forbade his disciples to fight; so, for the fulfilling of the Scriptures, he forbore to deliver himself, though he might have done it in a way that was both easy and legitimate.
We propose to shew you,
I.
How easily our Lord could have rescued himself from their hands
God has been pleased on many occasions to effect his purposes by the ministration of angels
[Angels have been employed by him sometimes for the destruction of men, and sometimes for their preservation: and in either case they have always proved mighty and irresistible.
By the sword of an angel God destroyed the Egyptian firstborn both of man and beast [Note: Num 20:16. with Exo 12:23. Where the Lord who protected Israel is distinguished from the destroyer who smote the Egyptians.]. By an angel he smote seventy thousand of Davids subjects, for the pride and creature-confidence which he manifested in numbering the people [Note: 2Sa 24:16.]. By an angel he slew an hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacheribs army in one single night [Note: Isa 37:36.].
Nor have angels proved less mighty to save than to destroy. The Hebrew Youths were kept unhurt in the fiery furnace [Note: Dan 3:28.]: Daniel was preserved in a den of hungry lions [Note: Dan 6:22.]: the twelve Apostles were brought forth from a prison to which they had been committed [Note: Act 5:19.]: and Peter, when chained and guarded in an inner prison with all imaginable care and safety, was, on the very night previous to his intended execution, liberated from his dungeon, and restored to the embraces of his praying friends [Note: Act 12:8-10.]. These things are effected by the ministration of angels who excel in strength.]
Of these our blessed Lord might have had any number to deliver him
[He had given abundant proof indeed that he could, if he pleased, deliver himself: for on former occasions he had repeatedly withdrawn himself from his enemies, when they thought they had him in their power [Note: Luk 4:29-30. Joh 8:59.]; and, but a few minutes before, he had beaten them all to the ground by a word [Note: Joh 18:6.], shewing thereby that he could as easily have struck them dead, after the manner in which the armed bands were smitten when they were sent to apprehend Elijah [Note: 2Ki 1:10; 2Ki 1:12.]. But, if he had needed assistance, he could have had legions of angels for his support. He needed only to ask of his Father, and it would be done: above seventy thousand of those powerful beings [Note: Computing a legion at six thousand, twelve legions would be seventy-two thousand.] would be with him in an instant: and if one single angel was sufficient to destroy a hundred and eighty-five thousand warriors in a single night, what could not such a host of them effect, if he chose to employ them in his service?]
If then to deliver himself would have been so easy, it will be proper to inquire,
II.
Why he forbore to do so
The Scriptures had spoken much respecting the Messiah
[They contained not only many predictions relative to his death in general, but some which referred to the very circumstances in which he was now placed. It had been foretold, that he should be assaulted by a tumultuous mob, composed of Jews and Gentiles [Note: Psa 2:1-3.], rich and poor [Note: Psa 22:12; Psa 22:16.]: that he should be betrayed into their hands by one of his own Disciples [Note: Psa 41:9; Psa 55:12-13. with Joh 13:18.]: that he should give himself up to them, when he had power to deliver himself from them [Note: Isa 50:5-6.]: that, instead of resisting them in any respect, he should go like a lamb to the slaughter [Note: Isa 53:7.]: and that his Disciples, offended at his apparent weakness, should forsake him [Note: Zec 13:7. with Mat 26:31.].
Now if these Scriptures were not fulfilled, one essential circumstance would be wanting to prove his divine mission Moreover, if he should persist in withstanding the malice of his enemies, the eternal purposes of his Father would be frustrated; the very ends for which he had become incarnate would be defeated; and the whole world would be left to perish, notwithstanding all he had both done and suffered for their salvation But these were evils greater in our Lords estimation than ten thousand deaths; and therefore he would not for one moment delay the accomplishment of these Scriptures, when once the proper season for it had arrived.]
On this subject we may ground some profitable observations:
1.
We can be in no trouble, from whence the voice of prayer cannot extricate us
[Prayer, if it accord with the will and purpose of Jehovah, shall prevail as much for us, as ever it prevailed for any of the saints of old. However imminent our danger be, or however desperate our condition, the pursuing foe shall be diverted from his purpose [Note: 1Pe 2:19-23.], or the voracious whale be forced to disgorge his prey upon the dry land [Note: Jon 2:10.]. Prayer should, if necessary, bring all the angels in heaven to our support. Prayer is, in a sense, omnipotent; for it interests the Almighty God in our behalf. O let us have worthy thoughts of the power and efficacy of prayer! And if Satan tempt us at any time to give up the contest, let us reprove him in the words of our Lord, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he will send me more than twelve legions of angels to defeat thy malice?]
2.
We should be contented to go to heaven in the way that God has marked out for us
[Our frail nature is fond of ease. But soldiers are called to endure hardships: and this is the path marked out for us; it is through much tribulation that we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven. In this way our Lord himself walked: though he was a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and was at last made perfect through sufferings. In these things he was our example, whose steps we are to follow [Note: 1Pe 2:21.]. Who are we then that we should be exempt from trials? If we were to consider them as punishments, they are infinitely lighter than what we deserve: but if we consider them as a furnace to purify us from our dross, and as an honour conferred upon us to render us conformed to our Saviours image, methinks we should not withdraw ourselves from them, even if we had it in our power; but be incomparably more desirous of acquiring benefit to our souls than of enjoying any present ease in our bodies.]
3.
Our Lords solicitude about the fulfilment of the Scriptures in things relating to his sufferings, is a pledge to us, that he will be no less anxious about their accomplishment in what relates to the salvation of his people.
[There are exceeding great and precious promises given to the people of God. Our Lord himself has assured us that none shall ever pluck us out of his hand; that no weapon formed against us shall ever prosper; and that Satan himself shall be bruised under our feet shortly. Now these Scriptures cannot be broken; nor can one jot or tittle of them fail. We have a security for the accomplishment of them, not only in the veracity of God, but also in the government which Christ exercises over the world at large, and his Church in particular. All things both in heaven and in earth are committed unto him; and all the hosts of heaven are at his disposal. Will not he then be jealous for his own honour? Will not he who shuddered so at the thought of the Scriptures failing of their accomplishment in his own case, be equally anxious for the fulfilment of them in ours? Let us then humbly commit ourselves to him, assured that, however our enemies may appear to triumph for a time, they shall all be vanquished at last; and that, having suffered with Christ, we shall also be glorified together.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Ver. 53. Thinkest thou that I cannot pray ] q.d. Need I be beholden to thee for help? Luther very boldly told his patron and protector, the elector of Saxony, that he, by his prayers, gained him more help and safeguard than he received from him; and that this cause of Christ needeth not the help of man to carry it on, but the power of God, set to work by the prayer of faith. a And this way, saith he, I will undertake to secure your highness’s soul, body, and estate, engaged in the cause of the gospel, from whatsoever danger or disaster, Sive id credat C. V. sive non credat, whether your highness believe me herein or not.
More than twelve legions ] A legion is judged to be six thousand foot and seven hundred horse. And this great army of angels is by prayer despatched from heaven in an instant. Are we then in any imminent danger? send up to heaven for help by prayer, and God will send from heaven and help us. We need not help ourselves by seeking private revenge, as Peter here, or using sinister shifts, as David, Psa 34:1 , for in the same Psalm men are exhorted to ensue peace and pass by private wrongs; because the “angels of the Lord encamp round about them that fear him, and deliver them.”
a Iudico Celsitud. Vest. plus a me praesidii et tutelae habituram esse, quam mihi praestare. Huic causae nullus gladius consulere aut opem ferre potest, &c. Luth. epist,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
53. ] The Majesty of our Lord, and His Patience are both shewn here.
. is a strictly Attic idiom, the neuter or , and the unchanged construction omitting the . So Plato, Legg. vi. p. 759, : Paus. x. 57. 295, . See the matter discussed, and more examples given, in Phryn. Lobeck, p. 410.
not perhaps so much from the number of the Apostles, who were now , but from that of the then company, viz. the Lord and the eleven.
because they were Roman soldiers who were taking Him. The complement of the legion was about 6000 men. The power, implied in , shews the entire and continued free self-resignation of the Lord throughout and carries on the same truth as He expressed Joh 10:18 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 26:53 gives another reason for not using the sword: if it were God’s will that His Son should be rescued it could be done in a different way. he way suggested is described in military language, the verbs and being both used in classics in connection with military matters, and the word suggesting the battalions of the Roman army. , twelve legions, one for each of the twelve disciples. , even more than that vast number, Divine resources boundless. The free play of imagination displayed in this conception of a great army of angels evinces the elasticity of Christ’s spirit and His perfect self-possession at a critical moment.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
cannot = am not able.
now = even now. T Tr. WH R read this after “give Me”.
pray = call upon. Greek. parakaleo. App-134.
presently = instantly.
give = send, or furnish.
twelve legions: i.e. for Himself and the eleven apostles.
legions. A legion consisted of 6,000 (6,000 x 12 = 72,000). Compare 2Ki 6:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
53.] The Majesty of our Lord, and His Patience are both shewn here.
. is a strictly Attic idiom, the neuter or , and the unchanged construction omitting the . So Plato, Legg. vi. p. 759, : Paus. x. 57. 295, . See the matter discussed, and more examples given, in Phryn. Lobeck, p. 410.
-not perhaps so much from the number of the Apostles, who were now , but from that of the then company, viz. the Lord and the eleven.
-because they were Roman soldiers who were taking Him. The complement of the legion was about 6000 men. The power, implied in , shews the entire and continued free self-resignation of the Lord throughout-and carries on the same truth as He expressed Joh 10:18.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 26:53. , now) Even now.- , My Father) Jesus even, when He is just about to drink the cup, retains that filial disposition which He had previously and always towards the Father; see Mat 26:42.- , more than twelve legions) A legion consisted of six thousand; twelve legions therefore of seventy-two thousand. A legion is contrasted with each of the twelve apostles; a thousand angels with each of the seventy disciples. The angels are divided into their numbers and ranks.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
angels
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
and he: Mat 4:11, Mat 25:31, 2Ki 6:17, Dan 7:10, 2Th 1:7, Jud 1:14
twelve: Mat 10:1, Mat 10:2
legions: (A legion, [Strong’s G3003], for the Latin legio, from lego, to collect or choose was a particular division or battalion of the Roman army, which at different times contained different numbers. In the time of our Saviour it probably consisted of 6,200 foot and 300 horse, twelve of which would amount to 78,000 men.) Luk 8:30
Reciprocal: 2Ki 6:16 – they that be Job 25:3 – there Psa 55:18 – there Psa 68:17 – chariots Psa 103:20 – that excel in strength Mar 1:13 – and the Mar 5:9 – Legion Luk 22:22 – truly Luk 22:43 – an Joh 10:18 – man Joh 10:35 – the scripture Joh 11:26 – Believest Joh 11:42 – I knew Joh 12:27 – Father Rom 2:3 – thinkest Heb 5:7 – unto Jam 5:6 – and he Rev 12:7 – and his Rev 19:14 – the armies
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:53
Had it been right to defend Jesus with force, he could have prayed his Father who would have sent him twelve legions (about 72,000) of angels.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 26:53. Or thinkest thou. An appeal to Peters faith, and also a declaration of power and an exhibition of patience.
Even now, at this crisis when all seems to be lost
Twelve legions. He numbers His hosts by legions, as did the Romans (in whose hands he was). A legion included more than six thousand men. Twelve; probably in allusion to the twelve persons (Himself and the eleven) opposed to this midnight band; a legion for each; a mighty host, all-sufficient to help them. Peter is rebuked, not for distrust of Gods power, but for using force. Were that necessary, it would have come in answer to prayer. Christ, in mercy to men, chose to gain His victory by suffering and long-suffering. When force is needed, Christ will appear with the angels (chap. Mat 25:31). Before that time, every use of it tends only to evil. Violence against the conscience, as well as against the body, reacts upon those employing it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
26:53 {15} Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
(15) Christ was taken because he was willing to be taken.