Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:45
Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take [your] rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
45, 46. Sleep on now Rise, let us be going ] The sudden transition may be explained either (1) by regarding the first words as intended for a rebuke, or else (2) at that very moment Judas appeared, and the time for action had come. The short, quick sentences, especially as reported by St Mark, favour the second suggestion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 45. Sleep on now, and take your rest] Perhaps it might be better to read these words interrogatively, and paraphrase them thus: Do ye sleep on still? Will no warnings avail? Will no danger excite you to watchfulness and prayer? My hour – in which I am to be delivered up, is at hand; therefore now think of your own personal safety.
The Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.] , viz. the Gentiles or heathens, who were generally distinguished by this appellation from the Jews. Here it probably means the Roman cohort that was stationed on festivals for the defence of the temple. By the Romans he was adjudged to death; for the Jews acknowledged that they had no power in capital cases. See the note on Mt 9:10.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then cometh he to his disciples,…. The three that were nearest to him, “the third time”, as Mark says, Mr 14:41, and as it was;
and saith unto them, sleep on now, and take your rest. The Evangelist Mark adds, “it is enough”, Mr 14:41; which has induced some interpreters to think, that these words were spoken seriously by Christ: though the sense cannot be that they had watched sufficiently, and now might sleep, and take their rest, for they had not watched at all; but rather, that he had now no need of them, or their watching with him; the conflict was over for the present; or, as the Syriac version renders it, “the end is come”; and so the Arabic; and to the same purpose the Persic, “the matter is come to an end”, or to an extremity; the sense being the same with what is expressed in the following clause, “the hour is at hand”; and shows, that the words are to be understood in an ironical sense, sleep on and take your rest, if you can: I have been exhorting you to watchfulness, but to no purpose, you will be alarmed from another quarter; a band of soldiers is just at hand to seize and carry me away, and now sleep if you can: that this is the sense appears from the reason given, and from the exhortation in the following verse, and the reason annexed to that:
behold the hour is at hand, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners: by the son of man Christ means himself, and under this diminutive title expresses his Messiahship, this being a character of the Messiah in the Old Testament; and the truth of his human nature, and the weakness and infirmities of it: by the “betraying”, or delivery of him, is intended either the betraying of him by Judas into the hands of the high priest, Scribes, and Pharisees; or the delivery of him, by them, into the hands of Pilate, and by him to the Roman soldiers; all which were by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. The high priest, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees, notwithstanding all their pretensions to religion, righteousness, and holiness, were very wicked persons; though the Gentiles, the band of Roman soldiers, Judas brought with him to take Christ, are here rather meant, it being usual to call the Gentiles sinners. This betraying and delivery of Christ into the hands of these, was determined by God; the time, the very hour was fixed, and was now approaching; the last sand in the glass was dropping; for as soon as Christ had said these words, Judas, with his band of soldiers, appeared.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Sleep on now and take your rest ( ). This makes it “mournful irony” (Plummer) or reproachful concession: “Ye may sleep and rest indefinitely so far as I am concerned; I need no longer your watchful interest” (Bruce). It may be a sad query as Goodspeed: “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?” So Moffatt. This use of for now or henceforth is common in the papyri.
The hour is at hand ( ). Time for action has now come. They have missed their chance for sympathy with Jesus. He has now won the victory without their aid. “The Master’s time of weakness is past; He is prepared to face the worst” (Bruce).
Is betrayed (). Futuristic present or inchoative present, the first act in the betrayal is at hand. Jesus had foreseen his “hour” for long and now he faces it bravely.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The hour is at hand. He probably heard the tramp and saw the lanterns of Judas and his band.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Mat 26:45
. Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is plain enough, that Christ now speaks ironically, but we must, at the same time, attend to the object of the irony. For Christ, having gained nothing by warning his disciples, not only gives an indirect reproof of their indifference, but threatens, that how indolent so ever they may choose to be, no longer delay will be allowed them. The meaning therefore is, “Having hitherto wasted my words on you, I shall now come to exhort you; but whatever permission I may give you to sleep, the enemies will not allow it to you, but will compel you to watch against your will.” In Mark, it is accordingly added, It is enough; as if he had said, that there is no more time for sleeping. And this is the way in which the Lord usually chastises the indolence of men, that those who wax deaf to words may at length be compelled, by their sufferings, to arouse themselves. Let us, therefore, learn to give immediate attention to the words of the Lord, lest what he wishes to draw from us voluntarily may be too late forced from us by necessity.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(45) Sleep on now, and take your rest.There is an obvious difficulty in these words, followed as they are so immediately by the Rise, let us be going, of the next verse. We might, at first, be inclined to see in them a shade of implied reproach. Sleep on now, if sleep under such conditions is possible; make the most of the short interval that remains before the hour of the betrayal comes. Something of this kind seems obviously implied, but the sudden change is, perhaps, best explained by the supposition that it was not till after these words had been spoken that the Traitor and his companions were seen actually approaching, and that it was this that led to the words seemingly so different in their purport, bidding the slumberers to rouse themselves from sleep. The past, which, as far as their trial went, might have been given to sleep, was over. A new crisis had come calling for action.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
45. Cometh he to his disciples For the last time he now returns; for the betrayer is at hand, and from the invisible struggle with hell he is next to undergo the visible struggle with men.
Sleep on now, and take your rest But why should he bid them sleep now when the tramp of the soldier is almost in their hearing? Of all the renderings of this verse to meet this query, I think the best is that which by merely changing the punctuation, which is of no authority, makes it a question. Sleep ye on now, and take your rest? Is it a time for slumber when the betrayer is on the approach? There is another meaning admissable. The whole matter is now decided, and you may sleep on, as watching is needless.
The hour The great suffering, atoning hour is come; and the executioners of vicarious justice, though they mean it not, are now at hand.
Let us be going Our Lord now directs his face toward the terrible sufferings of the cross. He is strengthened, and calm from his past agony. He meets his betrayer, his foes, his judges, with a majesty which shows that he is Lord even of those to whom he submits. His glory even in this his suffering is most particularly described in the narrative of John.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then comes he to the disciples, and says to them, “Sleep on from now on, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” ’
After more prayer, His course now made clear, His soul is at peace, and He returns to the eleven. All are asleep emphasising His aloneness. But now He sympathetically tells them to sleep on. Their prayers can accomplish nothing for Him now, and it is too late for them.
‘The hour has drawn near and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.’ For the hour has drawn near of which the Scriptures had prophesied. The One Who alone is truly human in His obedience to God, ‘the Son of Man’, is betrayed into the hands of ‘sinners’ (amartolos), in Matthew those who are disobedient to the Law (Mat 9:10-13; Mat 11:19). Probably in mind are the ‘wild beasts’ of Daniel 7 who oppose those who observe His Law (Dan 7:25). Here in Old Testament ideology is the antithesis between flesh and spirit. In Daniel 7 the ‘ideal’ people of God (the holy ones of the Most High) who sought the will of God and obeyed His Law were depicted as ‘a son of man’, that is, as revealing true humanness in their attitude towards God by their willing obedience to Him, in accordance with what had been required of man when he was first created. They followed the spirit. (Note in Dan 7:4 how Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion, described in Daniel 5, is depicted in terms of becoming ‘human’). The nations were depicted as wild beasts who followed their own animal desires. They followed the flesh. They did their own will. They were ‘sinners’, lawbreakers. And now that the One has come Who in the end was the only true ‘Son of Man’ in terms of how God had originally created man, He is to be delivered over to the wild beasts for the indulgence by them of the flesh, so that He might be demonstrated as free from the grip of the flesh. It was necessary in order that through His victory some of the children of the flesh might be redeemed and become children of the Spirit (children of promise – Rom 9:8). It was through this that the disciples, who had after all demonstrated that they were still largely but children of the flesh, with their spirits weak, would become strong as children of the Spirit (compare Gal 4:29; Gal 5:16-24). This idea that God’s strengthening purposes come about through tribulation and suffering is constant in both the Old and the New Testaments (see especially Rom 5:2-5). It is tribulation and suffering that weakens the hold of the flesh and turns men’s thoughts towards God. ‘When His judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness’ (Isa 26:9).
‘The hour is drawn near (eggiken).’ Compare Mat 21:34 where ‘the time of the fruit drew near (eggisen)’, the time of accounting. Previously ‘eggiken’ (has drawn near) has exclusively depicted the coming of the Kingly Rule of Heaven (Mat 3:2; Mat 4:17; Mat 10:7). Perhaps there is here then an indication that in what is about to happen the Kingly Rule of Heaven will be manifested, and this is especially so in view of the connection with the Son of Man of Daniel 7, where the delivering over of the son of man resulted in the reception of Kingly Rule. But it is also used in Mat 26:46 of the ‘drawing near’ of the Betrayer in what is probably a deliberate play on words. The drawing near of the Betrayer will issue in the drawing near of God’s Kingly Rule, for the hour that has ‘drawn near’ includes all aspects of His activity in saving the world. Undoubtedly central here, however, is the idea that the hour of His betrayal and death has drawn near.
‘The Son of man is betrayed into hands of sinners.’ Compare Mat 17:22, ‘the Son of Man will be betrayed into hands of men.’ Men will betray Him and deliver Him up because they are sinners, because they are bestial. The word ‘sinners’ is unusual for Matthew, and being here set against the title Son of Man, probably recalls the situation in Daniel 7 as we have suggested above.
‘Sleep on now, and take your rest.’ There is a question here as to how we translate ‘now’ (loipon). It can mean ‘what remains, what is left’ i.e. the remainder, and thus mean ‘from now on’. How we translate it will depend on whether we see the whole phrase as a question or a statement. And that will also depend on whether we see the next verse as following immediately or as following after a short interval (we can read it as either). The question is as to whether Jesus is being ironic, ‘Go on, carry on sleeping, I am about to be betrayed’. Or is asking sadly, ‘Do you sleep on and continue to take your rest at this momentous hour? Do you not realise what is happening’ (compare Mat 26:40). or is He saying sympathetically, ‘sleep on now for the remainder of the time that remains, and get some rest, for it will not be long, and soon you will not feel like sleeping’. The last would seem to be what He really has in mind.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The end of the struggle:
v. 45. Then cometh He to His disciples and saith unto them, Sleep on now and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
v. 46. Rise, let us be going; behold, he is at hand that doth betray Me. Without respite, without aid had His harassed soul wrestled with death and hell. And His body was wearied to the point of utter exhaustion. Dragging Himself back finally to His sleeping disciples, He tells them, not in irony or with reproach, but with complete resignation: So far as I am concerned, you might sleep on now; this battle is ended, your watchfulness in My behalf is no longer needed. But it is better for their own sakes that they arise now, for the hour of His betrayal is at hand. The traitor, who was to deliver Him into the hands of the Gentiles to be killed by them, was approaching in the distance. Clearly, ringingly He gives His command: Arise, let us go! There is no hesitation, no shrinking now. He is not like a fugitive whom the officers of the law must seek and finally drag forth from a place of hiding; He is like a conqueror meeting the vanquished.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 26:45. Sleep on now, &c. Some read this interrogatively, Do you sleep on still and take repose? See Luk 22:46. This is a reproof which very well agrees with Mat 26:40-41 and the words following that passage. Into the hands of sinners, means of the Gentiles, according to the stile of the Hebrews, (see Gal 2:15) of which sort were the soldiers whom Judas brought along with him, Joh 18:3.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 26:45 . The annoyance at finding the disciples asleep (Mat 26:40 : , . . .) now deepens into an intensely painful irony : “ sleep on now, and have out your rest ” (the emphasis is not on , but on . .)! He had previously addressed them with a , but to how little purpose! and, accordingly, He now turns to them with the sadly ironical abandonment of one who has no further hope, and tells them to do quite the reverse sleep on , etc. Comp. Euthymius Zigabenus, Beza, Mnster, Erasmus, Calvin, Er. Schmid, Maldonatus, Bengel, Jansen, Michaelis, Fritzsche, Keim, Ewald. On and , for the rest of the time , in the sense of jam (Vulgate), henceforward (Plat. Prot . p. 321 C), see Schaefer, ad Long . p. 400; Jacobs, ad Philostr . p. 663. Comp. on Act 27:20 . To object, as is frequently done, that the ironical view does not accord with the frame of mind in which Jesus must have been, is to fail to appreciate aright the nature of the situation. Irony is not inconsistent even with the deepest anguish of soul, especially in cases where such anguish is also accompanied with such clearness of judgment as we find in the present instance; and consider what it was for Jesus to see such an overpowering tendency to sleep on the part of His disciples, and to find everything so different from what He needed, and might reasonably have expected! Winer, p. 292 [E. T. 391], following Chrysostom, Theophylact (who, however, admits the plausibility of the ironical view), and Grotius, excludes the idea of irony, and interprets thus: “ sleep on, then, as you are doing, and take your rest ,” which words are supposed to be spoken permissively in accordance with the calm, mild, resigned spirit produced by the prayers in which He had just been engaged. This is also substantially the view of Kuinoel, de Wette, Morison, Weiss on Mark ; and see even Augustine, who says: “verba indulgentis eis jam somnum.” But the idea that any such indulgence was seriously intended, would be incompatible with the danger referred to at Mat 26:41 , and which He knew was threatening even the disciples themselves . There are others , again, who are disposed to take the words interrogatively, thus: are ye still asleep? Such is the view of Henry Stephens, Heumann, Kypke, Krebs, in spite of the ordinary usage with regard to , to understand which in the sense of “ henceforth ” (Bleek, Volkmar) would be entirely out of keeping with the use of the present here. If, however, the mark of interrogation be inserted after , and be then taken imperatively (Klostermann), in that case would have the intensive force of even ; but its logical position would have to be before , not before , where it could be rendered admissible at all only by an artificial twisting of the sense (“now you may henceforth rest on, even as long as you choose ”).
While Jesus is in the act of uttering His , . . ., He observes the hostile band approaching; the painful irony changes to a painful earnestness, and He continues in abrupt and disjointed words: , , . . . The should be taken absolutely : hora fatalis , Joh 17:1 . The next clause describes in detail the character of that hour.
.] into sinners’ hands . He refers to the members of the Sanhedrim , at whose disposal He would be placed by means of His apprehension , and not to the Romans (Maldonatus, Grotius, Hilgenfeld), nor to both of these together (Lange). The is not God, but Judas, acting, however, in pursuance of the divine purpose, Act 2:23 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Ver. 45. Sleep on now, and take your rest ] q.d. Do so, if you can, at least. a But now the hour is come, wherein you shall have small either leisure or list to sleep, though never so drowsy spirited, for “the Son of man is betrayed,” &c. Luther readeth the words indicatively, and by way of question, thus, Ah! do ye now sleep and take your rest? Will ye, with Solomon’s drunkard, sleep upon a mast pole? take a nap upon a weather cock? Thus this heavenly eagle, though he love his young ones dearly, yet he pricketh and beateth them out of the nest. The best (as bees) are killed with the honey of flattery, but quickened with the vinegar of reproof.
a Sarcasmus quo egebat discipulorum torpor. Beza.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
45, 46. ] The clause . . . has been variously understood. To take it interrogatively does not improve the sense, and makes an unnatural break in the sentence, which proceeds indicatively afterwards. It seems to me that there can be but two ways of interpreting it and both with an imperative construction. (1) Either it was said bonafide , ‘since ye are not able to watch with Me, now ye may sleep on for my hour is come, and I am about to be taken from you’ which sense however is precluded by the below: or (2) it was said with an understanding of ‘ if you can ’ as Bengel; ‘si me excitantem non auditis, brevi aderunt alii qui vos excitent. Interea dormite, si vacat.’ (Only let us beware of the so-called “deeper sense,” suggested by Wordsw. here, “Now you may hope for sleep and rest (? cf. Mar 13:37 ; 1Th 5:6-7 ), for I am about to die.”)
. = Mark. The implies, ‘ It is enough ’ enough of reproof to them for drowsiness enough of exhortations to watch and pray that was now coming which would cut all this short. This first is hardly to be taken literally of the appearance of Judas and his band; it merely announces the approach of the hour , of which the Lord had so often spoken: but at the utterance of the second , it seems that they were in sight , and that may be taken literally.
This expression, . , should be noticed, as an echo of the Redeemer’s anguish it was the contact with sin , and death, the wages of sin , which all through His trial pressed heavily on His soul.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 26:45 . . . , sleep now and rest; not ironical or reproachful, nor yet seriously meant, but concessive = ye may sleep and rest indefinitely so far as I am concerned; I need no longer your watchful interest. The Master’s time of weakness is past; He is prepared to face the worst. : He expects the worst to begin forthwith: the cup, which He prayed might pass, to be put immediately into His hands. , betrayal the first step, on the point of being taken. , the Sanhedrists, with whom Judas has been bargaining. . .: sudden change of mood, on signs of a hostile approach: arise, let us go; spoken as if by a general to his army. , the traitor is seen to be coming. It is noticeable that throughout the narrative, in speaking of the action of Judas the verb is used instead of : the former expresses the idea of delivering to death, the latter of delivering into the hands of those who sought His life (Euthy. on Mat 26:21 ).
The scene in the garden is intrinsically probable and without doubt historical. The temptation was to suppress rather than to invent in regard both to the behaviour of Jesus and to that of His disciples. It is not the creation of theology, though theology has made its own use of it. It is recorded simply because it was known to have happened.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
now = afterward. Not “now”, for see Mat 26:46. If taken as meaning “henceforth” it must be a question, as in Luk 22:46.
the hour is at hand. See note on Joh 7:6.
the Son of man. See App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
45, 46.] The clause . . . has been variously understood. To take it interrogatively does not improve the sense, and makes an unnatural break in the sentence, which proceeds indicatively afterwards. It seems to me that there can be but two ways of interpreting it-and both with an imperative construction. (1) Either it was said bonafide,-since ye are not able to watch with Me, now ye may sleep on-for my hour is come, and I am about to be taken from you-which sense however is precluded by the below: or (2) it was said with an understanding of if you can as Bengel; si me excitantem non auditis, brevi aderunt alii qui vos excitent. Interea dormite, si vacat. (Only let us beware of the so-called deeper sense, suggested by Wordsw. here, Now you may hope for sleep and rest (? cf. Mar 13:37; 1Th 5:6-7), for I am about to die.)
. = Mark. The implies, It is enough-enough of reproof to them for drowsiness-enough of exhortations to watch and pray-that was now coming which would cut all this short. This first is hardly to be taken literally of the appearance of Judas and his band; it merely announces the approach of the hour, of which the Lord had so often spoken: but at the utterance of the second, it seems that they were in sight, and that may be taken literally.
This expression, . , should be noticed, as an echo of the Redeemers anguish-it was the contact with sin,-and death, the wages of sin,-which all through His trial pressed heavily on His soul.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 26:45. , sleep on now) An imperative, leaving the disciples, as it were to themselves, wholly given up as they were to sleep, and thus exciting them so much the more urgently by tenderness joined with severity. It is not an instance of irony, but metonymy, q.d. You do not listen to Me when attempting to rouse you, others soon will come and rouse yon. In the meanwhile sleep, if you have leisure for so doing. In St Luke (Luk 22:46) we find why sleep ye? with an interrogation, which some have introduced into St Matthew and St Mark.-, take your rest), as Sleep is opposed to Watching, so Rest to the labour of prayer.- , the hour) often foretold. In Mat 26:18 He had said less definitely My time.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
sinners
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Sleep on: That is, as it is well paraphrased by Euthymius, “Since you have thus far failed to watch, sleep on the rest of the time, and take your rest, if you can.” 1Ki 18:27, Ecc 11:9
the hour: Mat 26:2, Mat 26:14, Mat 26:15, Mar 14:41, Mar 14:42, Luk 22:53, Joh 13:1, Joh 17:1
Reciprocal: 1Ki 22:15 – Go and prosper 2Ch 18:14 – Go ye up 2Ch 25:8 – be strong Isa 29:9 – General Amo 4:4 – Come Jon 1:5 – and was Luk 22:47 – while
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:45
Jesus perceived the depressed condition of his disciples and decided to let them sleep undisturbed for a little while since the critical hour was about on hands. Is betrayed is in the present tense as to grammatical form but really means “is to be betrayed.” Yet it is put in this form to indicate the event was very near.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 26:45. Sleep on now. Not do ye still sleep? but a permission, i.e., Sleep on now, if you can. It is not ironical; the circumstances forbid that. They could not take their rest, for the betrayer was coming.
Behold, the hour is at hand. The hour of His enemies, the hour of darkness (Luk 22:53), but with special reference to the approach of the betrayer. It is not certain that the band of Judas had already appeared.
Is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Our Lord had predicted (chap. Mat 20:18-19), that He would be delivered to the chief priests and Gentiles; sinners here includes both. There is special significance in the choice of this word at such a time.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our Saviour having poured out his soul in prayer to God in the garden, he is now ready, and waits for the coming of his enemies; being first in the field: accordingly, while he yet spake, came Judas, one of the twelve, and under his conduct a band of soldiers to apprehend him. It was the lot and portion of our blessed Redeemer to be betrayed into the hands of his mortal enemies, by the treachery of a false and dissembling friend.
Observe here, The traitor, the treason, the manner how, and the time when, this treasonable design was executed.
Observe, 1. The betrayer, Judas; all the evangelists carefully describe him by his name, Judas, by his surname, Iscariot; lest he should be mistaken for Jude, the brother of James. God is tender and careful of the names and reputations of his upright-hearted servants. He is also described by his office, one of the twelve. The eminence of his place of station was an high aggravation of his transgression. Nay, in some respect he was preferred above the rest, having a peculiar trust reposed in him; he bare the bag: that is, he was almoner and steward of Christ’s family, to take care for the necessary accommodations of Christ and his apostles; and yet this man, thus called, thus honoured, thus respectfully treated, by Christ, for the lucre of a little money perfidiously betrays him. O whither will not a bad heart, and a busy devil, carry a man!
Learn hence, 1. That the greatest professors had need be jealous of their own hearts, and look well to the grounds and principles of their profession. A profession begun in hypocrisy, will certainly end in apostasy.
Learn, 2. That persons are never in such imminent danger, as when they meet with temptations exactly suited to their master-lust. Covetousness was Judas’s master-sin; the love of the world made him a slave to Satan, and the devil lays a temptation before him which suits his temper, hits his humour, and it prevails immediately. O pray, pray that ye may be kept from a strong and suitable temptation, a temptation suited to your predominant lust and inclination.
Observe, 2. As the betrayer Judas, so the treason itself, with its aggravating circumstances: he led an armed multitude to the place where Christ was, gave them a signal to discover him, and encouraged them to lay hands upon him, and hold him fast. This was the hellish design Satan put into his heart, and it has these aggravating circumstances attending it. He had seen the miracles which Christ wrought by the power of God, and could not but know him to be a Divine Person. He could not sin out of ignorance or blind zeal, but the love of money made him do what he did.
Farther, what he did was not done by the persuasions of any, but he was a volunteer in this service. The high priest neither sent to him, nor sent for him, but he offers his service, and no doubt they were very much surprised to find one of Christ’s own disciples at the head of a conspiracy against him.
Learn hence, That no man knows where he shall stop or stand when he first enters the ways of sin; should any one have told Judas, that his love of money would at last so far prevail upon him, as to make him sell the blood of Jesus Christ, he would have answered, as Hazael did Elisha, Is thy servant a dog, that I should do this thing? Wickedness, like holiness, doth not presently come to its full strength in the soul, but grows up by insensible degrees. Men do not commence masters in the art of villany in an instant; they begin first with lesser, then with greater sins; first wih secret, then with open sins. Doubtless Judas was an old though secret sinner; surely he could not immediately attain to such an height of impudence, and so great a degree of stupidity.
Hear, ye professors of religion, ye that partake of ordinances, frequent sacraments, take heed of living as Judas did, in the allowed commission of any secret sin, to the wasting of your consciences, and the destroying of your souls.
Observe, 3. The manner how this hellish plot was executed; partly by force, and partly by fraud: by force, in that he came with a multitude armed with swords and staves: and by fraud; he gives him a kiss, and says, Hail, Master. Here was the honey in the tongue, and poison in the heart. This treacherous kiss enhanced his crime beyond expression. O vilest of hypocrites, how durst thou approach so near thy Lord in the exercise of so much baseness and ingratitude! But none sin with so much impudence and abstinacy as apostates.
Learn we hence, To beware of men: when we see too, too glittering appearances, we may suspect the inside. Charity for others is our duty, but too great confidence may be our snare. There is so much hypocrisy in many, and so much corruption in all, that we must not be too confident.
Observe, 4. The time when this treasonable design was executed upon Christ; when he was in the garden with his disciples, exhorting them to prayer and watchfulness, dropping heavenly and most seasonable counsels upon them. While he yet spake, lo, Judas came, and the multitude with him. Judas found Christ in the most heavenly and excellent employment, when he came to apprehend him. O how happy is it, when our sufferings find us in God’s way, engaged in his service, and engaging his assistance by fervent supplication? Thus did our Lord’s sufferings meet him; may they so meet us!
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Jesus’ statement, translated as a question in the NASB and NIV versions, though more properly as a statement in the AV, reflected the irony of the moment (cf. Mat 23:2-3). [Note: C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek, p. 161.] Time that the disciples should have spent praying was past. Jesus’ arrest and their temptation were at hand. They might as well sleep on.
The irony continues. The Son of Man’s betrayer was about to hand Him who is the Messiah over to sinners. Jesus probably saw and heard the group that Judas led making its was across the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane.
"His hour is come, and He is anxious to fulfill all that is required of Him." [Note: Plummer, p. 372.]
Jesus had prayed and now met His temptation with strength and dignity, and He overcame it. The disciples had slept and now met theirs with weakness and fear, and they fell before it.