Matthew 26:55-56. “In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take Me? I sat daily with you teaching in hte temple, and ye laid no hold on Me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled.”
Indeed, one wonders why such a militant group came to arrest Jesus, Who had been a friend to them; eaten with them; taught them in the temple; healed their sick and cast demons out of some of them. Why did they think they needed swords and cudgels to take Him?
It was, of course, a fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 13:7).
I believe, as well, that they knew they were doing wrong and they were doing all they could to make it seem right and justifiable. As we move into the “trial” of Jesus, we’ll saw all the efforts that were made by the Jewish leaders to make their case plausible to the Romans, who had the power of execution.
Linda's Bible Study 