Bible Strands
Mark 14:48
Jesus asked the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the armed crowd and temple officers arriving to seize Him, immediately following a bystander’s strike against the high priest’s servant.
The words — ἀποκριθεὶς (apokritheis) means “answering,” and ὡς (hōs) translates as “as,” structuring Jesus’ direct response to the approaching group.
The thread — The account parallels the parallel arrest narrative in Luke 22:52 and echoes David’s questioning of Saul’s pursuit in 1 Samuel 24:14 and 1 Samuel 26:18.
Why it lands — The text notes Jesus contrasting the violent, clandestine timing of His capture with His open daily teaching, pointing to the fulfillment of Scripture.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 26:18 And he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?
- Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?
- 1 Samuel 24:14 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
- Matthew 26:55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.