Matthew 26:46

46. Behold, he is at hand ” As I sat beneath the olives, and observed how very near the city was, with what perfect ease a person there could survey at a glance the entire length of the eastern wall, and the slope of the hill towards the valley, I could not divest myself of the impression that this local peculiarity should be allowed to explain a passage in the account of the Saviour’s apprehension. Every one must have noticed something abrupt in his summons to the disciples: ‘Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.’ Matthew 26:46. It is not improbable that his watchful eye at that moment caught sight of Judas and his accomplices, as they issued from one of the eastern gates, or turned round the northern or southern corner of the walls, in order to descend into the valley. Even if the night was dark, he could have seen the torches which they carried, and could have felt no uncertainty respecting the object of such a movement at that unseasonable hour.” Prof. Hackett.