Why Are You Here? (Matthew 26:50)

In this short article, Prof. Bruce walks us through the words that Jesus spoke to Judas when Judas came to the garden to betray him. This article is a good example of how we work through a translation issue in the text of Scripture. Is this saying of Jesus a question, as the RSV and KJV render it? Or is it an exclamation, or, as the ESV, NIV and NEB render it, an adjectival clause—describing what Judas came to do?

Summary: Intro — translation issue — the adjective “friend” — the clause, lit. “that for which you are here” — the clause in secular usage — Matthew’s use of the clause — one further suggestion — conclusion.

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Frederick Fyvie Bruce (1910 – 1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester. He was born in Elgin, northern Scotland, and was educated at the University of Aberdeen, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Vienna. He wrote over thirty books and served as editor of The Evangelical Quarterly. He retired from teaching in 1978.

Bruce was a distinguished scholar, best known for his book, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. He also wrote commentaries on the Gospel of John, Acts, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and the Epistle to the Hebrews.

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This article first appeared in Hard Sayings of Jesus. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983). It is reproduced here,  edited (with summary) exclusively for the Krapf Project by permission of F.F. Bruce, Copyright International, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and Bath, England.