Luke 22:52-53

Luke 22:52-53

[52] Then  Jesus  said  unto  the chief priests,  and  captains  of the temple,  and  the elders,  which were come  to  him,  Be ye come out,  as  against  a thief,  with  swords  and  staves?  [53] daily  with  in  the temple,  ye stretched forth  no  hands  against  but  this  hour,  and  the power  of darkness. 

What does Luke 22:52-53 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

By mentioning the representatives of the various groups-religious, military, and political-that had come to arrest Jesus, Luke highlighted the absurdity of their action, which Jesus identified. These were all leaders of the Jews, not common Israelites. They had come prepared for a fight, but Jesus assured them that He would not give them one. If they wanted to arrest Him, it would have been easier to do so in the temple in daylight. They did not do the deed then, of course, because they feared the people ( Luke 19:48; Luke 20:19; Luke 22:2). By coming when and as they did, they only made the hypocrisy of their action more obvious.
"Hour" designates a time of destiny or opportunity. The power (Gr. exousia, "reigns" NIV, cf. Luke 4:6; Luke 23:7) of darkness is the authority of Satan that God gave him for that time. Coming after dark symbolized the power of darkness that was active behind their action.
"Each of us must decide whether we will go through life pretending, like Judas; or fighting, like Peter; or yielding to God"s perfect will, like Jesus." [1]