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Matthew 26:55
ESV At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.
NIV In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, 'Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.
NASB At that time Jesus said to the crowds, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me.
CSB At that time Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn't arrest me.
NLT Then Jesus said to the crowd, 'Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day.
KJV 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 the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

What does Matthew 26:55 mean?

Jesus has rebuked Peter (Matthew 26:51–52) and any other disciples who may have been thinking about jumping in to fight those who had come to arrest the Lord. If Jesus Christ had not wanted to be arrested, He would not have needed their help. The power of heaven would be unleashed on His behalf (Matthew 26:53). In fact, their decision to battle with swords would just get them killed. Jesus is going to go with those who have come for Him because He wants to (John 18:4–8), because it is His Father's will (Matthew 26:42), and because it is how He will fulfill the prophecies about Him (Matthew 26:54).

However, just because Christ knows what will happen (Matthew 16:21) and goes willingly, that does not mean He won't point out the absurdity of the situation. He turns toward those who have come in a large mob, with swords and clubs, in a secluded garden, in the dark of night. He mocks them by asking if they came to arrest a robber. Did they expect Him to put up a fight? He points out that He spent many days teaching publicly, coming and going freely, and they didn't seize Him then.

Jesus knows why this is, and so do most of the men who came to make the arrest. The Jewish religious leaders don't want to stir up the crowds who respected Jesus and thought of Him as a prophet of God (John 11:47–48, 57). They did not want to threaten their position with the people. They wanted to get rid of Jesus quietly, under cover of darkness, which they would attempt to do this very night before the people could figure out what was going on. Part of that plan is to pin Jesus' death on the already-hated Romans (Matthew 27:1–2; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:32).
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