"... After Jesus has gone off three times to pray, asking God if the cup may pass from before him and declaring his obedience, Judas approaches with a large, armed crowd (Matthew 26:36–46). When Jesus is seized, one of the disciples in the garden reacts impulsively, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus, turning to his disciple, says, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53). While reflecting traditions of protecting angels evidenced in the temptation narrative, Matthew also capitalizes on traditions that portray angels as warriors at God’s command. For example, there are traditions of angels participating in an apocalyptic holy war (1QM 10:3–5; 12:7–9; 13:10; Revelation 12:7) and 2 Baruch 51:11 speaks of the army of angels ready at the Lord’s command (compare Zechariah 14:5). In addition, one must not forget descriptions of the angel that destroyed 185,000 Assyrians single-handedly (2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles 32:21; Isaiah 37:36; compare Psalm 34:7; 35:5–6). This is recounted vividly in 2 Baruch 63:5–11, where Hezekiah prays to the Mighty One for relief from the attacks of Sennacherib ..."