John 18

John 18:1

VIII. THE SON OF GOD’S PASSION AND DEATH (Chaps. 18, 19) A. Judas Betrays the Lord (18:1-11) 18:1 The words of chapters 13-17 were spoken in Jerusalem. Now Jesus left the city and walked eastward toward the Mount of Olives. In doing so, He crossed the Brook Kidron and came to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was on the western slope of Olivet. 18:2, 3 Judas knew that the Lord spent a great deal of time praying in the garden. He knew that the most likely place to find the Lord was in the place of prayer. The detachment of troops was probably Roman soldiers; whereas the officers were Jewish officials, representing the chief priests and Pharisees. They came with lanterns, torches, and weapons. They came to seek the Light of the world with lanterns.18:4 The Lord went forward to meet them, without waiting for them to find Him. This demonstrated His willingness to go to the cross. The soldiers could have left their weapons at home; the Savior would not resist. The question Whom are you seeking? was designed to draw forth from their own lips the nature of their mission. 18:5 They sought Jesus of Nazareth, little realizing that He was their Creator and their Sustainerthe best Friend they ever had. Jesus said, I am. (The He is not found in the original, but needed in English.) He meant not only that He was Jesus of Nazareth but that He was Jehovah as well. As mentioned previously, I AM is one of the Names of Jehovah in the OT. Did this cause Judas to wonder afresh, as he stood with the others in the crowd? 18:6 For a brief moment, the Lord Jesus had revealed Himself to them as the I AM, the Almighty God. The revelation was so overpowering that they drew back and fell to the ground. 18:7 Again the Lord asked them to tell Him whom they were seeking. And again the answer was the samein spite of the effect which two words of Christ had just had upon them. 18:8, 9 Again Jesus answered that He was the One, and that He was Jehovah. I have told you that I AM. Since they sought Him, He told them that they should let the disciples go their way. It is wonderful to see His unselfish interest in others at a time when His own life was in peril. Thus, too, the words of Joh_17:12 were fulfilled. 18:10 Simon Peter thought the time had come to use violence in an effort to save his Master from the crowd. Acting without instructions from the Lord, he drew his sword and struck the high priest’s servant. Undoubtedly he intended to kill him, but the sword was deflected by an Unseen Hand, so that it cut off only his right ear. 18:11 Jesus rebuked the ill-advised zeal of Peter. The cup of suffering and death had been given to Him by His Father, and He intended to drink it. Luke, the physician, recorded how the Lord touched and healed Malchus’ ear at this point (Luk_22:51).

John 18:12

B. Jesus Arrested and Bound (18:12-14) 18:12, 13 This was the first time that wicked men had been able to lay hold of Jesus and to tie up His arms. Annas had been high priest previously. It is not clear why Jesus should have been brought to him first, rather than to Caiaphas, his son-in-law, who was high priest at the time. What is important to see is that Jesus was first put on trial before the Jews in an attempt to prove Him guilty of blasphemy and heresy. That was what we might call a religious trial. Then He was taken to be tried before the Roman authorities, and here the attempt was made to prove that He was an enemy of Caesar. That was the civil trial. Since the Jews were under Roman rule, they had to work through the Roman courts. They could not carry out the death penalty, for instance. This must be done by Pilate. 18:14 John explained that the high priest was the same Caiaphas who had prophesied that one man should die for the nation (see Joh_11:50). He was now about to have part in the fulfillment of the prophecy. James Stewart writes: This was the man who was the accredited guardian of the nation’s soul. He had been set apart to be the supreme interpreter and representative of the Most High. To him was committed the glorious privilege of entering once every year into the holy of holies. Yet this was the man who condemned the Son of God. History provides no more startling illustration of the truth that the best religious opportunities in the world and the most promising environment will not guarantee a man’s salvation or of themselves ennoble his soul. Then I saw, says John Bunyan, closing his book, that there was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven.

John 18:15

C. Peter Denies His Lord (18:15-18) 18:15 Most Bible scholars believe that the other disciple mentioned here was John, but that humility prevented him from mentioning his own name, especially in view of Peter’s shameful failure. We are not told how John had become so well known to the high priest, but it is a fact that gained him admittance into the courtyard. 18:16, 17 Peter was not able to get in until John went out and spoke to the woman who was the doorkeeper. Looking back, we wonder if it was a kindness for John to use his influence in this way. It is significant that Peter’s first denial of the Lord was not before a powerful, terrifying soldier, but before a simple servant girt who kept the door. He denied that he was a disciple of Jesus. 18:18 Peter now mingled with the enemies of his Lord and tried to conceal his identity. Like many another disciple, he warmed himself at this world’s fire.

John 18:19

D. Jesus Before the High Priest (18:19-24) 18:19 It is not clear whether the high priest here is Annas or Caiaphas. If it was Annas, as seems most likely, he was probably called high priest out of courtesy because he once held this office. The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His teachings, as if these posed a threat to the Mosaic Law and the Roman government. It is obvious that these people had no real case against the Lord, and so they were trying to make one up. 18:20 Jesus answered him that His ministry had been carried on openly. He had nothing to hide. He had taught in the presence of the Jews, both in synagogues and in the temple. There was no secrecy. 18:21 This was a challenge to bring forth some of the Jews who had listened to Him. Let them bring charges against Him. If He had done or said something wrong, let the witnesses be produced. 18:22 The challenge obviously irritated the Jews. It left them without a case. And so they resorted to abuse. One of the officers slapped Jesus for speaking to the high priest like that. 18:23 With perfect poise and unanswerable logic, the Savior showed the unfairness of their position. They could not accuse Him of speaking evil; yet they struck Him for telling the truth. 18:24 The preceding verses describe the questioning before Annas. The trial before Caiaphas is not described by John. It fits in between 18:24 and Joh_18:28.

John 18:25

E. Peter’s Second and Third Denials (18:25-27) 18:25 The narrative now turns back to Simon Peter. In the cold of the early morning hours, he warmed himself by the fire. Doubtless his clothing and accent indicated that he was a Galilean fisherman. The one standing with him asked if he was a disciple of this Jesus. But he denied the Lord again. 18:26 Now it was a relative of Malchus who spoke to Peter. He had seen Peter cut off his relative’s ear. Did I not see you in the garden with this Jesus?18:27 Peter for the third time denied the Lord. Immediately, he heard the crowing of a rooster and was reminded of the words of the Lord, The rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times. From the other Gospels we know that Peter went out at this point and wept bitterly.

John 18:28

F. Jesus Before Pilate (18:28-40) 18:28 The religious trial was ended, and the civil trial is about to begin. The scene is the hall of judgment or the palace of the governor. The Jews did not want to go into the palace of a Gentile. They felt that they would have been defiled and would thus be prevented from eating the Passover. It did not seem to bother them that they were plotting the death of the Son of God. It would have been a tragedy for them to enter a Gentile house, but murder was a mere trifle. Augustine remarks: O impious blindness! They would be defiled, forsooth, by a dwelling which was another’s, and not be defiled by a crime which was their own. They feared to be defiled by the praetorium of an alien judge, and feared not to be defiled by the blood of an innocent brother. Hall comments: Woe unto you priests, scribes, elders, hypocrites! Can there be any roof so unclean as that of your own breasts? Not Pilate’s walls, but your own hearts, are impure. Is murder your errand, and do you stop at a local infection? God shall smite you, ye white walls! Do you long to be stained with bloodwith the blood of God? And do ye fear to be defiled with the touch of Pilate’s pavement? Doth so small a gnat stick in your throats, while ye swallow such a camel of flagitious wickedness? Go out of Jerusalem, ye false disbelievers, if ye would not be unclean! Pilate hath more cause to fear, lest his walls should be defiled with the presence of such prodigious monsters of iniquity. Poole remarks, Nothing is more common than for persons overzealous about rituals to be remiss about morals. The expression that they might eat the Passover probably means the feast which followed the Passover. The Passover itself had been held on the previous night. 18:29 Pilate, the Roman Governor, gave in to the religious scruples of the Jews by going out to where they were. He began the trial by asking them to state the charge against this Prisoner. 18:30 Their answer was bold and rude. They said, in effect, that they had already tried the case and found Him guilty. All they wanted Pilate to do was to pronounce the sentence. 18:31 Pilate tried to evade responsibility and throw it back on the Jews. If they had already tried Jesus and found Him guilty, then why did they not sentence Him according to their law? The answer of the Jews was very significant. They said, in so many words: We are not an independent nation. We have been taken over by the Roman power. Civil government has been taken from our hands, and we no longer have the authority to put anyone to death. Their answer was evidence of their bondage and subjection to a Gentile power. Furthermore, they wanted to shift the odium of Christ’s death onto Pilate. 18:32 Verse 32 may have two different meanings: (1) In Mat_20:19, Jesus had predicted that He would be delivered up to the Gentiles to be killed. Here the Jews were doing that very thing to Him. (2) In many places, the Lord said that He would be lifted up (Joh_3:14; Joh_8:28; Joh_12:32, Joh_12:34). This referred to death by crucifixion. The Jews used stoning in cases of capital punishment; whereas crucifixion was the Roman method. Thus, by their refusal to carry out the death penalty, the Jews unknowingly fulfilled these two prophecies concerning the Messiah (see also Psa_22:16). 18:33 Pilate now took Jesus into the Praetorium for a private interview and asked Him point blankAre You the King of the Jews?18:34 Jesus answered him, in effect, As governor, have you ever heard that I tried to overthrow the Roman power? Has it ever been reported to you that I proclaimed myself a King who would undermine Caesar’s empire? Is this a charge which you know by personal experience, or is it just what you have heard these Jews saying?18:35 There was real contempt in Pilate’s question, Am I a Jew? He implied that he was too important to be troubled with such a local Jewish problem. But his answer was also an admission that he knew of no real charge against Jesus. He only knew what the rulers of the Jews had said. 18:36 The Lord then confessed He was a King. But not the kind of king the Jews accused Him of being. And not the kind that would threaten Rome. Christ’s kingdom is not advanced by human weapons. Otherwise His disciples would fight to prevent His capture by the Jews. Christ’s kingdom is not from here, that is, not of this world. It does not receive its power or authority from the world; its aims and objectives are not carnal. 18:37 When Pilate asked Him if He was a king, … Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. But His kingdom is concerned with truth, not with swords and shields. It was to bear witness to the truth that He came into the world. The truth here means the truth about God, Christ Himself, the Holy Spirit, man, sin, salvation, and all the other great doctrines of Christianity. Everyone who loves the truth hears His voice, and that is how His empire grows. 18:38 It is difficult to say what Pilate meant when he said to Him, What is truth? Was he puzzled, or sarcastic, or interested? All we know is that the Truth Incarnate stood before him, and he did not recognize Him. Pilate now hurried to the Jews with the admission that he could find no fault in Jesus at all. 18:39 It was the custom among the Jews at the Passover to request the release of some Jewish prisoner from the Romans. Pilate seized upon this custom in an effort to please the Jews and at the same time release Jesus. 18:40 The scheme failed. The Jews did not want Jesus; they wanted Barabbas. Barabbas was a robber. The wicked heart of man preferred a bandit to the Creator.