John 18

18:3The Jewish religious leaders were given authority by the Romans to make arrests for minor infractions. The Roman soldiers may not have participated in the arrest but accompanied the Temple guards to make sure matters didn’t get out of control. Antonia Fortress . {later Praetorium?).:.. BETRAYAL IN THE GARDEN After eating the Passover meal in the upper room, Jesus and his disciples went to Gethsemane, where Judas led the Temple guard to arrest Jesus. Jesus was then taken to Caiaphas’s house for his first of many trials.

18:4,5John does not record Judas’s kiss of greeting (Matthew 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:47, 48), but Judas’s kiss marked a turning point for the disciples. With Jesus’ arrest, each one’s life would be radically different. For the first time, Judas openly betrayed Jesus before the other disciples. For the first time, Jesus’ loyal disciples ran away from him (Matthew 26:56). The band of disciples would undergo severe testing before they were transformed from hesitant followers to dynamic leaders.

18:5,6The men may have been startled by the boldness of Jesus’ question or by the words “I Am he,” a declaration of his divinity (Exodus 3:14). Or perhaps they were overcome by his obvious power and authority.

18:10,11Trying to protect Jesus, Peter pulled a sword and wounded the high priest's slave. But Jesus told Peter to put away his sword and allow God's plan to unfold. At times it is tempting to take matters into our own hands, to force the issue. Most often such moves lead to sin. Instead, we must trust God to work out his plan. Think of it—if Peter had had his way, Jesus would not have gone to the cross, and God's plan of redemption would have been thwarted. Luke records that Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him (Luke 22:51).

18:11“The cup” refers to the suffering, isolation, and death that Jesus would have to endure in order to atone for the sins of the world.

18:12,13Jesus was immediately taken to the high priest's residence, even though this was the middie of the night. The religious leaders were in a hurry—they wanted to complete the execution before the Sabbath and get on with the Passover celebration. This residence was a palace whose outer wails enclosed a courtyard, where servants and soldiers could warm themselves around a fire.

18:13Both Annas and Caiaphas had been high priests. Annas was Israel's high priest from A.D. 6 to 15, when he was deposed by Roman rulers. Caiaphas, Annas’s son-in-law, was appointed high priest from A.D. 18 to 36/37. According to Jewish law, the Office of high priest was held for life. Many Jews, therefore, still considered Annas the high priest and still called him by that title. But although Annas retained much authority among the Jews, Caiaphas made the final decisions. Both Caiaphas and Annas cared more about their political ambitions than about their responsibility to lead the people to God. Though religious leaders, they had become evil. As the nation’s spiritual leaders, they should have been sensitive to God's revelation. They should have known that Jesus was the Messiah about whom the Scriptures spoke, and they should have pointed the people to him. But when deceitful men and women pursue evil, they want to eliminate all opposition. Instead of honestly evaluating Jesus’ claims based on their knowledge of Scripture, these religious leaders sought to further their own selfish ambitions and were even willing to kill God’s Son. if that’s what it took, to do it.

18:15,16The other disciple is probably John, the author of this Gospel. He knew the high priest and identified himself to the woman at the door. Because of his connections, John got himself and Peter into the courtyard. But Peter refused to identify himself as Jesus’ follower, Peter’s experiences in the next few hours would change his life. For more information about Peter, see his Profile in Matthew 27, p. 1603.

18:19ffDuring the night, Jesus had a pretrial hearing before Annas prior to being taken to Caiaphas and the entire high council (Mark 14:53-65). The religious leaders knew they had no grounds for charging Jesus, so they tried to build evidence against him by using false witnesses (Mark 14:55-59).

18:22-27We can easily blame the high council for their injustice in condemning Jesus, but we must remember that Peter and the rest of the disciples also contributed to Jesus’ pain by deserting and denying him (Matthew 26:56, 75). While most of us are not like the religious leaders, we are all like the disciples, for all of us have been guilty of denying that Christ is LORD in vital areas of our lives or of keeping secret our identity as believers in times of pressure. Don’t excuse yourself by pointing at others whose sins seem worse than yours. Instead, come to Jesus for forgiveness and healing.

18:25The other three Gospels say that Peter’s three denials happened near a fire in the courtyard outside Caiaphas’s palace. John places the first denial outside Annas’s home and the other two denials outside Caiaphas’s home. This was very likely the same courtyard. The high priest's compound was large, and Annas and Gaiaphas undoubtedly lived near each other.

18:25-27|magine standing outside while Jesus, your LORD and Master, is questioned. imagine watching this man, whom you have come to believe is the long-awaited Messiah, being abused and beaten, Naturally Peter was confused and afraid. It is a serious sin to deny Christ, but Jesus forgave Peter (21:15-17). No sin is too great for Jesus to forgive if you are truly repentant. He will forgive even your worst sin if you turn from it and ask his pardon.

18:27This fulfilled Jesus’ words to Peter after he promised he would never deny him (Mark 14:31; John 13:38).

18:28By Jewish law, entering the house of a Gentile would cause a Jewish person to be ceremonially defiled. As a result, he could not take part in worship at the Temple or celebrate the festivals until he was restored to a state of “cleanness.” Afraid of being A es i PPPEEE Po a JESUS’ TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION Jesus was taken from trial before the Jewish high council to trial before the Roman governor, Pilate, in Pilate’s palace. Pilate sent him to Herod (Luke 23:5-12), but Herod just returned Jesus to Pilate. Responding to threats from the mob, Pilate finally turned Jesus over to be crucified. defiled, these men stayed outside the house where they had taken Jesus for trial. They kept the ceremonia! requirements of their religion while harboring murder and treachery in their hearts.

18:29This Roman governor, Pilate, was in charge of Judea (the region where Jerusalem was located) from A.D. 26 to 36. Pilate was unpopular with the Jews because he had raided the Temple treasuries for money to build an aqueduct. He did not like the Jews, but when Jesus, the King of the Jews, stood before him, Pilate found him innocent.

18:30Pilate knew what was going on; he knew that the refigious leaders hated Jesus, and he did not want to act as their executioner. They could not sentence him to death themselves—permission had to come from a Roman leader. But Pilate initially refused to sentence Jesus without sufficient evidence. Jesus’ tife became a pawn ina political power struggle.

18:31ffPilate made four attempts to deal with Jesus: (1) He tried to put the responsibility on someone else (18:31); (2) he tried to find a way of escape so he could release Jesus (18:39); (3) he tried to compromise by having Jesus flogged rather than handing him over to die (19:1-3); and (4) he tried a direct appeal to the sympathy of the accusers (19:15). Everyone has to decide what to do with Jesus, Pilate tried to let everyone else decide for him— and in the end, he lost.

18:32This prediction is recorded in Matthew 20:19 and John

18:34If Pilate was asking this question in his role as the Roman governor, he would have been inquiring whether Jesus was setting up a rebel government. But the Jews were using the word king to mean their religious ruler, the Messiah. Israet was a captive nation, under the authority of the Roman Empire. A rival king might have threatened Rome; a Messiah could have been a purely religious leader.

18:36,37Pilate asked Jesus a straightforward question, and Jesus answered clearly. Jesus is a King, but one whose Kingdom is not of this world. There seems to have been no question in Pilate’s mind that Jesus spoke the truth and was innocent of any crime. It also seems apparent that while recognizing the truth, Pilate chose to reject it. it is a tragedy when we fail to recognize the truth. {tis a greater tragedy when we recognize the truth but fail to heed it.

18:38Pilate was cynical; he thought that all truth was relative. To many government officials, truth was whatever the majority of people agreed with or whatever helped advance their own personal power and political goals. When there is no standard or acknowlédgement of truth, there is no basis for moral right and wrong. Justice becomes whatever works or whatever helps those in power. ln Jesus and his Word we have a standard for truth and for our moral behavior.

18:40Barabbas was a rebel against Rome, and although he had committed murder, he was probably a hero among the Jews. The Jews hated being governed by Rome and paying taxes to the despised government. Barabbas, who had led a rebellion and failed, was released instead of Jesus, the only one who could truly help Israel. For more on Barabbas, see the note on Luke 23:18, 19.