John 18
Summary for John 18:1-40: 18:1-40 a After completing his farewell in the upper room (13:31–17:26 b), Jesus left the city and entered a garden just east of Jerusalem to pray. Here he was arrested, taken under guard into the city, and interrogated by the Jewish leaders. The climactic “time” that Jesus referred to repeatedly throughout the Gospel (see 2:4 c; see also study note on 12:23) was now at hand.Summary for John 18:1-2: 18:1-2 d Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley, a dry river valley (a wadi ) outside Jerusalem’s walls on the city’s east edge.
• The Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32 e) was a grove of olive trees that grew along the west shoulder of the Mount of Olives (gath shemaney means “olive press” in Aramaic). Jesus liked this place and frequently prayed there (see John 8:1 f; Luke 21:37 g; 22:39 h).
18:3 i John’s full description of the arresting party expands the picture from the other Gospels. The Temple authorities sent Roman soldiers and Temple guards; while the Temple guards made the arrest, the Roman detachment stood by to prevent a riot. The Roman detachment was large enough to warrant a commander (18:12 j) and came armed, anticipating a struggle (18:10 k). Numerous men had claimed to be the Messiah, and often they had made politically explosive attempts to expel the Romans.
18:5 l I Am he (literally I am): Jesus identified himself by the divine name God had revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exod 3:14 m; see also John 4:26 n; 8:24 o, 58 p).
18:6 q The soldiers and guards all drew back before the Lord (cp. Isa 6:5 r; Ezek 1:28 s; Dan 10:9 t; Acts 9:4 u; Rev 1:17 v). Even Roman soldiers, who were trained not to fall, fell to the ground before Christ. Although they took this posture of submission, they didn’t really understand what had occurred and proceeded with the arrest.
18:8 w I Am: Jesus used God’s divine name for the second time (see study note on 18:5).
18:9 x I did not lose a single one: Jesus continued to be a good shepherd, offering his life for the sheep and protecting them from the wolves (10:11-15 y). From the beginning, however, Judas Iscariot had not been a true disciple of Jesus (17:12 z).
Summary for John 18:10-11: 18:10-11 aa Simon Peter drew a short sword or a long knife that was generally worn with everyday garments.
• The Hebrew name Malchus means “king,” a detail that John might have included for its wordplay on Jesus’ true identity (see 18:36-37 ab; 19:19 ac).
• Put your sword back: Jesus’ mission was not to fight for his life, but to die for ours.
Summary for John 18:12-14: 18:12-14 ad Jesus was bound by the soldiers and returned to Jerusalem.
• First they took him to Annas, who had been the high priest and remained highly influential (five of his sons also became high priests). Caiaphas, his son-in-law, was the official high priest at that time (see 18:24 ae).
18:14 af one man should die for the people: Caiaphas had previously made this political analysis (11:49-50 ag). John points out the irony of this statement. Jesus’ death did not bring Israel political salvation—it brought spiritual salvation to all who believe.
18:15 ah That other disciple is unnamed but was probably the “disciple Jesus loved” (13:23 ai)—John, the author of this Gospel.
Summary for John 18:16-17: 18:16-17 aj During Jesus’ interrogation by Annas (18:12-14 ak, 19-24 al), the woman watching at the gate asked Peter if he was one of that man’s disciples. In contrast to Jesus, who stood up to his questioners and denied nothing, Peter quickly denied his link to Jesus three times (18:17 am, 25 an, 27 ao).
18:19 ap The high priest began asking Jesus questions, but his inquiry was contrary to Jewish legal procedure. In Jewish court, the priest did not ask questions directly of the defendant but accumulated evidence from witnesses to establish guilt (see Num 35:30 aq; Deut 17:6 ar; 19:15 as; cp. Matt 18:16 at). If Jesus said anything incriminating, Annas would later use it to testify against him at Jesus’ trial. He was attempting to follow Roman practice by making Jesus incriminate himself, rather than gathering evidence through witnesses as Jewish law demanded.
Summary for John 18:20-21: 18:20-21 au Jesus’ sharp answer, reminding Annas that everything was in the public record, unmasked the priest’s attempt to follow Roman practice.
Summary for John 18:22-23: 18:22-23 av When Jesus reminded Annas of correct judicial procedure, one of the Temple guards viewed it as insolence and slapped Jesus. However, Jesus knew the law and represented it truthfully. No witnesses were accusing him, and no evidence was being presented.
18:24 aw Annas was at an impasse—his probing had been unsuccessful. So he sent Jesus to Caiaphas to be prosecuted before the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s judicial high council (see Mark 14:53–15:1 ax).
Summary for John 18:25-27: 18:25-27 ay He denied it: Peter’s three denials were later echoed when Jesus invited him three times to reaffirm his love (21:15-17 az).
18:28 ba The trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Since they did not have the power of capital punishment (18:31 bb), the Sanhedrin needed to enlist Pilate, the Roman governor, to carry out an execution.
• it would defile them: They did not want to become ritually unclean by contact with Gentiles in Pilate’s headquarters. So Pilate, probably fearing a riot, went outside to meet them.
• The Passover meal itself had occurred the night before (see 13:1 bc; Mark 14:14-16 bd). The following day, another meal began the weeklong Festival of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:5-6 be).
18:29 bf Pilate, the fifth Roman governor of Judea, ruled the country from AD 26 to 36. He usually lived on the coast in Caesarea, but kept troops stationed in a fortress in Jerusalem where he appeared personally for major festivals. He was a brutal ruler whose atrocities against the Jews were legendary (e.g., Luke 13:1 bg; Josephus, War 2.9.2-4).
Summary for John 18:31-32: 18:31-32 bh Pilate found the charges unsatisfying and told the Sanhedrin, judge him by your own law. Pilate saw this as a Jewish squabble, which he refused to investigate. The Jewish leaders, however, insisted that an execution was necessary.
• fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die (see 12:32-33 bi): The Jews would have employed stoning; the Romans used crucifixion. If Pilate delivered Jesus’ sentence, he would be crucified.
18:33 bj Pilate was personally responsible for capital crimes in which the interests and security of the Roman Empire were at stake, so he began his formal legal inquiry.
• Are you the king of the Jews? To get the governor’s attention, Caiaphas had charged that Jesus had urged people not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and had claimed to be a king (Luke 23:2 bk). To Pilate, Jesus might have been just another Jewish terrorist–revolutionary (see Luke 23:18-19 bl; Acts 5:36-37 bm) with a head full of messianic notions and a band of well-armed followers.
Summary for John 18:34-35: 18:34-35 bn Jesus’ reply forced the governor to show the origin of his question. The Temple leadership was behind these charges. Pilate only wanted to know if Jesus was a rebel who might threaten Roman interests.
Summary for John 18:36-37: 18:36-37 bo Jesus was willing to accept the title of king, but he made it clear that he did not govern an earthly kingdom that might rival Rome. Jesus’ kingship is not of this world. Rather than being a political ruler, he rules through the devotion and obedience of his followers.
Summary for John 18:38-39: 18:38-39 bp What is truth? Truth was not a foreign idea to Pilate, but he did not wait for an answer to his question because he did not believe there was one.
• Pilate returned to the council members waiting outside and delivered his verdict: not guilty. Although he referred to Jesus as “King of the Jews” (see also 19:19 bq), the title meant nothing more to Pilate than a mocking expression of contempt. Pilate’s offer of amnesty revealed his desire to let Jesus go.
18:40 br Jesus was no threat to Rome, but Barabbas was a revolutionary, a violent man who took part in political uprisings (see Luke 23:19 bs), with a proven capacity to challenge the Roman military occupation of Israel.
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