The Good News by John 18

<< John 17

Press PLAY to listen to the English text

The Arrest of Jesus

1 After this prayer, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the valley of Kidron.* There was a garden there, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, knew that place because Jesus had met with his disciples there a number of times. 3 Judas took a group of Roman soldiers and Temple guards whom the chief priests and the Pharisees had sent, and went to the garden. They had lanterns, torches, and weapons.

4 Jesus already knew everything that was going to happen to him, yet he went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?” 5 They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they backed off and fell on the ground. 7 Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you: I am he. So if it's me you want, then let these men go.” 9 By this, the word he had said was fulfilled: “I did not lose any of those you gave me.”*

10 Simon Peter had a sword with him. He drew it and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. The name of the servant was Malik. 11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword in its sheath.* The cup that the Father has given me: should I not drink it?”

12 The soldiers, the commander, and the guards of the Jews arrested Jesus and tied [his hands]. 13 They led him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who advised the leaders of the Jews that it was better for one man to die instead of the people.

Peter Denies Him

15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. This other disciple was known to the chief priest,* so he entered with Jesus into the palace of the chief priest. 16 As for Peter, he stood outside at the gate. The other disciple, whom the chief priest knew, came out, spoke to the gatekeeper, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the girl serving as gatekeeper said to Peter, “Are you also one of the disciples of this man?” He said, “No, I'm not one of them.” 18 It was very cold, so the servants and guards lit a charcoal fire and stood there warming themselves. Peter stood [there] warming himself with them.

Annas Interrogates Jesus

19 The chief priest asked Jesus about his disciples and about the teaching that he was proclaiming. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken to the world publicly. I always taught in the houses of worship and in the Temple courtyards, where all the Jews gather; I didn't say anything in secret. 21 So why are you asking me? Ask the people who heard [me] what I spoke to them about. They know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the guards who was beside him slapped him on his face and said to him, “Is that the way you answer the chief priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I'm mistaken in what I said, then explain the error, but if I have spoken correctly, then why do you hit me?” 24 Then Annas sent him, [hands still] tied, to the high priest Caiaphas.

Peter Denies Him a Second and Third Time

25 Simon Peter was standing [there] warming himself. They said to him, “Are you also one of his disciples?” He denied [it], saying, “No, I'm not one of them.” 26 Then one of the servants of the chief priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn't I see you with him in the garden?” 27 Peter denied [it] again, and at that [moment], the rooster crowed.

Jesus Before the Roman Governor

28 They led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governmental palace. Morning had come. The Jews did not enter the palace, so that they would not become defiled* and be unable to eat the Passover [feast]*; 29 therefore, Pilate came out to them and said, “Of what do you accuse this man?” 30 They answered him, “If he weren't a criminal, we wouldn't have handed him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We aren't allowed to kill anyone.” 32 That fulfilled what Jesus had said about the way he was going to die.*

33 Pilate went inside the palace and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Do you say this according to your own thinking or according to what others say about me?” 35 Pilate responded, “Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingship does not belong to this world. If my kingship did belong to this world, my servants would have fought for me so that the Jewish leaders would not arrest me, but my kingship does not belong here.”

37 Pilate said to him, “So then, you are a king?” Jesus replied, “You have spoken correctly. I am a king. I was born and came to the world for this [purpose]: to bear witness to the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

38 Pilate asked him, “What is the truth?” When he had said this, he went out to the people again and said to them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 However, you are accustomed for me to release for you one [prisoner] during Passover, so would you like me to release for you the king of the Jews?” 40 They answered him with shouts, saying, “Do not release this [man], but rather Barabbas.” Barabbas was a robber.

<< John 17

Definitions

 *18:1 the valley of Kidron: a valley on the east side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives. The garden was at the foot of the mountain and was called Gethsemane. See location 4 on the map of Jerusalem in the glossary.

 *18:9 See John 6:39; 17:12.

 *18:11 sheath: a case for covering the blade of a sword or knife.

 *18:15 the chief priest: This refers to Annas. He had been the high priest, meaning he officiated on the Day of Atonement, but the Romans had appointed his son-in-law Caiaphas as the high priest. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the Jews, Annas remained the chief over all the priests.

 *18:28 According to Jewish religious law, if a Jew entered the house of a non-believer, he became ritually unclean. That means it was forbidden for him to practice the rituals of worship until he was purified.

 *18:28 the Passover [feast]: In this case the term Passover refers to the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was seven days long. The first day of the feast was also called the Passover. Centuries earlier, when the Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God told Moses to tell the Egyptian king, Pharaoh, to let the Children of Israel go so they could worship him alone. When Pharaoh refused, God struck Egypt with ten plagues, but protected the Children of Israel. The last plague killed all the first-born sons in Egypt except in the families who obeyed God by sacrificing a lamb and putting its blood on their doorposts. So every year at the Passover festival, each family would sacrifice a lamb and make a special meal of it in order to thank God for saving them by the blood of the lamb. (See Torah, Exodus 12:1-13, 21-30)

 *18:32 This indicated that the Jewish leaders wanted the Romans to crucify Jesus. This was the Roman form of execution and something the Jewish leaders never did. See John 3:14; 12:32-33, where Jesus prophesied that he would die by being lifted up onto a post. See John 19:18, where this is fulfilled when the Romans lifted up Jesus on a cross.