God Speaks
After saying these things Jesus crossed the Kidron ravine with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, for Jesus had gone there many times with his disciples.
3 The chief priests and Pharisees had given Judas a squad of soldiers and police to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons they arrived at the olive grove.
4-5 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them he asked, “Whom are you looking for?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. 6 And as he said it, they all fell backwards to the ground!
7 Once more he asked them, “Whom are you searching for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 “I told you I am he,” Jesus said; “and since I am the one you are after, let these others go.” 9 He did this to carry out the prophecy he had just made, “I have not lost a single one of those you gave me. . . . ”
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s servant.
11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away. Shall I not drink from the cup the Father has given me?”
12 So the Jewish police, with the soldiers and their lieutenant, arrested Jesus and tied him. 13 First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High Priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who told the other Jewish leaders, “Better that one should die for all.”
15 Simon Peter followed along behind, as did another of the disciples who was acquainted with the High Priest. So that other disciple was permitted into the courtyard along with Jesus, 16 while Peter stood outside the gate. Then the other disciple spoke to the girl watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The girl asked Peter, “Aren’t you one of Jesus’ disciples?”
“No,” he said, “I am not!”
18 The police and the household servants were standing around a fire they had made, for it was cold. And Peter stood there with them, warming himself.
19 Inside, the High Priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.
20 Jesus replied, “What I teach is widely known, for I have preached regularly in the synagogue and Temple; I have been heard by all the Jewish leaders and teach nothing in private that I have not said in public. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. You have some of them here. They know what I said.”
22 One of the soldiers standing there struck Jesus with his fist. “Is that the way to answer the High Priest?” he demanded.
23 “If I lied, prove it,” Jesus replied. “Should you hit a man for telling the truth?”
24 Then Annas sent Jesus, bound, to Caiaphas the High Priest.
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire, he was asked again, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?”
“Of course not,” he replied.
26 But one of the household slaves of the High Priest—a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off—asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”
27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Next he was taken to the palace of the Roman governor. His accusers wouldn’t go in themselves for that would “defile” them, they said, and they wouldn’t be allowed to eat the Passover lamb. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man? What are you accusing him of doing?”
30 “We wouldn’t have arrested him if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him away and judge him yourselves by your own laws,” Pilate told them.
“But we want him crucified,” they demanded, “and your approval is required.” 32 This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction concerning the method of his execution.
33 Then Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 “‘King’ as you use the word or as the Jews use it?” Jesus asked.
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their chief priests brought you here. Why? What have you done?”
36 Then Jesus answered, “I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of the world.”
37 Pilate replied, “But you are a king then?”
“Yes,” Jesus said. “I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth are my followers.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate exclaimed. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release someone from prison each year at Passover. So if you want me to, I’ll release the ‘King of the Jews.’”
40 But they screamed back. “No! Not this man, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a robber.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: John Chapter 18 covers Judas’s betrayal and Jesus’s arrest, Jesus being questioned by the high priests, Peter’s three denials, and Jesus before Pilate. Judas directed the Roman soldiers and temple guards who came to arrest Jesus. (John does not include Judas’s betrayal with a kiss.) It is interesting to note that Jesus affirmed three times that He was the man they were looking to arrest. It was after Jesus’s third assertion of “I am He,” that Peter drew his sword, cutting off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. In the high priest’s courtyard, one might think that Simon Peter would have followed Jesus’s example at His arrest, however, he reacted out of his fearful flesh (Simon) rather than responding out of his solid faith (Peter). In spite of–or perhaps because of–Simon Peter’s denials, God used him on the day of Pentecost and in many ways afterward to spread the Good News of Jesus in his world and beyond (see the books of Acts and 1 and 2 Peter). Before the high priests and before Pilate, Jesus stood for the truth. In His death, Jesus took the place of a criminal (Barabbas) and every other human being.
Prayer: Dear Almighty God, I need Your Holy Spirit to help me to maintain the proper attitude regarding who Jesus really is. Then I will be able to resist the temptation to betray Jesus as Judas did or deny Jesus as Simon Peter did. Please help me to stand firm for the truth in spite of opposition just like Jesus did before the high priest. It is the accusers who should have to prove their point, not the accused. Especially, there should be no mere name calling without evidence. As Jesus said, “If I lied, prove it.”. . .”Should you hit a man for telling the truth?”* Lord, please give Your people who are on trial for their faith in You holy boldness to speak forth Your truth and stand for what is right and good. May I fulfill the purpose You have for my life. May I be willing to give my life for or love someone other people would consider unlovable, like Jesus did. AMEN
*John 18:23 TLB
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will do research and make a list of who the Bible says Jesus is and what He has done so that I can resist the world, the flesh, and the devil.
- I will stand up for the truth in both private and public discussions.
- I will seek out and present evidence whenever I accuse someone of wrongdoing, not just make assumptions or generalizations.
- I will speak up for, support, and/or defend those who are being mistreated (the pre-born, abused, or bullied children, trafficked adults) or those who are being persecuted for their faith.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.