John 18 - NLT Student Life Application Study Bible

18:5-6 God Identifying Himself The power of the actual name of God threw these soldiers to the ground. By speaking the words “I AM he,” Jesus again declared his divinity (see Exodus 3:14; also see John 8:58). He was saying, “The I AM is here.” The name of God was considered so holy that Jews wouldn’t even say it out loud. Here Jesus is not only voicing the name of God, but he is also claiming it for himself. The Temple guards would have understood what he was communicating. In this moment, he affirmed that the earthly government had no power over him except what he would allow.

18:11 Accepting Suffering “The cup” refers to the suffering, isolation, and death that Jesus would soon endure in order to atone for the sins of the world. In the Old Testament, the image of a cup was used to symbolize the outpouring of God’s wrath (see, for example, Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15-29). Jesus knew that suffering lay ahead, and he had struggled with it overnight (Matthew 26:36-46). Now he was ready to accept what was coming. The Father—not Judas, nor the Jewish leaders, nor the Romans—gave Jesus this cup. This was all part of his plan to save the world.

18:12-27 Jesus’ Trial Jesus was immediately taken to the high priest’s residence, even though it was the middle of the night. This gathering was illegal and against Jewish protocol, but the religious leaders were in a hurry—they wanted to complete the execution before the Sabbath and get on with the Passover celebration. (See more on Jesus’ trial.) The “other disciple” in this passage is probably John, the author of this Gospel. Because of his connections, John got himself and Peter into the courtyard. But Peter refused to identify himself as Jesus’ follower, explicitly denying Jesus three times. Peter’s experiences in those hours would change his life. (For more on Peter, see his profile.)

18:28-32 How do you think you would have responded if you’d been in the crowd watching the events of this day? See the next turning point of The Bible’s Big Story.

18:29-30 The Roman Authority This Roman governor, Pilate, was in charge of Judea (the region where Jerusalem was located) from AD 26 to 36. Pilate was unpopular with the Jews because he had taken money from the Temple treasuries. He didn’t like the Jews, and he knew that the religious leaders hated Jesus. But the leaders couldn’t sentence Jesus to death themselves—permission had to come from a Roman authority. Pilate didn’t want to act as their executioner, but he also knew that he could lose his job if the people rioted.