John 18 - ESV Study Bible

18:1 The brook Kidron is mentioned frequently in the Septuagint (though in the Gospels only in John; see 2 Sam. 15:23; 1 Kings 2:37; 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4,6,12). The Greek text indicates a wadi (sporadic brook) named Kidron, which occasionally runs during the rainy season in the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem between the city and the Mount of Olives. The garden is likely to be identified with the orchard of “Gethsemane” on the Mount of Olives (see note on Matt. 26:36), which is how it is identified in the Synoptics (Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32). The verse mentions that Jesus and his disciples entered, which may suggest Gethsemane was a walled garden.

18:1–19:42 Jesus’ Arrest, Trials, Death, and Burial. The familiar sequence of events starts with Jesus’ betrayal by Judas (18:1–11), his informal hearing before Annas (18:12–27), his Roman trial before Pilate (18:28–19:16a), and his crucifixion and burial (19:16b–42). Only John features Jesus’ appearance before Annas, and the Roman trial is covered in more detail. John does not provide an account of Jesus’ formal Jewish trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. John particularly highlights that everything in the passion fulfills Scripture and occurs in accordance with God’s plan.

18:3 The band of soldiers was dispatched to prevent a riot during the festival. The officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees (i.e., the temple police) were the primary arresting officers (cf. notes on 7:32; 7:45–46). Lanterns and torches were needed to track down a suspect thought to be hiding in the dark corners of the garden, and weapons were needed to overcome any armed resistance.

18:4 Jesus, confident of God’s sovereign control, hands himself over to his captors. See also vv. 7–8.

18:5 Jesus’ self-identification, “I am he,” has connotations of deity (see notes on 6:20; 6:35; 8:24; 8:58). This is suggested by the soldiers’ reaction in the following verse.

18:6 Falling to the ground is a common reaction to divine revelation (Ezek. 1:28; 44:4; Dan. 2:46; 8:18; 10:9; Acts 9:4; 22:7; 26:14; Rev. 1:17; 19:10; 22:8).

18:8–9 Jesus’ statement summarizes 17:12, which in turn refers back to 6:39 and 10:28. Jesus is portrayed as the “good shepherd” who voluntarily chooses death to save the life of his “sheep” (cf. 10:11,15, 17–18,28). Their physical preservation symbolizes their spiritual preservation.

18:10 Peter’s sword was likely the Roman short sword (gladius) that could be hidden under a person’s garment (cf. Luke 22:38). ear. The short sword was for stabbing, not slicing, thus Peter probably intended to kill the soldier with a lethal blow to the head, but the servant was able to evade the sword, suffering only the loss of his ear. Luke adds that Jesus immediately healed the ear (Luke 22:51). Malchus. The name of this slave is recorded only in John’s Gospel (cf. Luke 22:50–51 par.). However, the name Malchus is known in Josephus (from an earlier period) and in Nabatean and Palmyrene inscriptions. These occurrences make it likely that it was an Arab name.

18:11 Drink the cup serves as a metaphor for death and symbolizes God’s wrath (see Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17,22; Jer. 25:15–17, 28–29; 49:12; also Rev. 14:10; 16:19). Note that the cup given to Jesus is from the Father, and hence Jesus is prepared to drink it. In addition to the physical suffering of the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of bearing God’s wrath, which was poured out on him as a substitute sacrifice and in payment for sins (see also notes on Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2; cf. Heb. 2:17; 1 John 4:10).

18:13 Under the Roman procurators three wealthy priestly families largely controlled the extremely important position of high priest. Annas (also known as “Ananus”) was the patriarch of one of these powerful families of high priests (cf. Acts 4:6). He served as high priest during A.D. 6–15, and the high priesthood was subsequently held by five of his sons, including his son-in-law Caiaphas (see note on John 18:24). Annas’s past stature merited his continued designation as “high priest” (Acts 4:6), and even after his deposition he retained significant control over his family’s exercise of this position (so that Luke 3:2 can speak of “the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas”). Josephus mentions a monument of Annas (Jewish War 5.506), which has been plausibly identified with a highly decorated tomb found near the Kidron Valley.

18:14 Caiaphas. See 11:49–52.

18:15–16 The court (Gk. aulē) was an enclosed space open to the sky (i.e., a “courtyard”). The other disciple is probably none other than John himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (cf. 20:2; 21:24; see also 13:23).

18:19 The high priest is Annas (see note on v. 13). Questioning Jesus about his disciples and his teaching suggests that the primary concern is theological, though political charges are later lodged as well (cf. 19:7,12).

18:20 nothing in secret. Jesus’ reply echoes God’s words in the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa. 45:19; 48:16). Jesus’ point is not that he never spoke in private with his disciples but that his message was the same in private as in public; he was not guilty of a sinister conspiracy. John records instances of Jesus’ teaching both in synagogues (cf. John 6:59) and in the temple area (Gk. hieron; cf. 2:14–21; 7:14,28; 8:20; 10:23; see also note on 2:14).

18:22 One of the officers standing by was probably one of those who took part in Jesus’ arrest (cf. vv. 3,12). The striking was likely a sharp blow with the flat of the man’s hand (cf. Isa. 50:6 in the Septuagint; Matt. 26:67; Acts 23:1–5). The rebuke may echo Ex. 22:28 (quoted by Paul in Acts 23:5; see also note on John 18:23).

18:23 When challenged regarding his response to the high priest, Jesus alludes to the law of Ex. 22:28 and denies having violated it. Truthful self-defense is not sinful but righteous.

18:24 Before Jesus can be brought to the Roman governor, charges must be confirmed by the official high priest, Caiaphas, who presided over the Sanhedrin (see note on 3:1). Caiaphas managed to retain control of the high priesthood for nearly 18 years (c. A.D. 18–36)—longer than anyone else in the first century (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.35, 95). He was certainly the high priest during Jesus’ ministry, although he also consulted frequently with his father-in-law Annas (John 18:13; cf. Luke 3:2). Josephus’s depiction of a high priestly house in the “upper city” of Jerusalem (Jewish War 2.426) has suggested to some scholars the possibility of identifying Caiaphas’s house with some residence amid the wealthy Roman-era houses excavated atop Mount Zion. Others contend for the traditional site of Caiaphas’s house beneath Saint Peter of the Cockcrow Church toward the base of Mount Zion. An archaeological find in 1990 raised the possibility that an elaborately decorated ossuary (a box for reburying the bones of the dead), which has the name “Joseph Caiaphas” crudely etched into its side, once contained Caiaphas’s bones. This ossuary was found in a relatively modest tomb complex south of Jerusalem.

18:26 the man whose ear Peter had cut off. Cf. v. 10 and note.

18:27 rooster crowed. Cf. 13:38.

18:28 governor’s headquarters. The location of this praetorium (the residence of a Roman governor) has long been identified with the Antonia Fortress on the northwest corner of the Temple Mount; this large fortress allowed immediate access to the temple in order to suppress any disturbance. Only portions of the walls of the original Antonia Fortress remain. However, many argue that the Palace of Herod (once the Jerusalem home of Herod the Great, but later in Roman hands—see Philo, Embassy to Gaius 299) was more lavish and afforded better accommodations for the Roman governor. It was used later by the governor Florus (Josephus, Jewish War 2.301). This palace fortress (today called the Citadel), which was located at the prominent Jaffa Gate at the western entrance to the old city, has since Jesus’ day been through many rounds of destruction and rebuilding (beginning with the capture of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and continuing until after the Crusader period [11th–13th centuries]). However, some original Herodian portions of the palace do still exist. Early morning probably means shortly after sunrise, when the Sanhedrin met in formal session and pronounced its verdict on Jesus (Matt. 27:1–2 par.). not be defiled. Jews could go inside a Gentile courtyard open to the sky (see John 18:15), but they could not go into a Gentile building or home with a roof on it without becoming ceremonially unclean. The reference to Passover may be to the entire Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days (cf. Luke 22:1: “the Feast of Unleavened Bread … called the Passover”), and so “eat the Passover” probably means “continue to celebrate the ongoing feast” (cf. 2 Chron. 30:21). See also note on John 18:39. The other Gospels state that Jesus had already eaten the Passover Feast with his disciples (Matt. 26:17–29; Luke 22:1–23; see also John 13:1), but the current verse seems to refer to the Jewish leaders’ desire to continue in the ongoing celebrations.

18:29 Pilate was appointed by the emperor Tiberius and served as governor of Judea A.D. 26–36 (see note on Luke 23:1). The famous “Pilate inscription,” found in Caesarea in 1961, identifies Pilate as “prefect” (a senior Roman governmental official) of Judea. Pilate went outside, respecting the religious sensitivities of the Jews (see John 18:28). This sets up a dramatic sequence in which Pilate goes outside to face the Jews and the crowds (v. 29), then goes inside to speak to Jesus (v. 33), then goes outside to the Jews again (v. 38), then goes back inside to Jesus (19:1), then goes outside again to the Jews and the crowds, bringing Jesus with him (19:4–5), then goes back inside with Jesus to speak to him privately (19:9–11), then comes back outside once again with Jesus (19:13), then finally yields to the Jews and gives Jesus to them to be crucified (19:16). Therefore many of Jesus’ statements about himself in this section are uttered “backstage,” out of the hearing of his Jewish opponents.

18:31 Like Gallio after him (Acts 18:14–15), Pilate is not interested in judging internal Jewish disputes. It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. Prior to Jesus’ execution, the Romans reportedly revoked the Sanhedrin’s right to impose capital punishment (see Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 1.1; 7.2; Palestinian Talmud, Sanhedrin 41a). Known exceptions to this judicial restraint on the Sanhedrin are explicable either as unofficial mob actions (cf. Stephen in Acts 7 and also previous attempts to stone Jesus) or as official Jewish actions when Roman oversight was weak (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.200ff.). Aside from these events, the one other execution in Palestine reported in the NT was based on regal authority rather than on the authority of the Sanhedrin (Acts 12:1–2). The Sanhedrin clearly desired that Jesus’ execution be done officially in keeping with Roman law. Therefore the Jewish leaders had to get approval from Pilate. But this presented a problem for them, since Pilate would not be interested in condemning someone for a religious crime such as blasphemy or claiming to be God (see Matt. 26:64; Luke 22:69–71; John 8:58–59; 10:33; 19:7). This meant they needed to bring a political charge against Jesus, so they essentially accused him of treason by saying that he claimed to be king in opposition to Caesar (see 18:33,37; 19:3,12,15,19).

18:32 By what kind of death he was going to die is reminiscent of the wording in 12:33 (regarding the death of Jesus) and is later echoed in 21:19 (regarding the death of Peter). Crucifixion was looked upon with horror by the Jews. It was considered the same as hanging (Acts 5:30; 10:39), for which Mosaic law enunciated the principle, “A hanged man is cursed by God” (Deut. 21:23; cf. Gal. 3:13). If Jesus had been put to death by the Sanhedrin, he would have been stoned, the OT sanction for blasphemy (Lev. 24:16; cf. John 10:33; Acts 7:57–58).

18:33 Regarding the headquarters, see note on v. 28. King of the Jews has clear political overtones. Pilate’s question aims to determine whether Jesus constitutes a threat to Rome’s imperial power.

18:36 Jesus’ description of the nature of his kingdom echoes similar passages in Daniel (e.g., Dan. 2:44; 7:14,27). See also John 6:15.

18:37 On the truth, see note on 14:6.

18:38 What is truth? Ironically, the one charged with determining the truth in the matter glibly dismisses the relevance of truth in the very presence of the one who is truth incarnate (see note on 14:6). Pilate apparently decides that Jesus is a teacher of abstract philosophical questions to which no one can find an answer, and thus decides that Jesus poses no threat to the Roman government. He seeks no answer from the only one who could give him the answer. he went back outside. See note on 18:29. I find no guilt in him. Pilate’s exoneration of Jesus, repeated three times (cf. 19:4,6; cf. Luke 23:4), sharply contrasts with the death sentence later pronounced on Jesus due to extensive Jewish pressure (cf. John 19:12–16) and is an example of John’s skillful use of irony. See also note on 5:31–47.

18:39 As in v. 28 (see note), at the Passover refers to the entire festival.

18:40 Barabbas means “son of the father” (Gk. bar-abbas). Ironically, the people wanted Barabbas released rather than the true Son of the Father, Jesus. The word translated robber (Gk. lēstēs) sometimes means “insurrectionist,” but the meaning “robber” is much more common in the NT (see 10:1,8; also Matt. 21:13; 27:38; Luke 10:30; 2 Cor. 11:26). Each Gospel contributes something to the picture of Barabbas as a man who had committed multiple crimes, including robbery, insurrection, and murder (see Matt. 27:16; Mark 15:7; Luke 23:18–19).