Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
1-3 Jesus and his disciples go to a garden in the Kidron valley, to where Judas – knowing they might be there – brings soldiers and police from chief priests and Pharisees, carrying torches and weapons. In John’s account, Jesus identifies himself; Judas is standing with the soldiers. In Luke’s account, Judas approaches Jesus to kiss him; in Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts, he does kiss him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give a reasonable explanation of the order of events here, harmonizing the gospel accounts.If the dialogue between our Lord and His captors was before this, as some interpreters think it was, the kiss of Judas was purely gratuitous, and probably to make good his right to the money; our Lord having presented Himself unexpectedly before them, and rendered it unnecessary for any one to point Him out. But a comparison of the narratives seems to show that our Lord's "coming forth" to the band was subsequent to the interview of Judas. "And Jesus said unto him, Friend"--not the endearing term "friend" (in John 15:15), but "companion," a word used on occasions of remonstrance or rebuke (as in Matthew 20:13, 22:12)--"Wherefore art thou come?" (Matthew 26:50). "Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss"--imprinting upon the foulest act the mark of tenderest affection? What wounded feeling does this express! Of this Jesus showed Himself on various occasions keenly susceptible--as all generous and beautiful natures do.4-7 When Jesus steps forward and identifies himself, saying “I am he,” the crowd falls back to the ground. Burton Coffman:
It will be noted that "he" is not in the Greek. Therefore, what Jesus said here was "I AM," thus making it another assertion of his Godhead (see Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).8-11 Jesus tells them to let his men go, fulfilling his prayer in John 17:12. When Peter cuts the high priest’s servant’s ear off, Jesus tells him to put back his sword; this is Jesus’ cup to drink. Luke 22:51 relates that Jesus healed the ear. In any case, this is an understated scene. I’m surprised there was no retaliation from the soldiers for Peter’s act – and no reaction recorded, either, to this miracle. Whatever the answers, Jesus was in control of this situation, even as they took him away.
Jesus Before the High Priest
12-14 The soldiers arrest Jesus, bind him, and take him to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest. Annas was a former high priest. According to Coffman, he had been put out of the office by the Romans.Peter Denies Jesus
15-18 “Another disciple” goes into the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus, then goes out to bring in Peter, who is standing at the gate. When a woman guarding the gate asks him if he too is a disciple, Peter denies it. He goes to stand near a charcoal fire started by slaves and police because of the cold.The High Priest Questions Jesus
19-24 When the high priest questions Jesus about his teaching, he answers that everything he has taught has been in the open and suggests they ask his listeners what he said. A policemen slaps him, accusing him of disrespect, to which Jesus replies that he only said what was true. Annas sends him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Annas in essence was doing a preliminary examination of Jesus. After he saw that Jesus would not cooperate with him, he sent him to Caiaphas in another part of the same house (Coffman).Peter Denies Jesus Again
25-27 As Peter warms himself, they ask him if he’s one of Jesus’ disciples, and he denies it. Then one of the high priest’s slaves – relative of the slave whose ear Peter cut off – says he saw Peter in the garden with Jesus. Peter denies it, and the cock crows.Jesus before Pilate
28-32 They take Jesus to Pilate’s headquarters, and he comes out to meet them because they can’t defile themselves by going inside. When Pilate questions them, they answer that if Jesus were not a criminal, they wouldn’t have brought him. Pilate tells them to take care of the matter according to their own law, but they can’t, because they’re not permitted to put men to death. This passage reveals 1) the Jews’ religious hypocrisy, because they’re afraid of defiling themselves, but not of murdering an innocent man; and 2) their true intent – not to try Jesus, but to kill him.33-38a When Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews, Jesus replies that he is a king, but his kingdom is not of this world, otherwise his disciples would have defended him. His purpose is to testify to the truth. Pilate replies, “What is truth?” Those who use violent means to defend Christian principles are melding two kingdoms that, in Jesus’ eyes, were separate.
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