John

The Arrest of Jesus

After Jesus finished speaking, he went with his disciples to the other side of the Kidron valley. There was a garden there, which Jesus entered with his disciples.

Judas, his betrayer, also knew the place because Jesus often met there with his disciples.

So Judas took soldiers, and some servants from the chief priests and Pharisees, and they went to the garden with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him; he stepped forward and asked:

“Whom are you looking for?”

They answered:

“Jesus the Nazorean.”

Jesus said:

“I am he.”

Judas, who betrayed him, stood there with them.

When Jesus said, “I am he,” they moved backwards and fell to the ground.

He again asked them:

“Whom are you looking for?”

They said:

“Jesus the Nazorean.”

Jesus replied:

“I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, let these others go.”

So what Jesus had said came true: “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”

Simon Peter had a sword; he drew it and struck Malchus, the High Priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear,

but Jesus said to Peter:

“Put your sword back into its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?”

The guards and soldiers, along with their commander, seized Jesus and bound him;

and they first took him to Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year;

and it was Caiaphas who told the Jews, ‘It is better that one man should die rather than the people.’

Jesus Before Annas – Peter’s Denials

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, they allowed him to enter the courtyard of the high priest along with Jesus,

but Peter was standing outside at the gate.

The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper at the gate and brought Peter in.

Then, this maidservant on duty at the gate said to Peter:

“You are not one of this man`s disciples, are you?”

He answered:

“I am not.”

Now the servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire and were standing and warming themselves because it was cold. Peter was also with them, keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

Jesus replied:

“I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in places where the Jews gather, whether in synagogues or in the temple. I did not teach in secret.

Why then do you question me? Ask those who heard me; they know what I said.”

At this response, one of the guards standing there struck Jesus in the face, saying:

“Is that the way to answer the high priest?”

Jesus said to him:

“If I have said something wrong, point it out. But if I spoke correctly, why do you strike me?”

Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there warming himself. They said to him:

“You also are one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it and said:

“I am not!”

One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said:

“Did I not see you with him in the garden with him?”

Again Peter denied it, and immediately the rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the headquarters of the Roman governor. It was now morning. The Jews didn’t go inside, lest they be made unclean by entering the house of a pagan and therefore not allowed to eat the Passover meal.

So Pilate came outside and asked:

“What charge do you bring against this man?”

They answered:

“If he were not a criminal, we would not be handing him over to you.”

Pilate said:

“Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.”

But they replied:

“We ourselves are not allowed to put anyone to death.”

According to what Jesus himself had foretold, it was clear what kind of death he would die.

Pilate then entered the court again, summoned Jesus, and asked him:

“Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus replied:

“Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?”

Pilate answered:

“Am I not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me.

What have you done?”

Jesus answered:

“My kingship does not come from this world. If I were a king like those of this world, my servants would have fought to save me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from here.”

Pilate asked him:

“So you are a king?”

And Jesus answered:

“Just as you say, I am a king. For this, I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears my voice.”

Pilate said:

“What is truth?”

Condemned to Death

Pilate then went out to the Jews again and said:

“I find no crime in this man.

Now, according to custom, I must release a prisoner to you at the Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

They cried out again:

“Not this man, but Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas was a bandit.