Holy Week having passed not so long ago, the story of the Passion is still fresh in our minds. Depending on which gospel you read it from, you get different details; so that all the narratives can be woven together into a coherent whole in a Combined Gospel. We continue with John’s eyewitness testimony.
John 18:1-2 Jesus, having said these things, went out with his disciples beyond the torrent Cedron, where was a garden, into which he entered, he and his disciples.
And Judas also, who delivered him up, knew the place, because Jesus was often there, in company with his disciples.
John omits the hour or so that Jesus spent in agonized prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. After all, from the other Gospels we know he, together with the rest of the apostles, couldn’t stay awake. Also from the other gospels, we know Jesus wakes the disciples up; but we don ‘t know who actually woke up first. I think it was John…
John 18:3-4 Judas therefore, having got the band, and officers of the chief priests and Pharisees, comes there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, Whom seek ye?
As I mentioned last time, everything that is about to happen is being allowed by the Father, is all part of the Plan, and therefore Jesus knows every move that will be made. The important detail we learn here from John is that before anyone approached them, while the soldiers and Judas were still hidden by the shadows of the surrounding trees, and Jesus and His disciples were also indistinguishable within the shadows on their side of the Garden, Jesus steps toward them and challenges them.
John 18:5-6 They answered him, Jesus the Nazaraean. Jesus says to them, I am [he]. And Judas also, who delivered him up, stood with them. When therefore he said to them, I am [he], they went away backward and fell to the ground.
John is the only one that reports this happening. This is why I think he was the first one to awaken and step up behind Jesus. And maybe it was at this point that the full impact hit him of that fateful encounter he wrote about in Chapter 8: where Jesus tells the Pharisees, “before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus had not just been claiming to be Son of God by declaring His eternal existence, He had actually applied to Himself the title of I AM; the name of God, that God explained to Moses, the Covenant name we translate today as Yahweh or Jehovah.
Uttered by Jesus, in full control of everything that was about to happen, that Name above all Names, broke the power of the devil instantly, and without his power the crowd, including Judas, fell back helpless and confused.
It was Jesus’ final demonstration of the complete authority the Father had given Him. The final demonstration that Judas saw…
In a sense this is Judas’ trial:
There, having witnessed all that had come before while in the company of Jesus, Judas was offered the final chance to come to his senses and repent. But he didn’t.
As we see in the other gospels, Judas got up, reached Jesus and greeted Him with kisses – the agreed upon signal that would distinguish Him, to the soldiers, from the other disciples. Jesus’ final words to Judas must happen right here and then, He turns again to the crowd and challenges them again.
John 18:7-9 He demanded of them therefore again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus the Nazaraean. Jesus answered, I told you that I am [he]: if therefore ye seek me, let these go away; that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, [As to] those whom thou hast given me, I have not lost one of them.
Again, in full control, Jesus is not asking them. He is not appealing to them. He is telling them: “leave my disciples alone.”
I mentioned this last time, but it bears repeating. The same Providence that oversaw Jesus’ entire life and mission, that prevented His enemies from taking Him before His time, is watching over us once we give our lives over to Him. We are, from then on, in the Father’s hands:
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them life eternal; and they shall never perish, and no one shall seize them out of my hand. My Father who has given [them] to me is greater than all, and no one can seize out of the hand of my Father. I and the Father are one.
We should never forget this.
Now the rest of the disciples are awake:
John 18:10-11 Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and smote the bondman of the high priest and cut off his right ear; and the bondman’s name was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter, Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?
We know there is more to that scene than John’s summary here. Jesus stops Peter’s rampage, heals the servant, and then tells Peter that He could have called on 12 legions of angels to defend Him if He wanted. But for John, the two important details are: (a) That servant had a name; he was a witness and, therefore, he could be called on to verify all this. (b) Jesus was in control. He was choosing to drink this cup of suffering: Two great themes in this Gospel: (a) John will declare to us all the Truth we need to know in order to choose to believe and (b) Jesus is worthy of being the object of our belief.
John 18:12-14 The band therefore, and the chiliarch, and the officers of the Jews, took Jesus and bound him: and they led him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. But it was Caiaphas who counselled the Jews that it was better that one man should perish for the people.
In the Greek armies, a chiliarch was a commander of a 1,000 soldiers. The rank continued to be used in Roman times, its equivalent being a Tribune. These details paint the picture that it wasn’t only the priests’ Temple guard that was there, but also actual soldiers, a Roman cohort, recruited for this purpose. In other words, the kingdom of the world as a whole, its political system and its religious system had gathered there to oppose Jesus.
John again adds a detail that emphasizes none of this was a surprise to God the Father: for He had already put in the unwitting mouth of Caiaphas a prophecy that spelled out what was happening here.
Jesus’ full submission to the Father is what kept Him in control.
It is the only reason Jesus was able to go through all that is coming.
It must be the same with us.
Peter’s trial
John 18:15 Now Simon Peter followed Jesus, and the other disciple. But that disciple was known to the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest;
This is, to me, amazing. John was known to the high priest; which would imply he was known within those walls to be a follower of Jesus; a man just brought in arrested by a band of soldiers. And John just walks in?
John, who is too humble to use his own name in this Gospel, who only names himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, makes no big deal about this fact. He walked undisguised into the lion’s den. No one stopped him, no one challenged him.
Is it possible that he has learned to take Jesus literally at His word? Jesus told the crowd of soldiers, “leave my disciples alone”. To me, it feels like John is taking the power of that command literally. He has nothing to fear for himself… him, the youngest of the apostles.
But Peter is not in the same place… spiritually.
John 18:16 but Peter stood at the door without. The other disciple therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the porteress and brought in Peter.
Peter is in shock. He wanted to defend Jesus; he had told Him he would fight to the death for Him; and Jesus wouldn’t let him, and in fact rebuked him for thinking He needed that kind of help. Peter, who has stood throughout the gospels up to this point as the strongest, as the de facto leader among them, is now wandering like a lost child, not knowing what to do.
Have you ever felt that way: Shell-shocked, as it were, by the apparent triumph of the forces of darkness; numbed by a beating from the world; wondering why I haven’t heard from God, that maybe I have messed up so thoroughly, one time too many, that He will never deal with me again? Peter is feeling powerless… and it is (little) John who opens the door for him.
But it is God who has opened that door… Because He has a work to do in my life.
John 18:17 The maid therefore, who was porteress, says to Peter, Art thou also of the disciples of this man? He says, I am not.
Peter’s worst fears are now being confirmed. He is powerless; and these people know who he is. So, he tries to hide in the crowd:
John 18:18 But the bondmen and officers, having made a fire of coals (for it was cold), stood and warmed themselves; and Peter was standing with them and warming himself.
And from there, he can see what is going on. One of the other gospels says it this way: He watched to see what the end of all this would be. For he is expecting an end… for all his hopes to come crashing down.
John 18:19-21 The high priest therefore demanded of Jesus concerning his disciples and concerning his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world; I taught always in [the] synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why demandest thou of me? Demand of those who have heard, what I have spoken to them; behold, they know what I have said.
With this answer Jesus is refusing to give any testimony that they could try to twist against Him and at the same time He is telling them that if they cared to be following the Law, they need to have witnesses.
John 18:22-23 But as he said these things, one of the officers who stood by gave a blow on the face to Jesus, saying, Answerest thou the high priest thus? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?
John 18:24 Annas [then] had sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now, if we follow the other gospels, we see that, before Caiaphas, they started to bring false witnesses against him.
In the meantime, Peter has been trying to remain unnoticed, incognito in the middle of the powers of the world. How long do you think that will work?
This is not just a question about Peter, it is a question about ourselves. How long can we, claiming to be believers, remain incognito, unnoticed, living in the world as the people of the world? Is that even possible? Didn’t Jesus tell us that we were supposed to be like a city on a hill?
That analogy is not about the city being powerful and notable for its importance but rather about being a visible refuge for anyone lost in the wilderness who needs the protection of our walls. We are to be like a lamp set out on a table that welcomes and illuminates anyone who enters into our house.
It is not about us telling the world that we have the moral high ground, that we are right with God and they are all going to hell…
How do I know that? Because Jesus never acted that way. Remember the Samaritan woman at the well; remember the woman of ill-reputation at the Pharisee’s dinner, remember Mary Magdalene.
It is about us being undisguised and recognizable, standing out as different from the world because we live in the light of Life and Truth and Love: so that anyone lost in the darkness, anyone deceived into losing their hope, anyone starving for kindness and mercy, can see us and come to us to receive what we have freely received from Christ.
A hidden Christian is as useless as a boastful one. Peter is trying to hide, God won’t let him.
John 18:25-26 But Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, Art thou also of his disciples? He denied, and said, I am not. One of the bondmen of the high priest, who was kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, says, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
Oh… our past will always come to bite us, won’t it? That’s why it is infinitely better to give it all to God.
John 18:27 Peter denied therefore again, and immediately [the] cock crew.
John, mercifully, leaves it at that. The other gospels tell us the agony that gripped Peter at that moment. For at that very moment, Jesus, who is being beaten by the guards surrounding Him, turns around unerringly to look into Peter’s eyes. It was a look of forgiveness; it was a look reminding Peter that He had known it all along and yet still loved him. But for Peter that look is torment; he understands the full depth of his betrayal; and he steps away to weep bitterly.
Peter has been tried.