John 18
18
Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested
1After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. 3The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.
4Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.
5“Jesus the Nazarene,”#18:5a Or Jesus of Nazareth; also in 18:7. they replied.
“I Am he,” # 18:5b Or “The ‘I Am’ is here”; or “I am the Lord”; Greek reads I am; also in 18:6, 8. See Exod 3:14. Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
8 “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”#18:9 See John 6:39 and 17:12.
10Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”
Jesus at the High Priest’s House
12So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. 13First they took him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.#18:13 Greek that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”
Peter’s First Denial
15Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
“No,” he said, “I am not.”
18Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
19Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people#18:20 Greek Jewish people; also in 18:38. gather. I have not spoken in secret. 21Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”
22Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”
24Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
Peter’s Second and Third Denials
25Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
28Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor.#18:28 Greek to the Praetorium; also in 18:33. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31“Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.
“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32(This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.#18:32 See John 12:32-33.)
33Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
37Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
40But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Currently Selected:
John 18: NLT
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
John 18
18
The Arrest of Jesus
(Mt 26.47–56; Mk 14.43–50; Lk 22.47–53)
1After Jesus had said this prayer, he left with his disciples and went across the brook called Kidron. There was a garden in that place, and Jesus and his disciples went in. 2Judas, the traitor, knew where it was, because many times Jesus had met there with his disciples. 3So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a group of Roman soldiers, and some temple guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns and torches. 4Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, “Who is it you are looking for?”
5“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.
“I am he,” he said.
Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them. 6When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they moved back and fell to the ground. 7Again Jesus asked them, “Who is it you are looking for?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8 “I have already told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go.” 9(He said this so that what he had said might come true: “Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.”)
10Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus. 11#Mt 26.39; Mk 14.36; Lk 22.42Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in its place! Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?”
Jesus before Annas
12Then the Roman soldiers with their commanding officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus, bound him, 13and took him first to Annas. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year. 14#Jn 11.49–50It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it was better that one man should die for all the people.
Peter Denies Jesus
(Mt 26.69–70; Mk 14.66–68; Lk 22.55–57)
15Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was well known to the High Priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house, 16while Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went back out, spoke to the girl at the gate, and brought Peter inside. 17The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?”
“No, I am not,” answered Peter.
18It was cold, so the servants and guards had built a charcoal fire and were standing round it, warming themselves. So Peter went over and stood with them, warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
(Mt 26.59–66; Mk 14.55–64; Lk 22.66–71)
19The High Priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20Jesus answered, “I have always spoken publicly to everyone; all my teaching was done in the synagogues and in the Temple, where all the people come together. I have never said anything in secret. 21Why, then, do you question me? Question the people who heard me. Ask them what I told them — they know what I said.”
22When Jesus said this, one of the guards there slapped him and said, “How dare you talk like that to the High Priest!”
23Jesus answered him, “If I have said anything wrong, tell everyone here what it was. But if I am right in what I have said, why do you hit me?”
24Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the High Priest.
Peter Denies Jesus Again
(Mt 26.71–75; Mk 14.69–72; Lk 22.58–62)
25Peter was still standing there keeping himself warm. So the others said to him, “Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?”
But Peter denied it. “No, I am not,” he said.
26One of the High Priest's slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, spoke up. “Didn't I see you with him in the garden?” he asked.
27Again Peter said “No” — and at once a cock crowed.
Jesus is Brought before Pilate
(Mt 27.1–2, 11–14; Mk 15.1–5; Lk 23.1–5)
28Early in the morning Jesus was taken from Caiaphas' house to the governor's palace. The Jewish authorities did not go inside the palace, for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean, in order to be able to eat the Passover meal. 29So Pilate went outside to them and asked, “What do you accuse this man of?”
30Their answer was, “We would not have brought him to you if he had not committed a crime.”
31Pilate said to them, “Then you yourselves take him and try him according to your own law.”
They replied, “We are not allowed to put anyone to death.” 32#Jn 3.14; 12.32(This happened in order to make the words of Jesus come true, the words he used when he indicated the kind of death he would die.)
33Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked him.
34Jesus answered, “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?”
35Pilate replied, “Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!”
37So Pilate asked him, “Are you a king, then?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.”
38“And what is truth?” Pilate asked.
Jesus is Sentenced to Death
(Mt 27.15–31; Mk 15.6–20; Lk 23.13–25)
Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, “I cannot find any reason to condemn him. 39But according to the custom you have, I always set free a prisoner for you during the Passover. Do you want me to set free for you the King of the Jews?”
40They answered him with a shout, “No, not him! We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a bandit.)
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.