John 18

Chapter 18 of the Gospel of John begins this Gospel's passion narrative. The story resumes immediately after the farewell discourse of chapters 13–17 and the prayer of John 17, as Jesus goes out with his disciples into a garden.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Jesus enters a garden across the brook Kidron with his disciples. Judas, who knew the place, arrives with a band of men and officers carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.
• Verses 4–9 When Jesus says, "I am he," those who have come to seize him go backward and fall to the ground. Jesus tells them to let his disciples go their way.
• Verses 10–11 Peter draws a sword and cuts off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant. Jesus tells him, "Put up thy sword into the sheath," and says that he will drink "the cup which my Father hath given me."
• Verses 12–14 Jesus is bound and led first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas.
• Verses 15–18 In the courtyard of the high priest's house, Peter denies for the first time, to the maid who kept the door, that he is Jesus' disciple.
• Verses 19–24 Questioned by the high priest, Jesus replies that he has taught openly. After being struck by an officer, he is sent to Caiaphas.
• Verses 25–27 Peter denies Jesus twice more, and immediately the cock crows.
• Verses 28–32 Early in the morning Jesus is taken to the judgment hall. The Jews who bring him do not enter it, so that they may eat the Passover.
• Verses 33–38a Pilate asks, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus answers that his kingdom is not of this world, and Pilate responds, "What is truth?"
• Verses 38b–40 Pilate declares that he finds no fault in Jesus and seeks to release him, but the crowd cries out for Barabbas, a robber.

Key Verses

• John 18:11 "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" The verse is read as depicting Jesus' willing acceptance of his suffering.
• John 18:36 "My kingdom is not of this world." This verse is frequently cited as showing the nature of the kingdom of which Jesus speaks.
• John 18:38 "What is truth?" Pilate's question stands alongside Jesus' statement that he came to bear witness to the truth.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ
• Judas Iscariot: the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
• Simon Peter: cuts off the servant's ear and later denies Jesus three times.
• Malchus: the high priest's servant, whose ear Peter cuts off.
• Annas: father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
• Caiaphas: the high priest who had counseled that it was expedient for one man to die for the people (John 11).
• The other disciple: a disciple described only as being known to the high priest.
• Pontius Pilate: the Roman governor.
• Barabbas: the robber released at Passover in place of Jesus.
• The brook Kidron: a stream in the valley east of Jerusalem.
• The garden: John does not name it, but the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) call the place Gethsemane.
• The judgment hall: the residence of the Roman governor.

Points for Reflection

• John does not include the prayer in the garden or Judas's kiss found in the Synoptic Gospels. Instead, Jesus is portrayed as stepping forward first to identify himself.
• Some interpreters see "I am he" (Greek egō eimi, "I am he") as connected with John's "I am" sayings and as an expression evoking the divine name. Others regard it as a simple statement of identification.
• The note in verse 28 that the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover raises questions about the chronological relationship with the Synoptic Gospels, which present the Last Supper as a Passover meal. Scholarly explanations differ.
• There is a tradition that identifies the "other disciple" as John or the "beloved disciple," but the text does not name him.
• Verse 36 is cited in discussions of the relationship between church and state, though traditions differ on what they draw from it.
• The narrative continues with the sentencing and crucifixion in John 19. The full sequence of events is covered in the article on the trial of Jesus.

In the Korean Church

The Revised Common Lectionary (a list of Scripture readings arranged according to the church year) assigns John 18:1–19:42 as the Gospel reading for Good Friday. For this reason, churches that follow the church calendar read this chapter during Holy Week. The scene of Peter's denial is often used in sermons and Sunday school as a text on failure and restoration, and it is frequently treated together with the account of Peter's restoration in John 21.