John 18:37

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify tothe truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

-John’s portrait is clear: The entire world — both Jew and Gentile — has come against Jesus. Responsibility for what happens next rests with all of them.

-How often do the Pilates of our world pursue a course of pragmatism and expediency, protecting their ownself-interest, using the rhetoric of righteousness, feigning an interest in truth — but when backed into a corner, when pressed to make a decision with social consequences, they crumble?

-Signs, witnesses, discourses — all have been paraded before us so that we may make our judgment on the truth of Jesus. What have we concluded?

John 18-19:16 (focusing on verses 1-11)

1 WHEN HE HAD finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

3 So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

5“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)

6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

8“I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”

9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him

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

14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard,

16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

17“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.”

18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?”

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

25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?”

27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

30“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected.

32 This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe

3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

7 The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,

9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.

10“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).

14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Jesus’ Arrest
THE OPENING WORDS of chapter 18 link the Passion story with the Farewell Discourse. Once Jesus completes these teachings (his farewell and prayer), he leads his disciples out of the city to a garden that he frequented. The Synoptics also refer to this departure. Since it is Passover, they are required to remain in the city precincts that night, and Bethany is beyond the permissible limit. East of Jerusalem’s walled city is a steep valley called the Kidron. This valley is a riverbed that remains dry most of the year but flows only following winter rains.

Here they find a garden named by the Synoptics “Gethsemane.” We should not think of a decorative garden like those built for pleasure in Europe or North America. This is an olive grove (“Gethsemane” means olive press), which grew along the west shoulder of the Mount of Olives. At this point, the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ prayer in the olive grove. John does not refer to it.

John’s account of the arresting party’s arrival has dramatic interests that differ from the Synoptics. Judas (who departed the story in 13:30) knows the location as well and therefore can lead the party to this location. While the Synoptics only mention a Jewish guard at the arrest, John refers to “a detachment of soldiers” who appear alongside the Jewish police.

The appearance of a Roman “detachment” in this posse has posed historical problems for many. A cohort could consist of a thousand men (760 infantry, 240 cavalry) and be lead by a chiliarch (lit., leader-of-one-thousand, generally translated commander, captain, or tribune). These soldiers were based no doubt at Jerusalem’s Antonia Fortress, but it is not necessary to think that all of them are present. This is likely a detachment large enough to warrant bringing along their commander and equipped with weapons.

During festival seasons the Romans were aware of the explosive atmosphere in the city, and reinforcements routinely came to Jerusalem. At the beginning, then, we have a signal of Roman interest in Jesus and a hint that Pilate may already be participating. The presence of chief priests and Pharisees recalls their appearances elsewhere in the Gospel and indicates that these leaders, priestly aristocrats and teachers of the law, who had plotted Jesus’ death earlier under Caiaphas’s direction, are now putting their plan into action. Therefore John’s portrait is clear: The entire world — both Jew and Gentile — has come against Jesus. Responsibility for what happens next rests with all of them.

But Jesus is not taken by surprise. In Mark 14:42 Jesus knows that Judas is coming before he arrives. Likewise here, Jesus’ foreknowledge gives him the ability to see the arrest before it unfolds. He does not shrink from the moment but has already made the decision to lay down his life under his own volition. Therefore Jesus steps forward and asks the first question, “Who is it you want?” (which echoes Jesus’ first words in the Gospel). The answer is surprising: “Jesus of Nazareth.” In John, reference to Jesus from Nazareth appears only here, in the title on the cross. Although John does not refer to Nazareth stories, he is acquainted with sources also known to the Synoptics. It is likely at this point that, according to the Synoptics, Judas marks Jesus with a kiss.

Jesus identifies himself plainly but this certainly means a great deal more than a mere self-identification. Jesus uses the “I am” formula we have seen elsewhere in the Gospel, which no doubt recalls God’s divine name. John underscores this in 18:6, “When Jesus said, ‘I am … ,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”

This verse does not describe unruly soldiers backing away and stumbling (Carson), nor is it about the psychological effect of Jesus’ personality on the mob (Morris). Rather, John creates another of his many ironic scenes: Jesus’ words provoke a response that even those who hear it likely do not understand. This is the biblical response of holy fear before the Lord. This is a theophany in which God has been revealed before mortals and the only response is to fall prostrate.

Jesus not only steps forward (thus taking charge of his own arrest), but he protects his followers from capture and so fulfills what he said in 17:12. Of those whom God has given to him, he has not lost one. Twice Jesus makes his captors say that he alone is the one they seek. This recalls the image we have of Jesus the shepherd in chapter 10 — not only laying down his life for his sheep but also preserving them and not letting them become victims left to the wolves.

John alone tells us that Peter is the one who draws out his sword and strikes the high priest’s slave, whom John names as Malchus. The suggestion that we locate the origin of the name Malchus in Zechariah 11:6 (malchus means “my king”) is farfetched. It is not impossible, however, that John sees some ironic double meaning, insofar as the kingship of Jesus is one of the chief themes that runs through chapters 18 – 19. Peter’s sword is a machaira, a short sword or a long knife (probably worn with everyday garments), and Peter’s clumsy use of it shows something of the chaos of the scene. We know nothing more of the priest’s slave except that both John and Luke tell us that he loses his right ear. Luke closes the scene with Jesus’ healing of the man’s ear.

Jesus then points to the “cup” the Father has given him to drink. This reference recalls the Synoptic Gethsemane prayer, but now the struggle with Jesus’ fate belongs to Peter, who cannot face the “cup” that includes the cross. Jesus, by contrast, understands that this is God’s will and so will not hesitate to embrace it.

The betrayal of leadership (continued)

How often do the Pilates of our world pursue a course of pragmatism and expediency, protecting their ownself-interest, using the rhetoric of righteousness, feigning an interest in truth — but when backed into a corner, when pressed to make a decision with social consequences, they crumble? “What is truth?” is the question you ask when truth is the last thing you want to hear. In the end, Pilate is of the “world” and so represents a system that is filled with darkness. He may intuit the light, as Pilate senses that something is wrong with this verdict, and he may make gestures toward truth, as when Pilate tries to free Jesus. But when the deal-makers arrive, when the pollsters report what it is that will secure the future, all commitments are tossed out like yesterday’s newspaper. Pilate killed Jesus. He did not have the resolve to act on what his instincts were telling him (“I find no basis for a charge against him"). He is a failed leader.

But the most disturbing profile in this climax to the Gospel belongs to Annas and Caiaphas, figures who almost merge in the narrative. Caiaphas is the catalyst, the mover, the inspired leader of the Sanhedrin, who is willing to tell them all they are ignorant (“You know nothing at all!”) while he alone knows the secret of how to deal with Jesus. When word is out in the streets of Jerusalem that the leaders are seeking to kill Jesus, we can sense Caiaphas’ shadow in the background. At Jesus’ arrest his temple guard serves alongside Pilate’s soldiers. He even puts his small company of men under the leadership of Judas (a remarkable scene!) in order to bring Jesus into custody. It is Caiaphas who delivers Jesus to Pilate and from Jesus’ point of view, Caiaphas will be held accountable for this decision.

It is curious that nowhere is Judas incriminated for his deed during these chapters. He is a lackey, a pawn in a larger game, and no doubt in Gethsemane he is summarily pushed to one side. Later when Jesus squares off with the true power-brokers of the temple, he has arrived at the nodal point of darkness.

The essence of Jesus’ only interview with the temple leaders is that Jesus requests a fair trial. There is no theological debate (as in the Synoptics). We do not even hear Annas’s voice. Jesus simply wants an honest hearing wherein the evidence can be displayed and witnesses heard. He wants the public things he has done made known so that everyone can see them and make a judgment. But Jesus does not get what he wants; his request is answered with a slap.

This request is precisely what we possess in the course of the entire Gospel. Signs, witnesses, discourses — all have been paraded before us so that we may make our judgment on the truth of Jesus. John has thus taken the essence of Jesus’ trial and organized it into the structures of his Gospel. We now hold in eighteen chapters the material evidence against Jesus. Therefore we know the evidence accessible to these leaders; we know the basis of their judgment; as we read the Gospel, we stand with these leaders, weighing what Jesus has said and done. As we hear the tone of chapters 5, 8 and 10, we can hear echoes of the tone that flew at Jesus during his late-night interrogation.

With Caiaphas and Annas we unmask the religious betrayal of leadership.But when we read between the lines, we learn that in the end theology does not matter for these men. Caiaphas is concerned about the preservation of the state and the outcome of politics. His lieutenants are primed to call for Barabbas’s freedom as quickly as they can call for Jesus’ crucifixion. They have done their homework. When they see Pilate vacillating, they play political hardball, issuing a fatal threat to the man’s career and labeling Jesus as agenuine enemy of the empire. Their final words on this stage appear at 19:15, where they hoist up their patriotic flag higher than the highest temple rampart, putting Caesar above God.

What can we make of these men? This is more than a story about the miscarriage of justice. It is more than a disturbing parable of an innocent man dying without justice. This is a story of religious corruption, of spiritual leaders who slaughter the sheep and ruin the flock. This is the story of priests who have bent the knee before Rome, not the temple; who have viewed God’s people as apower base, a social construct, a force among other political forces, an agent of change in the politics of change, and themselves as worthy brokers with the pagan power-broker from the Roman Senate. In their secret conspiracy to eliminate one man, a man who could upset their carefully-built equilibrium, they sacrifice their souls.

In the end, they are in the world as much as Pilate is; yet,disturbingly, they do not show any of Pilate’s reserve or regret. Being trained experts at ethics they know how ethics can be bent; being theologians adept at religious language, they know how to manipulate it for public consumption. Caiaphas is a parable as much as he is a man.He is a Christian in Washington cutting deals with political actiongroups. He is a theologian at denominational headquarters winning respectability by cutting out ancient and cherished beliefs — no, revising them for the modern world in order to gain the respect of Caesar, in order to make the church palatable for the world. Caiaphas kills Jesus. In his theological wisdom and hard-earned ecclesiastical prestige, he has lost sight of God. He is a failed leader.

-We praise you, Father, for giving us a way to pass your judgment and find your mercy. Thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord.

-They are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. The tyrants of the world look so good with their suits and with their smiles but you, Father, have given us the wisdom to discern. Our defense is up and our response will always be in the Lord's favor.

-Father, it is one thing to acknowledge your truth and another to respond favorably. We repent and seek your forgiveness and acknowledge your mercy that we do not deserve. Thank you, Father, for your great love toward us.

So much evidence has been presented regarding the truth of Jesus' Messiah-ship yet the "whole world" turns against him. How powerful is evil? When emotion runs rampant truth is set aside and "powers that be" run the show. So much can be said regarding the "powers" in Jerusalem on that day. The verdict regarding Jesus had to happen in that way but God have mercy on those who pronounced the verdict.