Chapter BY Chapter

John 18:1-14

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Judas Betrays Jesus

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When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.  Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.  So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”  They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.  When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.  So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”  This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”  Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)  So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

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So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.  First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.  It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

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What did we learn in Chapter 17?

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Jesus prays for God to glorify himself so he may glorify God.  This is just before he is going to be crucified.  Jesus has repeatedly referred to his crucifixion in the gospel of John in terms of being glorified.  It is glory for him to be crucified because he is going to atone for the sins of the world.   Jesus has accomplished his work that God gave him to do.  The crucifixion and resurrection are set in motion.  They will be certainties.  Jesus also completed his work of discipleship. 

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The prayer of Jesus in John 17 further strengthens to doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the deity of Jesus.  Jesus shared the glory of God before the creation of the world.  Jesus manifested God’s name.  He revealed it.  Yahuweh, “I was, I am, I will be.  Jesus applied this name to himself.  What God has, Jesus also has. 

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Jesus prays for the disciples and for all believers.  Jesus asks for their unity.  Jesus asks that they be kept in God’s name, thus signifying that holding the doctrine of the deity of Jesus will help keep them as one.  Jesus asks that they may be protected from the evil one.  Jesus asks that they be set apart for holiness.  Jesus gave them God’s word and truth.  Jesus is the Word of God, and the Truth of God.

The glory that God has given Jesus is given to the believers.  First, it is the believer’s glory because it is their salvation.  It is also our glory because we are crucified with Christ in the sense that we are dead to the flesh.  Jesus prays that the believers may be where Jesus is showing that believers will be with Jesus in heaven.  Jesus has the love of God before the creation of the world.  Jesus prays that God’s love be in the believers as well as that he will be in the believers. 

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There is nothing more powerful than the love of God.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  This is central.  No doctrine is as important to have as the doctrine of God’s love.  God loves us.  We get his love.  We live in a relationship of love for God, of love for other believers, of love to our neighbors, and even to our enemies.  In all things, we should live like we have God’s love.  In all things we should treat others out of love.  Without it we are what?  1 Corinthians 13:1, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 

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Now we get to the events in the gospel of John that are coming about to complete God’s work of love. 

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.  Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.  So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.”

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The Kidron Valley is a classical transliteration, Cedron, from Hebrew: נחל קדרון‎, Naḥal Qidron, literally Qidron River.  It is the valley on the eastern side of The Old City of Jerusalem, separating the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives. It continues east through the Judean desert in the West Bank, towards the Dead Sea, descending 4000 feet along its 20-mile course. The settlement Kedar, located on a ridge above the valley, is named after it.  The Hebrew name Qidron is derived from the root qadar, "to be dark", and may be meant in this context as "dusky".  Being on the East side of Jerusalem, it would be the first area in the region of the city to turn dark as the sun sets.  The valley is also the place of many tombs.  The three monumental tombs on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley are among the most well-known landmarks of ancient Jerusalem. These are, from north to south, the so-called "Tomb of Absalom" (Hebrew: Yad Avshalom), which rises in front of the so-called "Cave of Jehoshaphat", the (correctly named) Tomb of Benei Hezir (Benei Hezir is the Hebrew for "sons of Hezir", meaning the Hezir priestly family ), and the so-called "Tomb of Zechariah", which could quite likely be the Monument of the Tomb of Benei Hezir.  The valley contains the Garden of Gethsemane. 

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Now there are some apparent discrepancies between the gospel of John and the other gospels.  The gospel of John records Jesus crossing into the garden after saying a prayer.  The other gospels have Jesus saying a prayer after entering the garden.  The prayer in the other gospels is also much different.  The resolution of this is blatantly obvious.  There are two prayers.  John records the first prayer because that is what fits his themes well.  John is not constrained to repeat all the same material.  John assumes that the reader knows what is in the other gospels. 

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So, Judas, knowing that Jesus and his disciples frequently go to this garden, procures a band of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees.  Notice that Judas procures this band of men.  As we mentioned before, Judas Iscariot was a zealot in favor of an armed revolution against the Romans.  Also, thirty pieces of silver wasn’t really much.  Judas was all in favor of turning Jesus over to the Chief Priests because Jesus was a big distraction from his goal of a military revolution.  The Chief Priests had already given orders that anyone knowing where Jesus was should inform them so they could arrest him.  Judas was seizing this as an opportunity.  Judas had more motivation from his politics than just greed, even though he exercised his greed here as well.  Judas wants Jesus out of the way.  Everyone is following Jesus and learning how to love one another.  Jesus preached tolerance of the Romans.  Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Judas must have thought that Jesus was a wimp.  Judas must have thought it was ridiculous all the people following Jesus. 

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Remember that the Chief Priests have a Roman battalion of about 1,000 soldiers at their disposal.  I am sure they brought enough soldiers to easily arrest Jesus and his disciples. How many soldiers did they bring?  If they were using typical military tactics, as a rule of thumb, they would have outnumbered Jesus and the disciples at least 3 to 1, most likely 5 to 1.  The fact that Peter did not recognize the relative of Malchus in the garden that recognized him, lends to the likelihood that Judas brought a big crowd with him.  The gospel of Mark describes this as “a crowd with swords and clubs.”

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Now watch what happens.

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“Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”  They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.  When Jesus said to them, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

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This is proof positive that Jesus went to the cross voluntarily.  First of all, Jesus knows all that would happen to him.  When they say they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus says just two words, “I am.”  Actually, Jesus probably spoke to them in Hebrew, so it was just one word, “Yahuweh.”  So Jesus says just one word, and by the power of that word, the crowd draws back and falls down.  If Jesus so wants, all he has to do is say one word and his enemies fall down. 

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In Revelation 19:13-15, the Word of God strikes down the nations from a sharp sword that comes out of his mouth.  This is how powerful the Word of God is.  It is spoken and so it is.  In Genesis 1, God created the universe by his Word.  In John 5:46-47, Jesus said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”  In Mark 4:35-41, the winds and the waves obeyed the words of Jesus.  In Hebrews 1:3, he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  In Luke 4:35-36, Jesus commands an evil spirit to come out of a man, and the people respond by saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

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So Judas comes to betray Jesus and POW!  He gets knocked down from one word out of Jesus’ mouth.  But Jesus realizes that it is God’s plan for him to go to the cross.

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“So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”  This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

So, the crowd is not knocked down this time, but there is power in Jesus’ word once again.  By saying, “Let these men go” they do so and Jesus fulfills the words that he just spoke a few minutes ago.  There is power in the Word. 

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Peter, being zealous, does not want Jesus arrested. 

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“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)  So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

More evidence that Jesus is going into this willingly.  He knows beforehand that this is his purpose – to die on the cross.  He tells Peter to put the sword away.  One of the other gospels adds that Jesus heals Malchus’ ear.  Jesus states that he should drink the cup that the Father has given him.  Jesus is intent that he will do God’s will.  He will go to the cross.

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“So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.  First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.  It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.”

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Now earlier in this study, we learned that Annas had been deposed.  Yet we see here that he was still in control of things.  He is the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest.  So the first thing the crowd does is take Jesus to Annas.  Now Annas was first put into the high priest position by the Romans when the Romans took over the area of Judea.  The former High Priest was not cooperative to the Romans.  Annas was cooperative with the Romans.  So we obviously have someone in power over the Jews that is NOT of God’s choosing.   He is a power broker and a money monger. 

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John reminds us that it was Caiaphas that said that one man should die for the people.  He was specifically referring to Jesus when he said this.  The Pharisees and the Jewish leaders felt threatened by Jesus because he spoke against their sin.  They could not repent of their sins because of their pride.  They could not just leave Jesus alone because the people would depose their leaders and demand righteous leaders.  Caiaphas inadvertently said that Jesus should die for the people, and Jesus did, but in a much more powerful way than he could have imagined.

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So there is power in the Word.  The Word is Yahuweh.  That Word is truth, and that Word is Jesus. 

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“There is Power” by Lincoln Brewster