Gospel of John Made Easy
Chapter 18
Vs. 1-14
After Jesus said this long prayer he and his disciples went to a garden.
Judas knew this garden because they went to this garden many times.
Judas had planned with the priests and church leaders to catch Jesus. They had sent a group of men to get Jesus. In the group of men were Jewish leaders, and temple guards and maybe Roman soldiers.
They had torches (flames for light) and weapons perhaps swords and spears.
Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. He went up to the group of men and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus, of Nazareth”. Jesus said, “I am he, (That is me).”
When Jesus said that, they fell backward and fell to the ground!
(That was the power of God coming from Jesus! That should have been a warning to them that they were not speaking to just a regular man.)
So, Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” Again, they said, “Jesus, of Nazareth.”
Jesus said, “I have told you I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these other men go.” Jesus did this to fill his own words that he said, “I have not lost one that You (Father) have given me.”
Simon Peter pulls out his sword and swings at a man servant. He cut off his ear. The other gospel books tell us that Jesus put the ear back on and healed it.
Wouldn’t you think that would have stopped them all to think of what they were doing? But, no, they kept on catching Jesus to kill him.
Jesus said to Peter, “Put away your sword. This is the “cup” the Father has asked me to drink, shall I not drink it?” (In other words, this is the plan the Father has for me, shall I not do it?)
Then the group of men took Jesus and tied him. (Tied his hands. Like policemen would put handcuffs on someone.)
They took him to the Annas, who was the father-in-law of the High Priest. The High Priest was Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the one who had said before when they were talking about Jesus that it would be better if one person died than for the whole nation to die. John 11:50 Caiaphas was worried that the Romans would think that all the talk about Jesus becoming the king of the Jews would make the king of the Romans upset. Then he would start a war on the Jewish people and many would be killed.
So Caiaphas said it would be better to kill Jesus and get rid of him rather than let him upset the Romans and all of the Jews would suffer.
In the spiritual Jesus was going to die for all the people so they would not have to die.
Caiaphas did not understand the spiritual thing that Jesus was doing.
Vs. 15-18
Peter had followed Jesus and the group of men. He stayed far back so they did not see him. But now, Peter was standing outside the door.
Another disciple had also followed the men and Jesus. He had gone into the building with them because he knew the High Priest. Church history writers believe this “other disciple” was John. The same one who is writing this book.
John told the girl servant who was guarding the door, to let Peter come in. So she did.
The girl was looking at Peter she asked him, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?” Peter said, “No.”
The group of men, guards, were sitting, standing round a fire pit to keep warm. Peter stood there with them.
Vs. 19-27
The father-in-law of the High Priest asked Jesus about his disciples and about what he taught.
Jesus said, “I have talked to the people out in the open and in the Jewish churches. What I have said in private is the same that I have said in public. Why are you asking me? You could ask anyone who heard me what I have taught.”
One of the guards, did not like the answer Jesus gave. He thought Jesus was not being respectful to this leader. This leader calls him a “high priest”. He may have been a priest and a high leader but he was not the High Priest.
Jesus said to him: “If I have spoken wrongly, show me how or why, but if not, why did you slap me?”
Annas decided to send Jesus to the High Priest.
The men standing around the fire pit said to Peter “Aren’t you a disciple of Jesus?”
Peter said, “No.”
One of the servants of the High Priest he was a relative of the man Peter had cut.
He said: “Didn’t I see you in the garden?” Peter said, “No.”
(In other books of the gospels, they wrote that Peter said that he did not know Jesus.)
This now was the third time that Peter said that he was not Jesus’ disciple.
It was beginning to be morning just after Peter said “No” for the third time a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus said that before the rooster would crow that Peter would have denied that he was a follower of Jesus three times . Matthew 26:34 Mark 14: 30 Luke 22: 14
Vs. 28 – 40
The Jewish leaders took Jesus away to the Roman ruler’s place. It was in a place called the Judgment Hall.
The Jewish leaders did not go into the building with Jesus. This was a building of the Gentiles. Pilate came out to talk to them.
Passover a holy Jewish feast and remembering time was later that evening and they wanted to be able to take the Passover meal. Men had to be ceremonially clean to take part of the Passover.
There was no Old Testament rule about being in a Gentile place making you unclean before the Passover, but the Jewish leaders of Jesus day had many extra rules. So it seems they thought it would be best if they did not go into the building.
They would have been considered by some to be “unclean” and they would not have had time to do the “making clean and pure” ceremony needed before it was time to start getting ready for the Passover meal.
The Jewish leaders were all about having everything “look good” and they did not want anyone blaming them for doing something wrong.
(The real sad part of that was they did not feel bad at all about blaming Jesus and planning to kill him when he did not do anything wrong. That did not bother them at all. But it did bother them to go into a Gentile building and have someone talk about them and say they had made themselves “unclean”.)
(Don’t you think that falsely blaming someone and planning to kill them would make you “unclean” ?)
Pilate was the Roman ruler over the Jews at that time.
Pilate asked, “What are you blaming this man for?”
They said “We would not have brought him here if he did not do crimes.”
Pilate said, “Take him and judge him yourself by your own laws.”
The Jewish leaders answered: “ Only the Romans can put someone to death..” This fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus said about the way he would die.
(If Jewish people decided someone needed to die for a crime they stoned them to death. They would not crucify someone.)
Pilate went back into the building and told Jesus to come with him. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you king of the Jews?”
Jesus asked Pilate, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
Pilate said, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and leaders have brought you here, what have you done?”
Jesus said: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight and I would not have been caught and brought here. But my kingdom is not of this world.”
Pilate said: “Are you a king, then?”
Jesus said: “You say I am a king. That is why I came into this world. I came to speak of truth. Everyone who is of truth (or who knows God or recognizes God’s truth) has heard me or accepted me.”
Pilate said: “What is truth?”
The Pilate went outside to talk to the Jewish leaders. He said, “I do not find any fault or wrong in him.” “But you have a custom that at Passover time you pardon someone and let them go. Do you want me to let Jesus go?”
Then the Jewish leaders began to say loudly, “No, not this man. Let Barabbas go.”
Barabbas was a robber.