John 18:1–14

The Arrest of Jesus

18After 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*Jesus 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*It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it was better that one man should die for all the people.