John 18

Chapter 18

Judas Betrays Jesus

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, ^aHe went forth with His disciples over ^bthe ¹ravine of the Kidron, where there was ^ca garden, in which He entered ²with His disciples.

²Now Judas also, who was ¹betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had ^aoften met there with His disciples.

^3aJudas then, having received ^bthe Roman ¹cohort and ^cofficers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and ^dtorches and weapons.

⁴So Jesus, ^aknowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “^bWhom do you seek?”

⁵They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

⁶So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Therefore He again asked them, “^aWhom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”

⁹to fulfill the word which He spoke, “^aOf those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

¹⁰Simon Peter then, ^ahaving a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.

¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; ^athe cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Jesus before the Priests

^12aSo ^bthe Roman ¹cohort and the ²commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,

¹³and led Him to ^aAnnas first; for he was father-in-law of ^bCaiaphas, who was high priest that year.

¹⁴Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that ^ait was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

^15aSimon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into ^bthe court of the high priest,

^16abut Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.

^17aThen the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “^bYou are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

¹⁸Now the slaves and the ^aofficers were standing there, having made ^ba charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were ^cwarming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

^19aThe high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching.

²⁰Jesus answered him, “I ^ahave spoken openly to the world; I always ^btaught in ¹synagogues and ^cin the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret.

²¹“Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.”

²²When He had said this, one of the ^aofficers standing nearby ^bstruck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?”

^23aJesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?”

^24aSo Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

^25aNow ^bSimon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “^cYou are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”

²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one ^awhose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in ^bthe garden with Him?”

²⁷Peter then denied it again, and immediately ^aa rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

^28aThen they led Jesus from ^bCaiaphas into ^cthe ¹Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that ^dthey would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

^29aTherefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

³⁰They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”

³¹So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”

³²to fulfill ^athe word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

³³Therefore Pilate ^aentered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “^bAre You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you saying this ¹on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”

³⁵Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”

³⁶Jesus answered, “^aMy kingdom ¹is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ²of this realm.”

³⁷Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “^aYou say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, ^bto testify to the truth. ^cEveryone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

³⁸Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he ^awent out again to the Jews and said to them, “^bI find no guilt in Him.

³⁹“^aBut you have a custom that I release someone ¹for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰So they cried out again, saying, “^aNot this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.