John 18:1–19:16

Jesus Arrested

18:3–11pp—Mt 26:47–56; Mk 14:43–50; Lk 22:47–53

18When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.ⁱ On the other side there was a garden,^j and he and his disciples went into it.^k

²Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.^{l 3}So Judas came to the garden, guiding^m a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees.ⁿ They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

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

⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,”^q they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”^r

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”^as

¹⁰Then 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.)

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

¹²Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials^u arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,^v the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.^w

Peter’s First Denial

18:16–18pp—Mt 26:69,70; Mk 14:66–68; Lk 22:55–57

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest,^x he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard,^{y 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 servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

¹⁷“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”^z

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

The High Priest Questions Jesus

18:19–24pp—Mt 26:59–68; Mk 14:55–65; Lk 22:63–71

¹⁹Meanwhile, 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^c or at the temple,^d where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.^{e 21}Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

²²When Jesus said this, one of the officials^f nearby slapped him in the face.^g “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?”^{h 24}Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphasⁱ the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

18:25–27pp—Mt 26:71–75; Mk 14:69–72; Lk 22:58–62

²⁵Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself.^j So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”^k

²⁶One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off,^l challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”^{m 27}Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.ⁿ

Jesus Before Pilate

18:29–40pp—Mt 27:11–18,20–23; Mk 15:2–15; Lk 23:2,3,18–25

²⁸Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor.^o By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace,^p because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.^{q 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.”

³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³²This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.^r

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

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

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

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

³⁷“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.^x Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”^y

³⁸“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.^{z 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’?”

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

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

19:1–16pp—Mt 27:27–31; Mk 15:16–20

19Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.^{b 2}The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”^c And they slapped him in the face.^d

⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out^e to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”^{f 5}When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,^g Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him.^h As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”ⁱ

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

⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace.^l “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.^{m 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?”

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

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

¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat^q at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic^r is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation^s of the Passover; it was about noon.^t

“Here is your king,”^u Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵But 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.

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

The Crucifixion of Jesus

19:17–24pp—Mt 27:33–44; Mk 15:22–32; Lk 23:33–43

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.