John 18–19

The Arrest of Christ

Matt. 26:47–56; Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–53

18When Jesus had spoken these words, ^aHe went out with His disciples over ^bthe Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. ²And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; ^cfor Jesus often met there with His disciples. ^3dThen Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. ⁴Jesus therefore, ^eknowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

⁵They answered Him, ^f“Jesus ¹of Nazareth.”

Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who ^gbetrayed Him, also stood with them. ⁶Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^h“Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”

¹⁰ⁱThen 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.

¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink ^jthe cup which My Father has given Me?”

First Jewish Trial Before Annas

Matt. 26:69, 70; Mark 14:66–68; Luke 22:55–57

¹²Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³And ^kthey led Him away to ^lAnnas first, for he was the father-in-law of ^mCaiaphas who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ⁿNow it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was ²expedient that one man should die for the people.

^15oAnd Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did ^panother ³disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. ^16qBut Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?”

He said, “I am ^rnot.”

¹⁸Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

¹⁹The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.

²⁰Jesus answered him, ^s“I spoke openly to the world. I always taught ^tin synagogues and ^uin the temple, where ⁴the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. ²¹Why do you ask Me? Ask ^vthose who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.”

²²And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by ^wstruck ⁵Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

²³Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”

Second Jewish Trial Before Caiaphas

Matt. 26:57–68, 73–75; Mark 14:53–65, 70–72; Luke 22:59–65

^24xThen Annas sent Him bound to ^yCaiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. ^zTherefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?”

He denied it and said, “I am not!”

²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” ²⁷Peter then denied again; and ^aimmediately a rooster crowed.

First Roman Trial Before Pilate

Matt. 27:2, 11–14; Mark 15:1–5; Luke 23:1–5

^28bThen they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. ^cBut they themselves did not go into the ⁶Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. ^29dPilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

³⁰They answered and said to him, “If He were not ⁷an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”

³¹Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”

Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ^32ethat the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^fsignifying by what death He would die.

^33gThen Pilate entered the ⁸Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”

^36hJesus answered, ⁱ“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, ^jthat I should bear ^kwitness to the truth. Everyone who ^lis of the truth ^mhears My voice.”

³⁸Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ⁿ“I find no fault in Him at all.”

Second Roman Trial Before Pilate

Matt. 27:15–31; Mark 15:6–20; Luke 23:13–25

^39o“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

^40pThen they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” ^qNow Barabbas was a robber.

19So then ^aPilate took Jesus and scourged Him. ²And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. ³¹Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they ^bstruck Him with their hands.

⁴Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, ^cthat you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

⁵Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

^6dTherefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

⁷The Jews answered him, ^e“We have a law, and according to ²our law He ought to die, because ^fHe made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” ^gBut Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have ³power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹Jesus answered, ^h“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ⁱthe one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

¹²From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^jWhoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

^13kWhen Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now ^lit was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

¹⁵But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, ^m“We have no king but Caesar!”

¹⁶ⁿThen he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus ⁴and led Him away.

The Crucifixion of Christ

Matt. 27:32–38, 48, 50; Mark 15:21–26, 36, 37; Luke 23:26–33, 38, 46

^17oAnd He, bearing His cross, ^pwent out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸where they crucified Him, and ^qtwo others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ^19rNow Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS

²⁰Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

^23sThen the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

^t“They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots.”

Therefore the soldiers did these things.

^25uNow there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of ^vClopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and ^wthe disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ^x“Woman, behold your son!” ²⁷Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her ^yto his own home.

²⁸After this, Jesus, ⁵knowing that all things were now accomplished, ^zthat the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” ²⁹Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and ^athey filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ^b“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

^31cTherefore, because it was the Preparation Day, ^dthat the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a ^ehigh day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers…