The Arrest & Trial of Jesus

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When a band of soldiers arrive at the garden of Gethsemane seeking to arrest Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus turns to them and says, “I am he.” In fact, this short phrase appears three times during this part of the narrative, which means that John is placing special emphasis on these words. So why are they significant, and what effect do they end up having upon the hearers? On this episode the hosts arrive at chapter 18 in their continuing study of the Gospel of John as Jesus is arrested and placed on trial by Israel’s chief priests.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.²Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.³So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.⁴Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”⁵They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.⁶When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.⁷So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” ⁹This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”¹⁰Then 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 its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

¹²So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.¹³First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.¹⁴It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,¹⁶but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.¹⁷The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”¹⁸Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

¹⁹The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.²⁰Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”²²When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”²³Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”²⁴Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not 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 the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”²⁷Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. (John 18:1-27)

Show Quote:

“A lot of people will say Jesus never claimed to be God and that’s one of the things we see over and over again in the Gospel of John. It’s not just that he says, “I am God.” It’s that he says, “I am Yahweh. I’m the Lord, the Covenant God.” And so he goes even further.” – Adriel Sanchez

Term to Learn:

“Drama of Redemption”

We are to view the historical events recounted in Scripture as ingredients in a unified story ordered by God’s providence. There is no square inch of human history that is outside the mission fields of Son and Spirit. The biblical authors are witnesses to a coherent series of events ultimately authored by God. This series of events involves both divine words and divine deeds and, as such, is both revelatory and redemptive.

The Old Testament testifies to the same drama of redemption as the New Testament, hence the church rightly reads both testaments together, two parts of a single authoritative script. What unifies the canon is Divine Providence and this in two senses: formally, the Bible is the product of divine authorship; materially, the subject matter of the Bible is the history of God’s covenant faithfulness. It is the story of how God keeps his word: to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and so on. It follows that the Old and New Testaments are connected at a profound level, for the one story of God’s faithfulness to his covenant promise is told in two parts. The typological connections that link the two testaments are grounded on God’s acting consistently through time.

(Adapted from Kevin Vanhoozer, “Ten Theses on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture,” Modern Reformation July/August 2010, pp. 17–18)

(This podcast is by White Horse Inn. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)