B7270A Johannine Literature B7270A Unlocking John

Week 10

The Gospel according to John, Chapters 18-19

PRAYER
Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly, I tell you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (Jn 12:23-24, 32)
Holy God, holy and strong, holy, and immortal, have mercy upon us. (x3)

18:1-40 Jesus’ arrest and trial

18:1-11 Jesus is arrested in the Kidron Valley

18:12-14 Jesus is brought before the High Priest

18:15-18 Peter denies Jesus the first time

18:19-24 Annas questions Jesus

18:25-27 Peter denies Jesus a second and third time

18:28-40 Jesus and Pilate

19:1-42 Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and burial

19:1-16 Jesus’ trial by Pilate continues

19:17-27 Jesus is crucified

19:28-30 Jesus dies on the cross

19:31-42 Jesus is buried by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

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 18:1-11 Jesus is betrayed and arrested

1st century steps from the Old City

to the Kidron Valley Garden of Olives; some tree roots
may be 2000 years old

18:1 Setting the scene:

After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron
valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
[Cf. Synoptics on ‘Jesus’ agony in the garden’]

18:2-5 Judas “who betrayed him” (vv.2, 5) brings soldiers to arrest Jesus
2
Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there
with his disciples. 3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police
from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches
and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and
asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” 5 They answered, “Jesus of
Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am [he] (Ἐγώ εἰμι).” Judas, who betrayed him, was
standing with them.

v. 4 Jesus: Τί ζητεῖτε; Cf. Τίνα ζητεῖτε; (1:38) – What/whom are you looking for?

v. 5 “Jesus of Nazareth…” Jesus replies: Ἐγώ εἰμι (and again in v.6 and v.8)

18:6-11 Jesus hands himself over to the soldiers

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When Jesus said to them, “I am he” (Ἐγώ εἰμι), they stepped back and fell to the
ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus
of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am [he] (Ἐγώ εἰμι). So if you are
looking for me, let these others go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken,
“I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” (Cf. Jn 6:39; 17:12)
10
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut
off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your
sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

18:12-27 Jesus before the high priest; Peter’s denials

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Notice in this section how the evangelist alternates the scenes between what is
happening to Jesus and Peter’s denials:

18:12-14 Jesus before Annas

18:15-18 Peter denies Jesus the first time
18:19-24 Annas questions Jesus
18:25-27 Peter denies Jesus a second (18:25) and third (18:27) time

18:12-14 Jesus is arrested and taken before Annas, father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas
12
So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound
him. 13 First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the
high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was
better to have one person die for the people.

v. 14 Note
- the theological irony in this prophecy by Caiaphas, and
- the reference back to Caiaphas’s earlier prophecy (John 11:49-50):
49
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know
nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die
for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.”

18:15-18 Peter denies Jesus the first time

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

Who is “another disciple” (v.15), “the other disciple” (v.16), who is “known to the
high priest”(v.16)?
- the unnamed companion of Andrew (1:40)?

- ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, the Beloved Disciple (13:23)?

- If the Beloved Disciple, how might he be “known to the high priest”?

Cf. also the links made between the Beloved Disciple and Peter:
13:23-26; 18:15-18, 25-27.

[We’ll see this again even more so in the resurrection appearance narratives in John 20.]

18:19-24 Jesus is questioned by Annas ‘the high priest’ who then sends him to Caiaphas.
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 19
Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
20
Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in
synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said
nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them;
they know what I said.”
22
When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face,
saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
23
Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have
spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
24
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

18:25-27 Peter denies Jesus a second time (v.25), then a third (vv.26-27)
25
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are
not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

26
One of the slaves 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?”
27
Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Cf. Matthew 26:34 and Luke 22:34

“I tell you Peter, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

18:28-40 Jesus is tried by Pilate

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 → This is the first explicit reference in the Fourth Gospel to Jesus’ kingship,
a theme that continues through to 19:36.

18:28-32 outside the praetorium Pilate interrogates the soldiers and the Jewish police.
28
Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the
morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and
to be able to eat the Passover.
29
So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this
man?” 30 They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him
over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your
law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” 32 (This was to fulfill
what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

18:33-38a inside the praetorium Pilate in dialogue with Jesus.

33
Then Pilate entered the headquarters [i] again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the
King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you
about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests
have handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this
world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
37
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For
this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who
belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
38
Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

18:38b-40 outside the praetorium

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 Pilate declares Jesus’ innocent; “the Jews” choose Barabbas.
38b
With this, he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a
charge against him. 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’?”
40
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an
uprising.

…………………………….

The oldest existing NT fragment is contained in the above passage. John 18:31-33, 37-38

...............................................

19: 1-42 Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial

19:1-16a Jesus’ trial by Pilate continues

19:1-3 inside Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (mockery)

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

19:4-7 outside Pilate presents Jesus to the Jews: “Behold the man!”
4
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Behold, I am bringing him
out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came
out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Behold the
man!”
6
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no charge to make
against him.” 7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he
must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

19:8-12 inside Pilate again dialogues with Jesus: whose authority?

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When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the
palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 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?”
11
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from
above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12
From 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 opposes
Caesar.”

19:13-16 outside Pilate presents Jesus again: “Behold your king!”

The Jews: Crucify him! Pilate hands Jesus over to them.
13
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place
known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of
Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

“Behold your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

15
But 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.
16
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

19:16b-27 Jesus is crucified

So, the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the
Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two
others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20
Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the
city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews
protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be
king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one
for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in
one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by
lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said

“They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” (Psalm 22:18)

This is what the soldiers did.

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19:25-27 Witness of those standing at the foot of the cross

Site of crucifixion, Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem

“There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene…

Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her,
he said to his mother: “Woman, behold your son,
and to the disciple he said: Behold your mother.”

From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (into his own [εἰς τὰ ἴδια].”
.
19:28-37 Jesus dies on the cross, having perfectly fulfilled the Father’s mission,
hands over the Spirit
28
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished (πάντα τετέλεσται), and so that
Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so
they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’
lips.
30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is accomplished (τετέλεσται)”.
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα).
31
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because
the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked
Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and
broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the
other.
33
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his
legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden
flow of blood and water.
35
The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells
the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the
scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” (Exodus 12:46; Num.
9:12; Psalm 34:20) 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have
pierced.” (Zech. 12:10).

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Note 19:34 Jesus’ side is pierced; further witness - cf. 1 John 5:6-8
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This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only
but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the
Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that testify 8 the Spirit and the water and the
blood, and these three agree.

Textual variant
Several other authorities (though none of the major ancient mss, read,with variations)
7
There are three that testify in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and
these three are one. 8 And there are three that testify on earth.

See Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. 2nd ed.
(Stuttgart: German Biblie Society, 1994), 647-649.

19:38-42 Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

38
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple
of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he
came and took the body away.
39
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’
body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance
with Jewish burial customs.
41
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new
tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of
Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Exercise
Using the attached copy of the Synopsis, compare the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial,
and note at least five key differences.

Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

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VIDEO. This video is a very rare opportunity to watch / listen to Fr Raymond Brown
whom many regard as the outstanding Johannine scholar of the 20th century.

Raymond E. Brown. Jesus’ Passion and Death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rdVIj1FIPU (1hour, 50mins.)

Short introduction to Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah. From Gethsemane to
the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels (Vols. 1 &
2), Doubleday, New York, 1994.
Video short introduction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2AKF5p2W8A (1.52mins.)

Select Bibliography
Beirne, Margaret M. Women and Men in the Fourth Gospel: A Genuine Discipleship of
Equals. London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003, 170-194.

Brown, Raymond E. Crucified Christ in Holy Week: Essays on the Four Gospel Passional
Narratives.

Heath, Jane. “You say that I am a King”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34(3),
2012, 232-253.

Moloney, Francis J. Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998, 481-
515.

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Paul L. Redditt. “John 19:38-42”. Interpretation 1(2007), 68-70.

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