John 18

²Judas, who was about to betray Jesus, knew this garden well. Jesus had come here often with His disciples.

³Judas came to the garden leading a large group. Soldiers and temple officers had been sent by the chief priests. They carried torches, lanterns, and weapons.

⁴Jesus knew everything that was about to happen. He stepped forward — He did not hide — and asked them calmly: 'Who are you looking for?'

⁵They answered, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said simply and powerfully: 'I am He.' Judas, the betrayer, was standing right there with the soldiers.

⁶The moment Jesus said 'I am He,' the whole crowd of soldiers stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

⁷Jesus asked them again: 'Who are you looking for?' They picked themselves up and answered again, 'Jesus of Nazareth.'

⁸Jesus told them: 'I already told you that I am He. So if it is Me you are after, let My disciples go free.'

⁹This happened so that Jesus' own words would come true: 'Of everyone the Father gave Me, I have not lost one.'

¹⁰Simon Peter grabbed a sword and swung it at the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

¹¹Jesus said firmly to Peter: 'Put your sword away. My Father has given Me this cup to drink — and I will drink it.'

¹²The soldiers, their commander, and the Jewish officers then seized Jesus and tied His hands with ropes.

¹³They led Jesus away — first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the high priest that year.

¹⁴Caiaphas was the same man who had told the Jewish leaders: 'It is better for one man to die for the people.' He said it to protect power — but God used it as prophecy.

¹⁵Peter and another disciple followed Jesus from a distance. The other disciple knew the high priest personally, so he was able to go inside the courtyard with Jesus.

¹⁶Peter waited outside the gate. The other disciple came back out, spoke to the girl watching the door, and brought Peter inside.

¹⁷The girl at the door looked at Peter and asked, 'Aren't you one of this man's disciples?' Peter said, 'No, I am not.'

¹⁸The servants and officers had lit a charcoal fire because it was cold that night. They stood around it warming themselves — and Peter stood among them, warming himself too.

¹⁹Inside, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples — who they were — and about His teaching.

²⁰Jesus answered: 'I always taught openly — in the synagogue, in the temple, where everyone gathers. I have never taught anything in secret.'

²¹Jesus said to the high priest: 'Why are you asking Me? Ask the people who heard Me — they know exactly what I said.'

²²When Jesus finished speaking, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him across the face and said, 'Is that how you answer the high priest?'

²³Jesus replied: 'If I said something wrong, show Me what was wrong. But if I spoke the truth — why did you hit Me?'

²⁴Annas then sent Jesus — still bound — to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Outside, Peter was still warming himself by the fire. Others around him asked: 'Aren't you one of His disciples too?' Again, Peter denied it. 'No, I am not,' he said.

²⁶Then a relative of Malchus — the man whose ear Peter had cut off — said to Peter: 'Wait, didn't I see you in the garden with Jesus?'

²⁷Peter denied it one more time — and at that very moment, a rooster crowed.

²⁸Early that morning they took Jesus to the governor's hall of judgment. The Jewish leaders stayed outside — they wouldn't go in because entering a Gentile building would make them ceremonially unclean before Passover.

²⁹So Pilate came outside to them and asked: 'What charges are you bringing against this man?'

³⁰They answered: 'If He weren't a criminal, we wouldn't have brought Him to you.' They had no real charge — only pressure.

³¹Pilate told them, 'Judge Him by your own law.' But they replied: 'We are not allowed to put anyone to death.' Their real goal was execution.

³²This happened to fulfil what Jesus had said earlier — when He spoke about the kind of death He would die. He had predicted a crucifixion — the Roman way of execution.

³³Pilate went back inside the hall, called Jesus in, and asked Him directly: 'Are You the King of the Jews?'

³⁴Jesus answered with a question: 'Are you asking because you really want to know — or because someone told you to ask Me this?'

³⁵Pilate said: 'I am not a Jew — I don't care about your religious debates. Your own people and your own leaders handed You over to me. What did You do?'

³⁶Jesus answered: 'My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, My followers would have fought to keep Me from being arrested. But My kingdom is from another place entirely.'

³⁷Pilate asked: 'So You are a king?' Jesus said: 'Yes — as you say, I am a King. I was born for this. I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to truth listens to My voice.'

³⁸Pilate said, 'What is truth?' — and walked away without waiting for the answer. Then he told the crowd: 'I find no fault in this man at all.'

³⁹Pilate reminded the crowd: 'It is your custom that I release one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?'

⁴⁰The crowd shouted together: 'Not this man — give us Barabbas!' And Barabbas was a criminal — a robber.