Enduring Word John 18 (2024)

FAQs

What is the main point of John chapter 18? ›

This chapter records the events on the day of the Crucifixion of Jesus, starting with the arrest of Jesus the evening before (in Judaic calculation, this would be considered part of the same day). The three denials of Peter (John 18:15–18;25–26) are interwoven into the narrative concerning the trials of Jesus.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He identified Himself as "I Am" (Exodus 3:14). This summarizes God's nature as the only uncreated, eternal, always-existing being: He just is, because He must be.

Jesus is secretly, quietly arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and taken to a series of sham trials before Jewish leadership. This leads to His encounter with the local Roman governor. Jesus accepts being described as "King" but denies that His current purpose is earthly rule.

In all these circ*mstances our Lord Jesus is still telling us, “Put your sword away!” Second, the cup. Jesus went on to say, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” He was talking about the cup of humiliation, suffering and death.

We often do things because the heart behind it is right; we want to help because we love Jesus, so we try to “fix” things, to bring justice to the situation, and what we end up doing is making a bigger mess. Don't try to shield the people you love from the pain and suffering they must endure. God is at work.

Truth is the one who stands on trial before Pilate. Following the assigned text is Pilate's question, “What is truth?” (18:38). We have heard the true witness of the text. Truth is standing before us in Jesus Christ.

The remark made here reiterates that Jesus' accusers have no evidence against Him. If they did, they would have been able to "bear witness about the wrong." Simply defending Himself by pointing out that there is no evidence is not worthy of assault.

The Savior gave Himself so all of us could be set free from the eternal enemies of sin and death ("Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none."). Christ is the good shepherd and we are his sheep, these scriptures communicate that he has made sure that not a single one of his flock will be lost.

The members of this militia that came to arrest Jesus were knocked flat by some kind of force! In fact, the verse says they went backward and fell “to the ground.” The words “to the ground” are taken from the Greek word chamai, which depicts these soldiers falling abruptly and hitting the ground hard.

In short, Jesus' response is to say, "everyone knows what I teach, so where is your evidence I've done wrong?" In truth, it has been Jesus' public teaching and conflict with these very religious leaders that has earned their hatred (John 7:26; Matthew 22:46).

What does Jesus reveal to us about God in John 1 18? ›

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

The Greek (tēn speiran) makes it clear that these were not Jews, but 'the cohort (of Roman auxiliaries)'. A full auxiliary cohort had a paper strength of 1,000 men, i.e., 760 foot soldiers and 240 cavalry, and was led by a 'chiliarch' (lit. 'leader of a thousand', often translated 'tribune', v. 12, 'commander').

Verse John 18:11. The cup which my Father hath given me — The cup signifies, sometimes the lot of life, whether prosperous or adverse: here it signifies the final sufferings of Christ.

Here, John uses the trial and crucifixion to display Jesus' kingship and the faithlessness of those who reject him. Jesus refuses to answer Pilate's charge of kingship directly. He states that his kingdom is “not from here” (John 18:36), which Pilate interprets to be an affirmation that Jesus is a king.

John 18:28–40 describes Jerusalem's religious leaders taking Jesus to the local Roman governor. While Jewish authorities are allowed punish blasphemers, Roman law will not let them administer the death penalty. Jesus is too well-liked to be assassinated, so His enemies will attempt to paint Him as a rebel against Rome.

The Gospel of John presents Christ as the longed for Messiah and Son of God, who comes to earth as a Jew to restore God's covenant people. Yet the very people who ought to have embraced their Messiah rejected him: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).

According to John's Gospel, Jesus surrenders not out of weakness, but out of obedience to his Father and for the protection of his own disciples (18:8–9). In contrast, the high priest (who is not present) is unable to protect his own slave, Malchus, who suffers a deforming cut to the ear from Peter (18:10–11).

In a lighthouse outside London, John undergoes purification for "eating civilization." Fasting, whipping himself, and vomiting, John strives to exorcise the guilt he feels for Linda's death and his horror of sexual contact with Lenina.

When Annas asked Jesus questions about his teaching, Jesus replied that it was known to all. He had no need to testify on his own behalf (contrary to Jewish law) when many other witnesses could be called in. After being ill-treated for giving an honest and unanswerable reply, he was sent to Caiaphas (John 18:19-24).