Jesus’ Choice: John 18:1-11

After John describes Jesus’ teaching and prayer on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, He shifts focus onto Judas coming with the mob to betray Jesus. However, while John includes a detail that most, if not all, of the other gospel writers include, John also includes an amazing detail that is unique to his gospel account of this event. Through these two details, we discover something powerful about Jesus, and how facing the cross was His choice.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it using the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. ² Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.

³ The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

⁴ Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

⁵ “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) ⁶ As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! ⁷ Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

⁸ “I told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” ⁹ He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. ¹¹ But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

In this event, while the other three gospel writers include the detail about someone slashing off the ear of the high priest’s slave, John gives both the name of the slave and the name of the disciple who did the slashing. Part of me wonders if following this event, this slave joins the early church, because Luke’s gospel includes the detail about Jesus healing his ear, and John knows this slave’s name.

However, while this last detail is powerful, what John describes happened earlier is even more amazing. Several of the other gospels describe Judas Iscariot taking the lead and greeting Jesus with a kiss to let the mob know which one was Jesus. However, John’s gospel prompts us with the powerful truth that Jesus steps forward willingly to meet the mob.

Not only does Jesus step forward, but He also takes the lead, perhaps even before Judas Iscariot can come forward. Jesus asks the mob directly who they are looking for, and after the mob has responded, Jesus replies that He is the One they were looking for. Verses 5 and 6 describe Jesus’ response and what happened by saying, “‘I am he,’ Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said ‘I am he,’ they all drew back and fell to the ground!”

While Jesus then repeats His question and they reply, I am amazed by John’s detail that one short but powerful declaration from Jesus knocks the entire mob to the ground. While Jesus may have momentarily let His divinity shine through His humanity at that moment, the detail that the mob was knocked off their feet is not as amazing as the conclusion we can draw from this detail.

Through one simple declaration, Jesus knocked the mob off their feet, which one might think would be enough to wake up this mob that arresting Jesus might be futile. However, they are unconvinced, and follow through with their plans for arrest.

While this might appear like a success on the part of the mob, this entire event was clearly within Jesus’ control. If Jesus could knock the mob down with a simple three-word declaration, nothing the mob could do would overpower Jesus if He was unwilling to surrender. The voice that calmed the storm, that cast out demons, and that taught God’s love was able to knock down this band of hired enemies, but it wasn’t enough to break through the mob’s hard hearts.

Jesus was fully capable of stopping the mob, but He chose not to. When seeing that Jesus could but wouldn’t defend Himself, Peter jumps up to defend Jesus. While Peter’s actions may have been prompted in part by Jesus’ earlier challenge to Peter about denying Him, and Peter assuring Jesus that he would be willing to die for Him, I suspect that this defense also prompted Peter to stand out in the minds’ of those in the mob. This is relevant because many of those in the courtyard we will look at in our next episode likely were also in the mob that arrested Jesus. 

Peter in this passage displays a similar belief as Judas Iscariot, even though both men were very different. It is likely that both Peter and Judas Iscariot believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and it is also likely that both Peter and Judas Iscariot believed the Messiah would last forever.

Where these two disciples differed the most was Judas likely believed Jesus would not let Himself be arrested, or at least condemned, while Peter understood that Jesus likely would be crucified because of this. Neither one of these disciples understood the resurrection Jesus had repeatedly predicted; and neither one of these disciples believed Jesus would return from the dead to then last forever. Both men did not understand the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah’s sacrifice, because that culture had discounted or ignored all passages suggesting a suffering Messiah.

However, the huge conclusion we find in this event is again shared when Jesus challenges Peter about defending Jesus with violence. Our passage concludes with Jesus’ words in verse 11, “Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Jesus willingly chose the cross for you and for me, and because of this, we are able to see God’s love for us. Jesus was not forced to face the cross, but He was willing to face suffering, pain, ridicule, and death in order to show us God’s love and just how far God would go to redeem humanity.

Jesus loves each of us more than we can even imagine, and God’s love for us led Jesus to face the worst, most painful, and most humiliating death imaginable. The sin in our lives and our past deserves this death, but Jesus was willing to pay for our debt in order to show us God’s love for us and to give us a way to be saved and redeemed for eternity.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to accept the gift Jesus offers to us through the death He chose. Everything in our passage pointed to Jesus willingly choosing to be arrested, and as we move through this event, we’ll see more examples of Jesus humbly following the path towards death when He clearly did not deserve death and could have easily given up.

With that said, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and study, we can grow a personal relationship with God, and through a personal relationship with God, discover for yourself just how much God loves you and me!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!