The Pulpit Commentary on John 18:1-11

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

The apprehension of Jesus.

The crisis has come at last.

I. THE SCENE OF THE ARREST. "He went forth with his disciples over the brook Kedron, where was a garden, into which he entered, and his disciples."

1. The garden was on the slope of Mount Olivet, and therefore outside Jerusalem.

2. He did not resort to it for the purpose of hiding himself from his enemies; for Judas, the traitor, knew the place. It was to be the scene of his prayers and his agonies. Its name was Gethsemane.

3. It belonged, evidently, to some friend or disciple of Jesus; for it was a frequent meeting-place for Jesus and the disciples.

4. The thought of the garden, as the beginning of the Lord's Passion, links itself by natural association with the garden of Eden, the scene of the Fall of man, which made the Passion necessary.

II. THE ARRIVAL OF THE BAND. "Judas then, having received the band, with officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and arms."

1. Judas is the leading actor in this scene.

2. The combination of the Roman soldiers with the police of the Sanhedrin marks the share of Jew and Gentile in the transaction which culminated in the scene of Calvary.

3. The use of lights at a time when the full moon was in the sky suggested the fear that Jesus might try to escape arrest in the dark corners of the garden.

III. THE MEETING OF JESUS WITH THE BAND. "Jesus therefore, knowing all that should happen to him, went forth, and said to them, Whom seek ye?"

1. There was a Divine necessity recognized in our Lord's action; for he foresaw all the events of the Passion as occurring, not through the mere malice of men, but by the foreordination of God.

2. He does not allow this foreknowledge to paralyze his action or disturb the quietude of his soul.

3. His question, "Whom seek ye?" implies that it was not man's power, but his own permission, which brought his sufferings upon him.

4. The effect of his statement, "I am he" (Jesus the Nazarene), is astounding.

5. Jesus pleads for his disciples. "I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way."

IV. PETER'S ATTEMPT AT DEFENSE. "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear."

1. The action of the apostle, so characteristic of his impulsive nature, was the proof of love, zeal, faith, and sincerity.

2. Our Lord condemns his action.

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