John 18:8
"I told you that I am He," Jesus replied. "So if you are looking for Me, let these men go."
Sermons
A Most Remarkable MeetingD. Thomas, D. D.John 18:1-14
All Sorrows Simultaneously Present to the Mind of ChristN. Hall, LL. B.John 18:1-14
Annas and CaiaphasC. Stanford, D. D.John 18:1-14
Christ and His CaptorsA. Maclaren, D. D.John 18:1-14
Christ BetrayedS. Lewis B. Speare.John 18:1-14
Christ Crossing CedronHomiletic MagazineJohn 18:1-14
Christ in Gethsemane, -- a Picture of JudgmentFamily ChurchmanJohn 18:1-14
Christ's Agony Arising from His PurityN. Hall, LL. B.John 18:1-14
Christ's CupT. Manton, D. D.John 18:1-14
Christ's Cup and OursM. Henry.John 18:1-14
Christ's Question to the HeartSt. J. A. Frere, M. A.John 18:1-14
Crossing CedronH. Macmillan, D. D.John 18:1-14
High Priest that YearS. S. TimesJohn 18:1-14
Jesus Before an Iniquitous and Incompetent TribunalG. J. Brown, M. A.John 18:1-14
Jesus Coming Forth from GethsemaneHomiletic MagazineJohn 18:1-14
Jesus JudgedC. Stanford, D. D.John 18:1-14
Life PicturesJ. Parker, D. D.John 18:1-14
One Sufficient for a SacrificeH. O. Mackey.John 18:1-14
Over CedronC. S. Robinson, D. D.John 18:1-14
Peter's SwordD. Thomas, D. D.John 18:1-14
Phases of a Corrupt Government in its Endeavours to Crush the LightD. Thomas, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Apprehension of ChristC. Bradley, M. A.John 18:1-14
The Arrest of JessieT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Bound Christ TriumphantN. W. Wells.John 18:1-14
The Captive Saviour Freeing His PeopleC. H. Spurgeon.John 18:1-14
The Cup of SufferingJohn 18:1-14
The Ecclesiastical Trial of JesusT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Father's CupT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:1-14
The I Ams of ChristW. H. Van Doren.John 18:1-14
The Majesty and Force of RightD. Thomas, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Manliness of ChristR. C. Ferguson.John 18:1-14
The Scene in GethsemaneT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Use of Force in ReligionT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:1-14
The Moral Courage of JesusB. Thomas John 18:4-8
The Unselfishness of ChristJ.R. Thomson John 18:8, 9














Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. He had passed through the agony. He was in the presence of the betrayer and his myrmidons. He was about to endure the indignities of the trials and the anguish of the cross. Yet his thoughts were not of himself, but of his friends. Knowing the danger to which they were exposed, the weakness which still characterized them, he was anxious on their behalf that they should not be exposed to a trial which they were not then ready to bear. Hence the stipulation and the plea to which, in surrendering himself, he gave utterance, "If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way."

I. THERE WERE SPECIAL REASONS WHY AT THIS CRISIS JESUS SHOULD TAKE MEASURES FOR THE LIBERTY AND SAFETY OF HIS FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS.

1. Jesus intended them to be his apostles, and therefore it was not in accordance with his purposes that they should at that time accompany him to trial and to death.

2. It was part of Jesus' plan to die alone. Malefactors, indeed, yielded up their breath by his side. But as his was a death unique in its import, it was not consonant with his wishes that any of his adherents should partake his Passion, and distract attention from himself.

3. In all likelihood the faith and devotion even of his nearest friends were not such as to enable them to endure participation in his death. They could not suffer for Christ until Christ had first suffered for them.

4. Our Lord designed to fulfill his own declaration uttered in his intercessory prayer - that of those given to him he had lost none.

II. This REGARD OF JESUS FOR OTHERS WAS IN HARMONY WITH HIS CONDUCT THROUGHOUT HIS MINISTRY. It was his habit to forget himself in his benevolent work and in his regard for those whom he came to save. E.g. his disinterested and generous treatment of his forerunner, John; the complete self-forgetfulness which he displayed in the season of his temptation, when he, for the sake of his mission to men, lost sight of hunger, reputation, power; his benevolent ministry to the multitude, to the sick, the suffering, the sinful. His own ease, comfort, or renown, never occupied his attention; but no pains did he ever spare that he might serve the objects of his Divine pity. Christ would not have been himself if he had not thought of and secured the liberation of his threatened friends.

III. THE UNSELFISHNESS WHICH JESUS DISPLAYED IN THE HOUR OF HIS ARREST WAS PERFECTED IN HIS SACRIFICIAL SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. It was his own profession that the laying down of his life should be for his friends - his sheep. Paul testified that he gave himself a Ransom for all, that he was a Propitiation for the sins of the whole world. When the Savior - in accordance with the appointment of Divine wisdom, and with a view to ends the most purely benevolent that were ever conceived in the whole history of the universe - hung upon the cross, it seems to us that he uttered a cry which was the earnest of the spiritual deliverance and emancipation of mankind, a cry which was the expression at once of the deepest agony and the kingliest gladness of his compassionate nature, and-that the purport of the cry was this: "Let these men go!"

IV. CHRIST'S BENEVOLENT SELF-FORGETFULNESS IS OFTEN NEGLECTED AND ABUSED. In a family we sometimes observe one person peculiarly kind and unselfish, whose demeanor, so far from being an example and an advantage to the other members of the household, is abused. The yielding and self-denial of one sets others at liberty to carry out their own favorite plans, to gratify their own selfish tastes. There is something parallel to this in the way in which some persons in Christian communities take advantage, for their own temporal comfort and prosperity, of the influences of Christianity, without at all recognizing their obligation to the Savior for all the benefits they have received, social and domestic. So tar as we can see, such persons are little the better for all that Christ has undergone for them, for the immunity from many ills which he has secured for them. The self-devotion, magnanimity, and pity of the Redeemer should surely be to such, first a rebuke, and then an exhortation to a nobler and a better life.

V. THE SELF-SACRIFICING DEVOTION OF THE SAVIOR IS THE EVERLASTING INSPIRATION OF THE HIGHER LIFE OF MANKIND. This was the intention of Christ; and it was this prospect which sustained him amidst the treachery, the hatred, the desertion, the malice, the indignities, to which he exposed himself. How sorely the world was in need of a principle and power which should correct and heal its selfishness, is well known to every one who is acquainted with his own heart, who has studied the moral ills of human society. The wars and enmities which even now disgrace humanity are sufficient evidence of this. There were others than Christ who to some extent saw the evil, and desired to do what in them lay to remedy it. Even the heathen Seneca could say, "I would so live as if I knew I received my being only for the benefit of others." But that which philosophical theory, ethical dogma, even serene example, could not effect, has been in some measure effected, and will be brought at last perfectly to pass, by him whose unselfish, self-sacrificing spirit found utterance in the cry, "Let these men go!" - T.

Not this Man but Barabbas.
The name seems to tell a tale. Bar, signifies "son;" as, Barjonah, "son of John;" and Bartholomew, "son of Tolmai;" abbas was the Greek form of the Hebrew word for "father." It looks as if the name here had, years before, been given in fond endearment to this creature when young, and that it meant "father's own boy." Perhaps there was sadness in the unfolding of the young life, and by degrees the bud of promise burst into a flower of deadly nightshade. We know nothing with certainty; but on such a subject as this the imagination will work, and we think of the "father's boy" as ruined by unwise fondness; we see the natural history of such indulgence in the indulged child becoming the sorrow of his father and the shame of his race. Whatever was the process we here see the result. Are the officers of justice looking for the hand that accomplished the last bold robbery? or that applied the match that made the last explosion? or the hand that struck the last blow in the dark? or has there been a secret muster of dangerous force, and they want to find the "head centre" of the conspiracy, and the captain of the gang? I think that in many such searchings, Barabbas was the criminal wanted. On this occasion, he had been arrested as the leader of an insurrection, and under colour of political aspirations was a convicted robber and murderer. It has even been thought by critics who are not to be slighted that this adventurer professed to be the leader of a religious as well as a political revolt, and that he arrogated to himself the title of "Messiah." "Jesus," we are told by some authorities, was one of his names, and that Pilate's question took the form, "Do you wish that I should release to you Jesus who is called the Christ, or Jesus Barabbas?" There he stands! "Dangerous" is written on his face, — robber, plotter, desperado, murderer, caught red-handed; at the sight of him horror creeps over me, my heart beats hard throbs, and the muscles of my hand stand out like cords of iron. "Jews! Turn your eyes away from this type of demonized humanity, and look at Him against whom he has been set up as rival, Jesus, the wiser than the wisest, kinder than the kindest, purer than the purest, better than the best; what say you, will you release Him?" When this appeal is made, the cry comes back, "Not this Man, but Barabbas."

(C. Stanford, D. D.)

Not the only time that a robber has been preferred to Christ. It is a choice that is made by multitudes in Christian England, as it was by that infuriated rabble eighteen hundred years ago. Why should I mince matters? You are preferring something before Christ. Its name may not be Barabbas. The ban of society may not rest upon it. And yet for all that, it is a robber.

1. It robs you; it robs you of peace, happiness, Christ. Anything you choose before Him robs you of Him. He will take no second place in your heart.

2. It robs Christ of you. You belong to Him; He made you; He bought you with His blood. Many prefer —

I. THEIR SINS TO CHRIST. Jesus stands before you. Deity come down to humanity, humanity exalted into Deity. He says, "Come unto Me." But men refuse. Failing there, He stands, shall I say higher, or lower still? On Calvary; and thence His dying voice again says — "Come." But — will you believe it? — this call of a dying Redeemer dies away unheeded. "Not this Man, but" — but — oh! who or what is this rival, who blinds your eyes to the grace of that heavenly form? Sin is its name, that hideous, deformed, repulsive thing.

1. Sin is a robber. It robs you of —(1) Your peace of mind. The sinner is not a happy man. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."(2) Heaven. Remember, while you are imbibing its stolen draughts, and rolling its forbidden fruit as a sweet morsel under your tongue, that is not the end of it. You would not knowingly harbour a thief beneath your roof, and yet you scruple not to make a home for sin in your heart — that heart for which Jesus is asking and waiting in vain.

2. Sin, like Barabbas, is also a leader in sedition. What is it that disturbs the peace of nations, that snaps the bonds of fraternity, and breaks up the foundations of a people's prosperity, but sin?

3. Like Barabbas, sin is a murderer — it was a murderer from the beginning; it murders souls with an eternal dying.

II. EASE AND SELF-INDULGENCE. Here we come from the outer circle of the world into the inner circle of the Church. How many pay Christ the compliment of coming to church once a Sunday, and here their service begins and ends! There are men who name that name which is the synonym for all that is disinterested and unselfish, who think more of their champagne than they think of the Church, and who give more for their champagne than they give to their Saviour. If I were an author, ambitious of signalizing myself by writing the shortest volume ever known, I would come to some of the members of our genteel suburban churches, and ask their permission to write an account of what they are doing for Christ and for the world. Brief indeed would be the history! A solitary cipher would describe all that many are doing for the Lord that bought them, and for a perishing world! There is a passage that must be a precious solace to some so-called Christians — "We which have believed do enter into rest." But remember, that is the labourer's rest after toil, not the idler's rest from toil. But I have another passage to set over against this — "Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion!" Yes, woe, for this ease is a Barabbas, a robber.

1. It robs your fellow-mere There are multitudes of ignorant, hungry, afflicted, dying, to whom a Christian visit is like an angel's presence. Your selfishness robs them of that.

2. It robs Christ of the reward of His sufferings, of jewels to His crown. Who knows what little one might have been led to Jesus had you taken your place in the Sabbath-school?

3. It robs yourselves —(1) Of present happiness. It is the working Christian who is the happy Christian. While "he waters others, he is watered also himself."(2) Of the Divine approbation; it will deprive you of that encomium at the day of reckoning which it were well worth spending a thousand lives to hear — "Well done, good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." You are loving your ease better than Christ. What if Christ had loved His ease better than you?

III. GAIN. All some men are living for is pounds, shillings, and pence, as though no Christ had ever lived and died. There was no room for Christ in the inn; there is no room for Him in the shop and in the counting-house, I fear. Now, this Barabbas is a robber. Ah! you think that you are growing rich; but instead of this, you are being daily robbed, and growing unutterably poor. You would soon be alert if you thought a thief was at your till. This Barabbas of mammon is robbing you —

1. Of your precious probation time here on earth.

2. Of your souls. Wealth is "the pearl of great price," that lies in the field of business, and men will sell all that they have to enable them to buy that field. They will sell their veracity, their honour, their principles, their manliness, and of necessity, in the end lose their souls. But "what shall it profit a man," &c.

(J. Halsey.)

I. THE SIN AS WE FIND IT IN THIS HISTORY. The sin will be more clearly seen if we remember that —

1. The Saviour had done no ill. No law, either of God or man, had He broken.

2. He had even conferred great temporal blessings upon them. Oh ravening multitude, has He not fed you when you were hungry? Did He not heal your sick?

3. Wherein did His teaching offend against morality or the best interests of man? What did He preach for? No selfish motive could have been urged. The true reason of their hate, no doubt, lay in the natural hatred of all men to perfect goodness. To be too holy in the judgment of men is a great crime, for it rebukes their sin.

II. THE SIN WHICH HAS BEEN THE GUILT OF THE WORLD IN ALL AGES, AND WHICH IS THE WORLD'S GUILT NOW.

1. When the apostles went forth to preach the gospel, and the truth had spread through many countries, there were severe edicts passed by the Roman Emperors. Against whom were these edicts framed? Against the foul offenders of that day. I find that they were borne with and scarcely mentioned with censure; but tortures of every kind, were used against the innocent, humble followers of Christ.

2. Then the world changed its tactics; it became nominally Christian. The Pope of Rome put on the triple crown, and called himself the Vicar of Christ; then came in the abomination of the worship of saints, angels, and images, the mass, &c., and every head bowed before the sovereign representative of Peter at Rome. The Church of Rome was equal in sin to Barabbas.

3. Since that day the world has changed its tactics yet again; in many parts of the earth Protestantism is openly acknowledged, and the gospel is preached, but what then? Then comes in the Barabbas of mere ceremonialism, orthodoxy, or morality.

III. THIS WAS THE SIN OF EVERY ONE OF US BEFORE OUR CONVERSION.

1. What company did you like best? Was it not that of the frivolous, if not that of the profane? When you sat with God's people, their talk was very tedious.

2. When we had time for thinking, what were our favourite themes?

3. And what were our pleasures?

4. Some of us have to confess with shame that we were never more in our element than when conscience ceased to accuse us and we could plunge into sin with riot. What was our reading then? Any book sooner than the Bible.

4. What were our aspirations then? Self was what we lived for.

5. Where did we spend our best praise? Did we praise Christ? No; we praised cleverness, and when it was in association with sin, we praised it none the less. It would have been the same to-day with us, if almighty grace had not made the difference. It was mighty grace which made us to seek the Saviour.

IV. THERE ARE DOUBTLESS MANY HERE WHO THIS DAY PREFER BARABBAS TO CHRIST.

1. Let me state your case. There are those who would have been followers of Christ but that they preferred —

(1)Drunkenness.

(2)Some favourite lust.

(3)Gain.

(4)Acquaintances and friends.

2. Let me plead Christ's cause with you. Why is it that you reject Christ? Are you not conscious of the many good things which you receive from Him? You would have been in hell but for Him? Why will you prefer your own gain and self-indulgence to that blessed One to whom you owe so much?

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Tremellius was a Jew from whose heart the veil had been taken away, and who had been led by the Holy Spirit to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews who condemned Christ had said "Not this man," &c. Tremellius, when near his end, glorying in Christ alone and renouncing whatever came in competition with Him said, "Not Barabbas but Jesus."

(Whitecross.)

I. POPULAR. Popular election wrong for once! Vox populi non semper vox Dei.

II. FRENZIED. When passion rules judgment dies.

III. CRIMINAL. They desired a murderer and killed the Prince of Life (Acts 3:14).

IV. FOOLISH. They chose an enemy and rejected a Friend, and such a Friend l

V. FATAL. It sealed their destruction as a people.

VI. PREDICTED (Isaiah 53:3).

VII. OVERRULED. It brought salvation to the world, even to the Jews (cf. Psalm 76:10; Amos 5:8; Isaiah 40:4; Romans 8:8).

(T. Whitelaw D. D.)

Barabbas was a robber; but He was not a common thief. He was a political adventurer, as we gather from combining the narratives. The two "malefactors" were probably His comrades; and it is not hard to identify the section of the people to whom he belonged. They were "Zealots," men whose resentment of heathen usurpation was so profound and bitter that they would keep no truce with Rome. They would pay neither toll nor tax, and in their continual risings became mere brigands robbing and murdering to gratify personal passion as well as religious ends. Judas the Gaulonite (Acts 5:37) is mentioned by Josephus as the earliest distinguished leader of the party; and to his action the historian traces the downfall of the Jewish nation. Theudas was another of their leaders; Simon the Cananaean, one of Christ's disciples, had been originally of their numbers; and Paul was supposed (Acts 21:38) to be implicated in their proceedings. Jut]as is said to have risen up "in the days of the taxing" (cf. Luke 2:1). The movement, therefore, was about the age of Jesus. He found Himself surrounded by its influences, but He from the first distrusted and repelled it. His hostility to such methods of advancing the kingdom of God is shown in the temptation. Throughout His ministry He was beset by the temptation to aim at political influence for the advancement of God's kingdom, and to encourage political expectations to His followers. It was presented to Him by His friends and by His enemies, and by the people who were neither, but were ready to become either according as He should flatter or deny their hope of deliverance from Rome. A signal instance of the disappointment of the people is recorded in chap. John 6. When He declined the crown "many of His disciples went back," &c. Another incident occurred when the Pharisees and Sadducees came "tempting Him "to show them a sign from heaven, some portent which should prove His Messiahship by the overthrow of the powers of the world. He promised them no sign but that of Jonas — the minister of God's mercy to the Gentiles. Perceiving the impossibility of satisfying the people's requirements, and forecasting the issue, He set Himself to prepare the disciple's for it and "from that time forth to show how He must be rejected," &c. The incident of the tribute money brought the climax nearer. His recognition of Caesar was repressive of the people's hopes, and shut Him out from being their representative. And now they who a few months before had asked Him, "How long dost Thou make us to doubt?" declare that they are no longer in doubt. There had come to the Jews one of those critical hours which sometimes arrive for men and nations, when their hesitancy is determined; when they do an irrevocable deed, and in doing it reveal their deepest choice, what has been the actual bent of their purpose all the time of their apparent indecision. The Jews rejected Christ because His spirit and purpose were not theirs. Barabbas was their true representative, not Christ; henceforth Barabbas will be their leader; with Barabbas they will fall and be judged. The chief priests and elders have alienated the people finally from Jesus; but to do this they have betrayed their trust. They are no longer the people's leaders; they are drawn on in the current of the feeling they invoke. They have flattered the prejudices and aroused the passions of the crowd; in the great disasters which subsequently befell the nation they were either the unwilling instruments of popular prejudice, or the victims of the fury of the mob. To recognize the full significance of their action we must remember that up to this, they had been uncommitted to the violent procedure of men like Barabbas. The Zealots were popular heroes, but they had met with no favour from the heads of the nation: the priestly party objected both to their objects, and to their way of securing them; and elders from among the Pharisees, while partially sympathising with their spirit, absolutely disapproved their methods. But the malice of the rulers against Jesus was more potent than their convictions concerning the destiny and policy of their nation: they were ready to face any possibility rather than that Jesus should escape. The same self-abandonment which afterwards appeared in their cry, "We have no king but Caesar," is evident in their stirring up the multitude to ask for Barabbas. They are twice betrayers of their nation. They encourage the people in the way of insurrection; they invoke Caesar as their king. The final result of their action was seen when Jerusalem was compassed about with armies and torn by intestine strife. Barabbas holding garrison in the Temple, and Caesar thundering at the gates — "Whose was the anguish in that death hour?" The world contains no record of horrors like the seige of Jerusalem; and the most frightful feature of the narrative is the conduct of the Zealots. They had proved themselves men void of understanding, with neither ruth nor scruple; and yet the people could not cast off the habit of obeying them: there were no other leaders whom they could choose. The name "Zealots" was lost in their other name, "murderers" — Sicarii, or dagger-men. The whole city was given up to their government, and their conduct was such as to move the heart of Titus, who invoked God to witness that this was not his work. Such was the issue with which the incident before us was charged; such the portentous prophecy when, under the instigation of their chief priest and rulers, the Jews cried out, "Not this Man, but Barabbas."

(A. Mackennal, D. D.)

One of the most striking works of that true spiritual genius, George Tinworth, represents the release of Barabbas and the condemnation of Christ. Pilate is delineated as the centre of the group; he is standing washing his hands, thus emphasizing the innocence of Jesus, who, at his left, is seen bound and in custody, led away to be scourged and crucified. Barabbas is on Pilate's right; he is stooping down, free and light-hearted, to rejoin the people. Barabbas is styled in an inscription below his figure, "The world's choice." The inscription below Jesus is "The Good Shepherd." The levity of the call for Barabbas and the unerring Divine Judgment, are suggested by a reference to Ecclesiastes 8:12. The general lesson of the composition is one with which historians, moralists, poets have made us familiar —

"Truth for ever on the scaffold, Wrong for ever on the throne —

Yet that scaffold sways the Future, and behind the dim unknown

Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own."Tinworth's genius appears in the extraordinary vividness with which he has conceived and expressed the fact that Barabbas was personally popular. While Jesus comes forward, sorrowful and solitary, followed by supercilious smiles or cold despite, those who have known Barabbas crowd around him to congratulate him; the very soldiers who have been his jailers clasp his hands, as if they were sorry to lose a boon companion. Intensity of moral purpose, elevation of spiritual thought, are hindrances to popularity; the absence of these is distinctly favourable to a superficial geniality, which may blind even to the heinousness of crime. Christ could never have been "the world's choice."

(A. Mackennal, D. D.).

People
Annas, Barabbas, Caiaphas, Jesus, Judas, Malchus, Peter, Pilate, Simon
Places
Jerusalem, Kidron, Nazareth
Topics
Disciples, Replied, Seek, Suffer
Outline
1. Judas betrays Jesus.
6. The officers fall to the ground.
10. Peter cuts off Malchus' ear.
12. Jesus is taken, and led unto Annas and Caiaphas.
15. Peter's denial.
19. Jesus examined before Caiaphas.
25. Peter's second and third denial.
28. Jesus arraigned before Pilate.
36. His kingdom.
40. The Jews prefer Barabbas.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 18:6-8

     5798   betrayal

Library
March 24 Evening
God hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.--I THES. 2:12. My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, . . . but now is my kingdom not from hence.--Expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.--Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.--I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 23 Evening
My kingdom is not of this world.--JOHN 18:36. This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies may be made his footstool.--Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.--He raised him from the dead, and set
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Jesus Before Caiaphas
'And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this Man's disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Art Thou a King?
'Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this Man? They answered and said unto him, If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Christ and his Captors
'As soon then as He had said unto them, I am He, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked He them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He: if therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way: That the saying might he fulfilled, which He spake, Of them which Thou gayest Me have I lost none.'--JOHN xviii. 6-9. This remarkable incident is narrated by John only. It fits in with the purpose which he himself tells us governed his selection
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Calvary: victory. Matthew 26:47-27:61. Mark 14: 43-15:47. Luke 22:47-23:56. John 18:1-19:42.
Yielding to Arrest: the betrayal--protecting the disciples--checking Peter's violence--the arrest--the disciples forsake Him--except two, John 18:15, 16. The Real Jewish Ruler: Annas the intriguer--an unrebuked insult--the case settled at once--before Caiaphas--difficulty in fixing a charge--the dramatic question and solemn answer--second condemnation--gross insults. Held Steady by Great Love: Peter gains entrance through John, John 18:16.--the stammering denial--the bolder--with oaths and
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Kingship.
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king! To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth: every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.--John xviii. 37. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king. The question is called forth by what the Lord had just said concerning his kingdom, closing with the statement that it was not of this world. He now answers Pilate that he is a king indeed, but shows him that his kingdom
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

First Stage of Jewish Trial. Examination by Annas.
(Friday Before Dawn.) ^D John XVIII. 12-14, 19-23. ^d 12 So the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound him, 13 and led him to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. [For confusion in the priesthood, etc., see pp. 64 and 528.] 14 Now Caiaphas was he that gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. [See p. 528. John restates this fact to remind the reader that Jesus was about
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Thursday Night - Before Annas and Caiaphas - Peter and Jesus.
IT was not a long way that they led the bound Christ. Probably through the same gate by which He had gone forth with His disciples after the Paschal Supper, up to where, on the slope between the Upper City and the Tyropoeon, stood the well-known Palace of Annas. There were no idle saunterers in the streets of Jerusalem at that late hour, and the tramp of the Roman guard must have been too often heard to startle sleepers, or to lead to the inquiry why that glare of lamps and torches, and Who was the
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Shadow of Death
196. Of the garden of Gethsemane it is only known that it was across the Kidron, on the slope of the Mount of Olives. Tradition has long pointed to an enclosure some fifty yards beyond the bridge that crosses the ravine on the road leading eastward from St. Stephen's gate. Most students feel that this is too near the city and the highway for the place of retreat chosen by Jesus. Archaeologically and sentimentally the identification of places connected with the life of Jesus is of great interest.
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

A Review and a Challenge
The Social Principles of Jesus Demand Personal Allegiance and Social Action DAILY READINGS First Day: The Social Mission of Christians Ye are the salt of the earth.... Ye are the light of the world.--Matt. 5:13, 14. "Jesus speaks here with the consciousness of an historic mission to the whole of humanity. Yet it was a Nazarene carpenter speaking to a group of Galilean peasants and fishermen. Under the circumstances, and at the time, it was an utterance of the most daring faith--faith in himself,
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

The Arrest.
"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a garden, into the which He entered, Himself and His disciples. Now Judas also, which betrayed Him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples. Judas then, having received the band of soldiers, and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Peter's Denial and Repentance.
"So the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was he which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; but Peter was standing
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Jesus Before Pilate.
"They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the palace: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the palace, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evil-doer, we should not have delivered Him up unto thee. Pilate therefore said unto them, Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said unto him,
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Comparison Between the False Church and the True.
1. Recapitulation of the matters treated in the previous chapter. Substance of the present chapter--viz. Where lying and falsehood prevail, no Church exists. There is falsehood wherever the pure doctrine of Christ is not in vigour. 2. This falsehood prevails under the Papacy. Hence the Papacy is not a Church. Still the Papists extol their own Church, and charge those who dissent from it with heresy and schism. They attempt to defend their vaunting by the name of personal succession. A succession
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Arrest of Jesus
Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.--Now he that betrayed him
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young

The Betrayal.
Leaving the Upper Room, Jesus and his disciples went out into the moonlit night, for there was full moon at the passover, and took their way through the streets out of the eastern gate, across the Kedron, to the garden of Gethsemane, about a half mile from the city walls, near the western base of Mt. Olivet. The Garden, or orchard, takes its name from a word meaning oil press, and doubtless was shaded by the olive trees, from which the hill takes its designation. Still the traveler meets on this
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

The Trial Before the High Priest.
"Reading the Gospels side by side, we will, with care and study, see how all they tell us falls accurately into its proper position in the general narrative, and shows us a six-fold trial, a quadruple decision, a triple acquittal, a twice repeated condemnation of Christ our Lord. We soon perceive that of the three successive trials which our Lord underwent at the hands of the Jews, the first only--that before Annas--is related to us by John; the second--that before Caiaphas--by Matthew and Mark;
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

Christ Before Pilate.
John only gives the detailed account of the private examinations of Jesus by Pilate during the civil trial recorded in 18:33-37. He probably went within Pilate's palace as he would not be deterred by the scruples of the Jews, having eaten his passover, and he was therefore a personal witness. His account aids much in explaining Pilate's language to the Jews and to Christ, which is recorded in the other Gospels. The trial before Pilate divides itself into the following acts: 1. Without the Prætorium.
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

Messiah Despised, and Rejected of Men
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief. T he heathen moralists, ignorant of the character and perfections of God, the true dignity and immorality of the soul, and the root and extent of human depravity, had no better foundation, for what they call virtue, than pride; no higher aim in their regulations, than the interests of society, and the conduct of civil life. They expressed, indeed, occasionally, some sentiments of a superior kind; but these, however just
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah Rising from the Dead
For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. T hat the Gospel is a divine revelation may be summarily proved from the character of its Author. If an infidel was so far divested of prejudice and prepossession, as to read the history of Jesus Christ, recorded by the Evangelists, with attention, and in order to form his judgment of it, simply and candidly, as evidence should appear; I think he must observe many particulars in his spirit and conduct,
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Greatest Trial on Record
Brethren, as the Lord gave commandment concerning even the ashes and offal of the sacrifices, we ought to think no matter trivial which stands in connection with our great burnt offering. My admonition is, "Gather up the fragments which remain, that nothing be lost." As goldsmiths sweep their shops, to save even the filings of the gold, so every word of Jesus should be treasured up as very precious. But, indeed, the narrative to which I invite you is not unimportant. Things which were purposed of
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

Of the Matters to be Considered in the Councils.
Let us now consider the matters which should be treated in the councils, and with which popes, cardinals, bishops, and all learned men should occupy themselves day and night, if they loved Christ and His Church. But if they do not do so, the people at large and the temporal powers must do so, without considering the thunders of their excommunications. For an unjust excommunication is better than ten just absolutions, and an unjust absolution is worse than ten just excommunications. Therefore let
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

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