John 18

¹After Jesus said these things, he went out with his disciples across the winter-torrent of the Kidron to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ²Now Judas, the one betraying him, also knew the place, because Jesus frequently gathered there with his disciples. ³So Judas, having obtained the Roman cohort and attendants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

⁴Then Jesus, knowing everything that was coming upon him, stepped forward and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"

⁵They answered him, "Jesus the Nazarene." Jesus said to them, "I am." Now Judas, the one betraying him, was also standing there with them. ⁶When he said to them, "I am," they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene."

⁸Jesus answered, "I told you that I am. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." ⁹This was to fulfill the word he had spoken: "Of those you have given me, I have not lost a single one."

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a short-sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his right earlobe. (The slave’s name was Malchus.) ¹¹Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

¹²So the Roman cohort, the military tribune, and the Judean attendants seized Jesus and bound him. ¹³They led him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴It was Caiaphas who had advised the Judeans that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Because that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus, ¹⁶but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the woman guarding the door and brought Peter in.

¹⁷The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You aren’t also one of this man’s disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."

¹⁸Now the slaves and the attendants had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing there warming themselves. Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

¹⁹The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple courts, where all the Judeans gather. I said nothing in secret. ²¹Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I spoke to them. Look, these people know what I said."

²²When he said this, one of the attendants standing by slapped Jesus, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?"

²³Jesus answered him, "If I spoke wrongly, testify to what was wrong; but if I spoke rightly, why do you strike me?" ²⁴Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."

²⁶One of the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose earlobe Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?" ²⁷Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

²⁸Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was early morning. They did not enter the Praetorium themselves, so that they would not be defiled but could eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?"

³⁰They answered him, "If this man were not doing evil, we would not have handed him over to you."

³¹Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Judeans said to him, "It is not legal for us to put anyone to death." ³²This was to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken, signaling by what kind of death he was going to die.

³³So Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to him, "Are you the King of the Judeans?"

³⁴Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"

³⁵Pilate answered, "I’m not a Judean, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"

³⁶Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world-order. If my kingdom were of this world-order, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

³⁷Pilate said to him, "So then, you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world: to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth hears my voice."

³⁸Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he said this, he went out to the Judeans again and told them, "I find no grounds for a charge against him. ³⁹But you have a custom that I should release one prisoner for you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release for you the 'King of the Judeans'?"

⁴⁰They shouted back, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.