John 18 : 1 (NLT)
After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.
John 18 : 2 (NLT)
Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.
John 18 : 3 (NLT)
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.
John 18 : 4 (NLT)
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.
John 18 : 5 (NLT)
"Jesus the Nazarene," they replied."I Am he," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.)
John 18 : 6 (NLT)
As Jesus said "I Am he," they all drew back and fell to the ground!
John 18 : 7 (NLT)
Once more he asked them, "Who are you looking for?" And again they replied, "Jesus the Nazarene."
John 18 : 8 (NLT)
"I told you that I Am he," Jesus said. "And since I am the one you want, let these others go."
John 18 : 9 (NLT)
He did this to fulfill his own statement: "I did not lose a single one of those you have given me."
John 18 : 10 (NLT)
Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's slave.
John 18 : 11 (NLT)
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?"
John 18 : 12 (NLT)
So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.
John 18 : 13 (NLT)
First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.
John 18 : 14 (NLT)
Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, "It's better that one man should die for the people."
John 18 : 15 (NLT)
Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest's courtyard with Jesus.
John 18 : 16 (NLT)
Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in.
John 18 : 17 (NLT)
The woman asked Peter, "You're not one of that man's disciples, are you?" "No," he said, "I am not."
John 18 : 18 (NLT)
Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
John 18 : 19 (NLT)
Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.
John 18 : 20 (NLT)
Jesus replied, "Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret.
John 18 : 21 (NLT)
Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said."
John 18 : 22 (NLT)
Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. "Is that the way to answer the high priest?" he demanded.
John 18 : 23 (NLT)
Jesus replied, "If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I'm speaking the truth, why are you beating me?"
John 18 : 24 (NLT)
Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
John 18 : 25 (NLT)
Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire, they asked him again, "You're not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "No, I am not."
John 18 : 26 (NLT)
But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?"
John 18 : 27 (NLT)
Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
John 18 : 28 (NLT)
Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover.
John 18 : 29 (NLT)
So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, "What is your charge against this man?"
John 18 : 30 (NLT)
"We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted.
John 18 : 31 (NLT)
"Then take him away and judge him by your own law," Pilate told them."Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied.
John 18 : 32 (NLT)
(This fulfilled Jesus' prediction about the way he would die.)
John 18 : 33 (NLT)
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the king of the Jews?" he asked him.
John 18 : 34 (NLT)
Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?"
John 18 : 35 (NLT)
"Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?"
John 18 : 36 (NLT)
Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
John 18 : 37 (NLT)
Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."
John 18 : 38 (NLT)
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any crime.
John 18 : 39 (NLT)
But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this 'King of the Jews'?"
John 18 : 40 (NLT)
But they shouted back, "No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
❮
❯