*What did we talk about last week? Jesus was saying goodbye to his disciples after the last supper.
Read John 18:1-3
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.
*Anybody know what Jesus was doing before these men came to get him? He was praying so hard he sweated like big drops of blood, says this in Luke.
Read Matthew 26:36-39
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”
37He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.
38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
*Did Jesus want to die this painful death? No he did it or us
Read John 18:4-7
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 “ 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.”
Notice I AM is in caps in the Bible. This signifies he is saying I am God.
*That was so powerful what happened to these men? They fell over
Read John 18:8&9
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.”
*Did any disciples die while Jesus was alive (not counting Judas)? No, they could have also been arrested that night too, but they were not.
Read John 18:10&11
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.
11But 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?”
*What did Jesus do to the guy whose ear was cut off? He healed it. Even as he was taken away to be crucified, he showed compassion and mercy to his accusers.
Read John 18:12-14
12 So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.
13First they took him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.
14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”
*Why did they take him to Annas’ house first? Annas was high priest before Caiaphas. The Romans made him stop being high priest, his son in-law, Caiaphas, was then appointed high priest. Annas and Caiaphas were both high priests since high priests are appointed for life.
Read John 18:15-17
15 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.
16 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.
17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”
*Why did Peter deny that he knew Jesus? Why do we sometimes deny or do not acknowledge we know Jesus?
Read John 18:18-21
18 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.
19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.
20 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.
21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”
*What was Jesus doing for most of this ministry? Preaching and teaching in the temples. They all knew what he said.
Read John 18:22-24
22Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”
24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
*Why were they beating Jesus for no reason at all? Remember these are religious leaders, they should have been kind and compassionate, but instead they are liars and violent.
Read John 18:25-27
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 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?”
27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
*What did Peter do after he said this? Went away and wept bitterly. Peter denied him then, but late became a great leader in the early church. We need to learn from our mistakes and grow stronger from them.
Read John 18:28-38
28 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.
Passover lasts a week. They are more worried about being defiled for Passover and not about killing an innocent man.
Read John 18:29-40 (teacher read)
29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “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.
32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die. )
33 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.
34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
36 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.”
37 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.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.
*What was the reason why the Jews handed Jesus over to Pilate?
In Luke it says 23:2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
Not wanting to pay taxes and claiming to be Messiah, during that day there were hundreds of people claiming to be Messiah.
*Is that reason for death?
*What is truth? Did Pilate believe in the truth? Do you?