John 18:22

And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. For the exposition, see the note at , etc., as far as page 204, second paragraph. Our Evangelist, it would seem, had nothing to add to the ample details of the trial and condemnation of the Lord Jesus and the indignities with which He was thereafter treated, and next to nothing on the sad fall of Peter in the midst of these transactions. With all this he holds his readers already familiar, through the records of the three preceding Evangelists. In the first of these four verses, accordingly, he simply tells us that "Annas sent Him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest," without so much as mentioning what this was for, still less giving any particulars of the trial. And though he relates in the briefest terms two of Peter's denials, and the crowing of th...

22._When he had said these things. _This is added, in order to inform us, first, how great was the rage of the enemies of Christ, and how tyrannical their government was; and, secondly, what sort of discipline existed among those priests. They sit like judges, but they are as cruel as ferocious beasts. A council is assembled, in which the utmost gravity ought to have prevailed; and yet a single _officer _is so daring and presumptuous, that, in the midst of the judicial proceedings, and in the presence of the judges, he strikes the person accused, who was not found to be in any respect guilty. We need not wonder, therefore, that the doctrine of Christ is condemned by so barbarous an assembly, from which not only all justice, but likewise all humanity and modesty, are banished....

13-27 Simon Peter denied his Master. The particulars have been noticed in the remarks on the other Gospels. The beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water. The sin of lying is a fruitful sin; one lie needs another to support it, and that another. If a call to expose ourselves to danger be clear, we may hope God will enable us to honour him; if it be not, we may fear that God will leave us to shame ourselves. They said nothing concerning the miracles of Jesus, by which he had done so much good, and which proved his doctrine. Thus the enemies of Christ, whilst they quarrel with his truth, wilfully shut their eyes against it. He appeals to those who heard him. The doctrine of Christ may safely appeal to all that know it, and those who judge in truth bear witness to it. Our resentment of injuries must never be passionate. He reasoned with the man that did him the injury, and so may we...

Verse 22. _ONE OF THE OFFICERS - STRUCK JESUS_] This was an outrage to all justice: for a prisoner, before he is condemned, is ever considered to be under the especial protection of justice; nor has any one a right to touch him, but according to the direction of the law. But it has been observed before that, if _justice_ had been done to Christ, he could neither have suffered nor died....

ONE OF THE OFFICERS - One of the inferior officers, or those who attended on the court. WITH THE PALM, OF HIS HAND - This may mean: “Gave him a blow either with the open hand or with a rod” - the Greek does not determine which. In whatever way it was done, it was a violation of all law and justice. Jesus had showed no disrespect for the office of the high priest, and if he had, this was not the proper way to punish it. The Syriac reads thus: “Smote the cheek of Jesus.” The Vulgate and Arabic: “Gave him a blow.”...

EXPOSITION B. THE HOUR HAS COME. JOHN 18:1 John 19:42.—1. _The outer glorification of Christ in his Passion_. JOHN 18:1 (1) The _betrayal_,_ the majesty of his bearing_,_ accompanied by hints of the bitter cup_. JOHN 18:1 WHEN JESUS HAD SPOKEN THESE WORDS—_i.e._ had offered the prayer, and communed with his Father touching himself, his disciples, and his whole Church—he went forth

AND WHEN HE HAD THUS SPOKEN,.... What was so right and reasonable, in so becoming a manner, without heat or passion: ONE OF THE OFFICERS WHICH STOOD BY; it may be one of those who had been sent to him and had been a hearer of him, whom Jesus might look wistfully at, or point unto, when he said the above words, at which he might be provoked: and therefore STROKE JESUS WITH THE PALM OF HIS HAND; or gave him a rap with a rod, or smote him with a staff, as some think, is the sense of the phrase; though the Syriac, agreeably to our version, reads it, he smote him, על לועוהי, "upon his cheek"; gave him, what we commonly call, a slap on the face; and which is always esteemed a very great affront, and was a piece of rudeness and insolence to the last degree in this man: SAYING, ANSWEREST THOU THE HIGH PRIEST SO? This he said, as well as gave the blow, either out of flattery to the high priest...

John 18:1. _When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples._ From our Lord's example, we should learn, when trouble is near, to meet it with composure. Our Saviour did not sit still; but, as the hour approached for his betrayal and death, «he went forth with his disciples.» The passing over the black brook of Cedron, through which flowed the filth of the temple, was very significant. King David had crossed that brook long before when he had been driven from his home by Absalom's rebellion, and now the greater David went «over the brook Cedron, where was a garden.» He specially wanted solitude just then, for one of the best preparations for suffering is to get alone with God. Learn this lesson also from your Lord's example, and as he put Gethsemane before Calvary, if you can put a...

JOHN 18:13-27 _order of verses_ {A} Because the usual sequence of these verses involves difficulties (in ver. John 18:13 Jesus is brought before Annas first and what follows is apparently before him, whereas the Synoptists say nothing of the part played by Annas; ver. John 18:24, in its present position, leaves the reader wondering what happened at the trial before Caiaphas), several witnesses seek to ease the sense by rearranging the order. Thus 225 (copied A.D. 1192) interpolates ver. John 18:24 into the mid...

III. “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE, THAT I MIGHT TAKE IT AGAIN.” Chapter s 18-21 CHAPTER 18 _ 1. The Arrest in the Garden. (John 18:1 .)_ 2. Before Annas and Caiaphas; Peter's Denial. (John 18:12 .) 3. Before Pilate. (John 18:28 .) 4. Not this Man, But Barabbas. (John 18:39 .) The hour of His suffering had now come. With His disciples He went across the brook Cedron into the garden. It is the Kidron mentioned frequently in Old Testament history. When David fled from his own son Absalom, he passed weeping over this brook. (2