John 18:3

Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. JUDAS THEN - "He that was called Judas, one of the Twelve," says Luke (Luke 22:47), in language which brands him with special infamy, as in the sacred circle, though in no proper sense of it. HAVING RECEIVED A BAND [OF MEN] AND OFFICERS FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES, [ teen (G3588) speiran (G4686), kai (G2532) ek (G1537) toon ...

3._Judeas, therefore, having received a band of soldiers. _That _Judeas _came accompanied by soldiers and by so large a retinue, is a sign of a bad conscience, which always trembles without any cause. It is certain that the _band of soldiers _was borrowed from the governor, who also sent a captain at the head of a thousand soldiers; for, on account of sudden mutinies, a garrison was stationed in the city, and the governor himself kept a body-guard, wherever he was. The rest were _officers _sent by _the priests; _but John makes separate mention _of the Pharisee, _because they were more enraged than all the rest, as if they had cared more about religion....

1-12 Sin began in the garden of Eden, there the curse was pronounced, there the Redeemer was promised; and in a garden that promised Seed entered into conflict with the old serpent. Christ was buried also in a garden. Let us, when we walk in our gardens, take occasion from thence to mediate on Christ's sufferings in a garden. Our Lord Jesus, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and asked, Whom seek ye? When the people would have forced him to a crown, he withdrew, ch. John 6:15, but when they came to force him to a cross, he offered himself; for he came into this world to suffer, and went to the other world to reign. He showed plainly what he could have done; when he struck them down he could have struck them dead, but he would not do so. It must have been the effect of Divine power, that the officers and soldiers let the disciples go away quietly, after the resistan...

Verse John 18:3. _A BAND_] την σπειραν, _The band_ or _troop_. Some think that the _spira_ was the same as the Roman _cohort_, and was the _tenth_ part of a _legion_, which consisted sometimes of 4200, and sometimes of 5000 foot. But _Raphelius_, on Matthew 27:27, has clearly proved, from _Polybius_, that the _spira_ was no more than a _tenth_ of the _fourth_ part of a legion. And as the number of the legion was _uncertain_, and their divisions not at all _equal_, no person can tell how many the band or _spira_ contained. See many curious particulars in _Raphelius_ on this point, vol. i. p. 351, edit. 1747. This band was probably those _Roman soldiers_ given by the governor for the defense of the temple; and the _officers_...

A BAND - See the notes at Matthew 26:47; Matthew 27:27. John passes over the agony of Jesus in the garden, probably because it was so fully described by the other evangelists. LANTERNS ... - This was the time of the full moon, but it might have been cloudy, and their taking lights with them shows their determination to find him....

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

JUDAS THEN HAVING RECEIVED A BAND OF MEN,.... From the captain of this band, who in John 18:12; is called a "Chiliarch", that is, a commander of a thousand men, one might conclude there were so many in this band; but it seems, that such an officer might have two bands under his command; and if this was, the case, there were at least five hundred men in this company; a large number indeed, to take an unarmed person; and yet, as if this was not sufficient, it is added, AND OFFICERS FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES; servants that belong to each of these, and who seem to be a considerable number also; for these are said to be "a great multitude"; Matthew 26:47; nay, not only so, but the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders of the people, were themselves among them,...

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. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place:_ He was familiar with the Master's place of retirement for private prayer and he had, doubtless, heard the Master pray there. Yes, and many a Judas knows the place where the saints meet for worship, and knows the communion table too, and knows some of the most hallowed gatherings of God's people where they pour out their hearts in private prayer; and the pity is that, knowing all that, too, the ancient Judas and the modern one do not savingly know the Master himself. John 18:2. _For Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples._ If ever any man might hav

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

JOHN 18 F. THE ARREST, THE TRIAL, AND THE PASSION. John 18:1. The Arrest. Jesus leaves the room, or the city, and crosses the Kedron (_cf._ 2 Samuel 15:23) to a garden where He often went, so that the place was known to Judas. Contrast the careful arrangements for secrecy in the preparation of the upper room. Judas guides hither Roman and Jewish soldiers. In Mk. Roman soldiers are not mentioned till after the condemnation. As the Jews represent Jesus-' influence over the people as a serious political danger, there is nothing improbable in the use of Roman troops to prevent disturbance at the arrest. The word used, _speira,_ is the usual description of the cohort, but it is also used more generally. Jesus, knowing what His action means, comes out from the garden or His place of retirement in