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João 18

ARC · Chapter 18/21

1Tendo Jesus dito estas coisas, saiu com os seus discipulos para além do ribeiro de Cedron, onde havia um horto, no qual elle entrou e seus discipulos.

2E Judas, que o trahia, tambem conhecia aquelle logar, porque Jesus muitas vezes se ajuntava ali com os seus discipulos.

3Tendo pois Judas tomado uma companhia de soldados e alguns creados dos principaes dos sacerdotes e phariseos, veiu para ali com lanternas, e archotes e armas.

4Sabendo pois Jesus todas as coisas que sobre elle haviam de vir, adiantou-se, e disse-lhes: A quem buscaes?

5Responderam-lhe: A Jesus Nazareno. Disse-lhes Jesus: Sou eu. E Judas, que o trahia, estava tambem com elles.

6Quando pois lhes disse: Sou eu, recuaram, e cairam por terra.

7Tornou-lhes pois a perguntar: A quem buscaes? E elles disseram: A Jesus Nazareno.

8Jesus respondeu: Já vos disse que sou eu: se pois me buscaes a mim, deixae ir estes.

9Para que se cumprisse a palavra que tinha dito: Dos que me déste nenhum d'elles perdi.

10Então Simão Pedro, que tinha espada, desembainhou-a, e feriu o servo do summo sacerdote, e cortou-lhe a orelha direita. E o nome do servo era Malco.

11Porém Jesus disse a Pedro: Mette a tua espada na bainha; não beberei eu o calix que o Pae me deu?

12Então a cohorte, e o tribuno, e os servos dos judeos prenderam a Jesus e o manietaram.

13E conduziram-n'o primeiramente a Annás, por ser sogro de Caiphás, o qual era o summo sacerdote d'aquelle anno.

14Ora, Caiphás era quem tinha aconselhado aos judeos que convinha que um homem morresse pelo povo.

15E Simão Pedro e outro discipulo seguiam a Jesus. E este discipulo era conhecido do summo sacerdote, e entrou com Jesus na sala do summo sacerdote.

16E Pedro estava fóra, á porta. Saiu então o outro discipulo que era conhecido do summo sacerdote, e fallou á porteira, e levou a Pedro para dentro.

17Então a porteira disse a Pedro: Não és tu tambem dos discipulos d'este homem? Disse elle: Não sou

18Ora estavam ali os servos e os creados, que tinham feito brazas, e se aquentavam, porquanto fazia frio; e com elles estava Pedro, aquentando-se tambem.

19E o summo sacerdote interrogou Jesus ácerca dos seus discipulos e da sua doutrina.

20Jesus lhe respondeu: Eu fallei abertamente ao mundo; eu sempre ensinei na synagoga e no templo onde todos os judeos se ajuntam, e nada disse em occulto;

21Para que me perguntas a mim? pergunta aos que ouviram o que é que lhes tenho fallado: eis que elles sabem o que eu lhes tenho dito.

22E, tendo elle dito isto, um dos creados que ali estavam deu uma bofetada em Jesus, dizendo: Assim respondes ao summo sacerdote?

23Respondeu-lhe Jesus: Se fallei mal, dá testemunho do mal; e, se bem, porque me feres?

24E Annás mandou-o, manietado, ao summo sacerdote Caiphás.

25E Simão Pedro estava ali, e aquentava-se. Disseram-lhe pois: Não és tambem tu dos seus discipulos? Elle negou, e disse: Não sou

26E um dos servos do summo sacerdote, parente d'aquelle a quem Pedro cortara a orelha, disse: Não te vi eu no horto com elle?

27E Pedro negou outra vez, e logo o gallo cantou.

28Depois levaram Jesus da casa de Caiphás para a audiencia. E era pela manhã. E não entraram na audiencia, para não se contaminarem, mas poderem comer a paschoa.

29Então Pilatos saiu fóra e disse-lhes: Que accusação trazeis contra este homem?

30Responderam, e disseram-lhe: Se este não fosse malfeitor, não t'o entregariamos.

31Disse-lhes pois Pilatos: Levae-o vós, e julgae-o segundo a vossa lei. Disseram-lhe pois os judeos: A nós não nos é licito matar alguem.

32(Para que se cumprisse a palavra que Jesus tinha dito, significando de que morte havia de morrer.)

33Tornou pois a entrar Pilatos na audiencia, e chamou a Jesus, e disse-lhe: Tu és o rei dos judeos?

34Respondeu-lhe Jesus: Tu dizes isso de ti mesmo, ou disseram-t'o outros de mim?

35Pilatos respondeu: Porventura sou eu judeo? a tua nação e os principaes dos sacerdotes entregaram-te a mim: que fizeste?

36Respondeu Jesus: O meu reino não é d'este mundo: se o meu reino fosse d'este mundo, pelejariam os meus servos, para que eu não fosse entregue aos judeos: porém agora o meu reino não é d'aqui.

37Disse-lhe pois Pilatos: Logo tu és rei? Jesus respondeu: Tu dizes que eu sou rei. Eu para isso nasci, e para isso vim ao mundo, para dar testemunho á verdade. Todo aquelle que é da verdade ouve a minha voz.

38Disse-lhe Pilatos: Que é a verdade? E, dizendo isto, tornou a sair para os judeos, e disse-lhes: Não acho n'elle crime algum;

39Mas vós tendes por costume que eu vos solte um pela paschoa. Quereis pois que vos solte o Rei dos Judeos?

40Então todos tornaram a clamar, dizendo: Este não, mas Barrabbás. E Barrabbás era um salteador.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus is arrested in the garden of Gethsemane after Judas' betrayal. He is taken to Annas and then to Caiaphas, while Peter denies him three times. Jesus is then brought before Pilate, who finds no basis for a charge, but the crowd demands the release of Barabbas.

Explanation

Jesus' calm response when identifying himself to the soldiers ('I am he,' v.5-6), causing them to draw back and fall to the ground, shows his sovereign control over the events, even as he willingly surrenders to arrest. Peter, who hours earlier had vowed to die for Jesus, denies him three times when faced with relatively simple questions, fulfilling exactly the prediction made at the Last Supper. The interrogation before Pilate reveals the nature of Jesus' kingdom: 'my kingdom is not of this world' (v.36), avoiding accusations of political rebellion while affirming his spiritual kingship. The practical application today is recognizing that even the closest disciples can fail under pressure, but that does not invalidate God's calling on their lives.

Fun facts

  • Annas, mentioned at the start of the interrogation (v.13), had previously served as high priest and continued to wield great political influence even after his son-in-law Caiaphas took the official office, revealing a power structure behind the religious scenes.
  • The Jews' refusal to enter Pilate's residence so as not to be ritually defiled before the Passover (v.28), while at the same time seeking the execution of an innocent man, is pointed out by commentators as a clear example of the contradiction between outward religious observance and inward moral justice.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. João 18:1The brook Cedron ran between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, and the garden mentioned here is the same place the other Gospels call Gethsemane, though John never uses that name. It was an olive grove where Jesus regularly met with the disciples, which explains why Judas knew exactly where to find Him.
  2. João 18:2Judas knew this place well because Jesus often met there with the disciples — that is how he knew exactly where to find Him for the arrest.
  3. João 18:3Judas arrives with a mixed group of Roman soldiers and religious officers, carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons — heavy equipment for arresting a single person, as if they expected resistance.
  4. João 18:4Jesus, already knowing everything that was about to happen, takes the initiative and steps forward to ask whom they are looking for, instead of trying to run or hide.
  5. João 18:5They answer, the KJV’s “Jesus of Nazareth,” and He uses again the expression “I am he,” the same weighty formula that appears at other important moments in the Gospel; the narrator points out that Judas was standing right there among the group.
  6. João 18:6The whole troop’s exaggerated reaction, falling backward to the ground when they hear Jesus say “I am he,” draws attention because, in Greek, this expression is the same one used in the other “I am” declarations in this Gospel, including the one that echoes the name God used to introduce Himself to Moses. John most likely wants the reader to sense a greater weight behind these words than a simple personal identification.
  7. João 18:7Jesus repeats the same question a second time, and receives exactly the same answer as before.
  8. João 18:8Jesus uses this moment to protect the disciples themselves, asking that, since He is the one they are looking for, the others be allowed to leave without being arrested along with Him.
  9. João 18:9The narrator ties this protective gesture to the fulfillment of a promise Jesus had made earlier, in chapter 17, that He would not lose any of those entrusted to Him.
  10. João 18:10John is the only Gospel that names both people involved in this incident: Peter as the one who used the sword, and Malchus as the wounded servant — a detail suggesting a well-informed source for the events.
  11. João 18:11Jesus tells Peter to put the sword away, using the image of the “cup” the Father had given Him to drink, the KJV’s own word — a reference to the suffering He was about to face, accepted willingly.
  12. João 18:12Jesus’s arrest involves both Roman soldiers and Jewish religious officers, showing how the two authorities, political and religious, acted together in this moment.
  13. João 18:13Annas had been high priest before and still carried great influence even though he no longer officially held the office; his son-in-law, Caiaphas, was the one currently holding the post. Taking Jesus first to Annas’s house shows the weight this former high priest still carried behind the scenes of the religious leadership.
  14. João 18:14The narrator recalls the remark Caiaphas had made earlier, in chapter 11, about it being better for one man to die for the people — reinforcing the political calculation behind the decision to kill Jesus.
  15. João 18:15Simon Peter and another disciple, most likely the very author of the Gospel, follow Jesus closely; this other disciple had some kind of connection to the high priest, which allowed him into the courtyard.
  16. João 18:16Peter stays outside, and it is only thanks to this other disciple’s influence, who persuades the doorkeeper, that he manages to get in as well.
  17. João 18:17The doorkeeper asks Peter whether he too is a disciple of Jesus, and he denies it — the first of the three denials Jesus had predicted at the last supper.
  18. João 18:18The detail of the charcoal fire, used to keep warm on a cold night, will deliberately reappear later, in chapter 21, in a scene about Peter’s restoration.
  19. João 18:19The high priest begins questioning Jesus about His disciples and His teaching, an informal interrogation before the official trial.
  20. João 18:20Jesus responds by affirming the complete transparency of His ministry: He always taught openly, in synagogues and in the temple, never in secret.
  21. João 18:21Jesus asks why they are questioning Him directly, suggesting they ask those who already heard His teaching instead — an argument for due process, based on witnesses, not on self-incrimination.
  22. João 18:22One of the officers reacts to Jesus’s answer with a slap, considering it disrespect toward the high priest.
  23. João 18:23Jesus responds calmly, asking for concrete proof if He said something wrong, or an explanation for being struck if He said nothing wrong.
  24. João 18:24Clarifies the sequence of events: Annas, Caiaphas’s father-in-law and former high priest with ongoing influence, sends Jesus, still bound, on to Caiaphas, the official high priest of that year.
  25. João 18:25Meanwhile, Peter is still warming himself by the fire, and he is asked again whether he is a disciple of Jesus — the second denial.
  26. João 18:26A relative of Malchus himself, the man whose ear Peter had cut off, recognizes Peter and asks directly whether he had not seen him in the garden with Jesus — an especially dangerous accusation coming from a direct witness.
  27. João 18:27Peter denies it a third time, and at that very moment the rooster crows, fulfilling exactly what Jesus had predicted before the supper.
  28. João 18:28The KJV’s “hall of judgment” here is the Praetorium, the Roman governor’s official residence. The religious leaders avoid entering because the house of a non-Jew was considered unclean by their customs, and that impurity would keep them from taking part in the Passover meal that night, so they prefer to stay outside and make Pilate come out to speak with them.
  29. João 18:29Pilate comes out to the religious leaders, since they were avoiding entering the Roman governor’s residence so as not to be defiled before the Passover, and asks what the charge against Jesus is.
  30. João 18:30Their answer is evasive, without specifying any concrete charge, relying only on their own authority to justify handing Jesus over.
  31. João 18:31Under Roman rule, the Jewish religious leaders could try and convict people according to their own law, but they were not authorized to execute anyone — that power belonged only to the Roman authorities. That is why they have to bring Jesus to Pilate: even though they had already decided He should die, only the Roman governor could authorize that sentence.
  32. João 18:32The narrator explains that this handing over to Pilate, a Roman governor with the power to impose the death penalty, fulfilled Jesus’s prediction about the specific kind of death He would suffer: crucifixion, the Roman method, not stoning, the Jewish one.
  33. João 18:33Pilate goes back inside, calls Jesus, and asks the central political question that will determine the whole trial: is He the King of the Jews?
  34. João 18:34Jesus responds with a question of His own, wanting to know whether this accusation comes from Pilate’s own opinion or whether others had already put the idea in his head.
  35. João 18:35Pilate answers somewhat dismissively, saying he is not a Jew and that it was Jesus’s own nation and priests who handed Him over — and he asks what Jesus has actually done.
  36. João 18:36Jesus makes clear that His kingdom is not of this world: if it were, the KJV notes, “then would my servants fight,” so that He would not be handed over — defining His kingship as something of a completely different nature from ordinary political power.
  37. João 18:37Faced with Pilate’s insistence, Jesus admits to being a king in a special sense: He was born and came into the world to testify to the truth, and whoever belongs to the truth recognizes His voice.
  38. João 18:38Pilate’s cynical question, the KJV’s “What is truth?”, shows his skepticism about the whole matter — even so, he goes out and publicly declares that he finds no fault in Jesus at all.
  39. João 18:39There was a custom, mentioned only in the Gospels and without clear confirmation in other historical sources of the time, of the Roman governor releasing a prisoner chosen by the people during the Passover feast, as a gesture of goodwill. It is this custom that opens the door to the choice between Jesus and Barabbas.
  40. João 18:40The crowd chooses to free Barabbas, described as a robber, instead of Jesus — a choice the Gospel records with evident irony, trading a violent criminal for the innocent man.

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