John 18 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

(Mat 26:47–56; Mar 14:43–52; Luk 22:47–53 )

Jhn 18:1After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.

Jhn 18:2

Jhn 18:2Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.

Jhn 18:3

Jhn 18:3The 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.

Jhn 18:4

Jhn 18:4Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

Jhn 18:5

Jhn 18:5“Jesus the Nazarene,”[fn] they replied. “I AM he,”[fn] Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.)

Jhn 18:6

Jhn 18:6As Jesus said “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!

Jhn 18:7

Jhn 18:7Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

Jhn 18:8

Jhn 18:8“I told you that I AM he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.”

Jhn 18:9

Jhn 18:9He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”[fn]

Jhn 18:10

Jhn 18:10Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.

Jhn 18:11

Jhn 18:11But 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?”

Jesus at the High Priest’s House

Jhn 18:12

Jhn 18:12So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.

Jhn 18:13

Jhn 18:13First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.[fn]

Jhn 18:14

Jhn 18:14Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”

Peter’s First Denial

(Mat 26:69–75; Mar 14:66–72; Luk 22:54–62 )

Jhn 18:15

Jhn 18:15Simon 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.

Jhn 18:16

Jhn 18:16Peter 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.

Jhn 18:17

Jhn 18:17The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
“No,” he said, “I am not.”

Jhn 18:18

Jhn 18:18Because 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.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

Jhn 18:19

Jhn 18:19Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.

Jhn 18:20

Jhn 18:20Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people[fn] gather. I have not spoken in secret.

Jhn 18:21

Jhn 18:21Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”

Jhn 18:22

Jhn 18:22Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.

Jhn 18:23

Jhn 18:23Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

Jhn 18:24

Jhn 18:24Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

Jhn 18:25

Jhn 18:25Meanwhile, 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.”

Jhn 18:26

Jhn 18:26But 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?”

Jhn 18:27

Jhn 18:27Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus’ Trial before Pilate

(Mat 27:1, 2, 11–14; Mar 15:1–5; Luk 23:1–5 )

Jhn 18:28

Jhn 18:28Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor.[fn] His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.

Jhn 18:29

Jhn 18:29So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

Jhn 18:30

Jhn 18:30“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

Jhn 18:31

Jhn 18:31“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.

Jhn 18:32

Jhn 18:32(This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.[fn])

Jhn 18:33

Jhn 18:33Then 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.

Jhn 18:34

Jhn 18:34Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

Jhn 18:35

Jhn 18:35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

Jhn 18:36

Jhn 18:36Jesus 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.”

Jhn 18:37

Jhn 18:37Pilate 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.”

Jhn 18:38

Jhn 18:38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

(Mat 27:15–23; Mar 15:6–14; Luk 23:13–23 )

Jhn 18:39

Jhn 18:39But 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’?”

Jhn 18:40

Jhn 18:40But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)