Jesus Arrested in the Garden
After Jesus finished speaking these words, he left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley to enter a garden. Judas, who would betray him, knew this place well because Jesus had often gathered there with his followers. Judas arrived at the garden leading a group of soldiers and temple guards sent by the chief priests and Pharisees. They came carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus knew everything that was about to happen to him, so he stepped forward boldly and asked them, "Who are you looking for?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus answered. Judas, the one betraying him, stood right there among them. When Jesus said "I am he," something remarkable happened—the entire group stepped backward and fell to the ground. Jesus asked them again, "Who are you looking for?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they said once more. "I already told you that I am he," Jesus replied. "If I'm the one you want, then let these other men go free." He said this to fulfill his own earlier promise: "I have not lost a single person you gave me." Suddenly Simon Peter pulled out his sword and swung it at the high priest's servant, slicing off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. "Put your sword away!" Jesus commanded Peter firmly. "Don't you think I must drink from the cup of suffering that my Father has given me?" Then the soldiers, along with their commanding officer and the Jewish temple guards, seized Jesus and tied him up with ropes.
Jesus Before Annas
The soldiers brought Jesus first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the high priest that year. This was the same Caiaphas who had earlier told the Jewish leaders that it would be better for one man to die for the sake of all the people.
Peter's First Denial
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. This other disciple knew the high priest personally, so he was able to go with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard. Peter had to wait outside by the door. The disciple who knew the high priest came back out, spoke to the woman guarding the entrance, and brought Peter inside. The servant girl who was watching the door looked at Peter and asked him, "Aren't you one of this man's followers too?" Peter answered, "No, I'm not." It was a cold night, so the servants and guards had built a charcoal fire and were standing around it to stay warm. Peter joined them there, warming himself by the fire.
Jesus Questioned by the High Priest
The high priest began questioning Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching people. Jesus answered him directly: "I have always spoken openly where everyone could hear me. I taught regularly in the synagogues and in the temple courtyards, places where all the Jewish people gather together. I never said anything in secret or hidden from public view. So why are you asking me these questions? Ask the people who heard me speak. They certainly know what I said to them." When Jesus finished speaking, one of the temple guards standing nearby struck him hard across the face. "How dare you speak to the high priest that way!" the guard demanded. Jesus looked at him calmly and responded, "If I said something wrong, then tell everyone here exactly what was wrong about it. But if what I said was right and true, then why did you hit me?" After this exchange, Annas ordered that Jesus be taken away, still tied up with ropes, and sent to Caiaphas, who was the official high priest.
Peter's Second and Third Denials
Simon Peter remained standing by the fire, warming himself against the cold. The people around him looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Aren't you one of his followers too?" Peter shook his head and flatly denied it. "No, I'm not," he said. Then one of the high priest's servants spoke up—a man who happened to be related to the servant whose ear Peter had sliced off with his sword. This man stared hard at Peter and said, "Wait a minute. Didn't I see you with him in the garden?" Peter denied it again, even more forcefully than before. At that very moment, a rooster crowed in the distance.
Jesus Before Pilate
The Jewish leaders brought Jesus from Caiaphas and led him to the Roman governor's headquarters. It was early in the morning. The Jewish leaders refused to go inside the building because they believed entering a Gentile's residence would make them ceremonially unclean, and they wanted to remain pure so they could eat the Passover meal. Since the Jewish leaders wouldn't come inside, Pilate came out to meet them. He asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" They answered, "If he weren't a criminal, we wouldn't have brought him to you." Pilate replied, "Then take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law." But the Jewish leaders said, "We don't have the authority to execute anyone." This happened exactly as it needed to, because it fulfilled what Jesus had said earlier about the way he would die.
Pilate Questions Jesus About His Kingdom
Pilate walked back inside the governor's headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought before him. He looked at Jesus directly and asked, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus responded with his own question: "Are you asking me this because you thought of it yourself, or because other people told you things about me?" Pilate answered back, "Do I look like a Jew to you? It was your own people and the chief priests who brought you to me. What exactly have you done?" Jesus explained, "My kingdom doesn't belong to this world. If it did, my followers would be fighting to keep the Jewish leaders from arresting me. But my kingdom is not from this earthly realm." Pilate seized on this. "So you are a king then!" Jesus replied, "You're the one saying I'm a king. The reason I was born and came into this world was to speak the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to what I say." Pilate asked, "What is truth?" After saying this, he went back outside to the Jewish crowd and announced, "I can find no crime that this man has committed."
Pilate Seeks to Release Jesus
Pilate then spoke to the crowd, reminding them of their tradition. "You have a custom where I release one prisoner to you during Passover," he said. "So tell me—do you want me to set free the King of the Jews?" The crowd erupted in angry shouts. "No, not this man! Give us Barabbas instead!" they cried out. Barabbas was a rebel who had fought against the Roman government.