Jesus Is Arrested

[John 18:1-14]

When Jesus was about to die, He prayed in Gethsemane. The place of prayer was before God (Luke 22:41). The posture of prayer was that Jesus knelt down and lay face down on the ground as He prayed (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35; Luke 22:41). The content of His prayer was, “Not my will, but Yours be done, Father” (Mark 14:35-36). The passion of His prayer was that Jesus prayed with great effort and earnestness (Luke 22:44). The perseverance in prayer was that Jesus prayed until God the Father answered Him (Matthew 26:42, 44). The result of His prayer was that after receiving an answer, Jesus boldly went out to the wicked crowd who came to arrest Him along with His eleven disciples (Matthew 26:46). The Lord’s amazing power (authority) was revealed (John 18:4-6). When Jesus asked the crowd, “Whom are you seeking?” they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Then Jesus said, “I am He” [“I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14)], and upon hearing this, they drew back and fell to the ground. Because Jesus is God, the crowd was overwhelmed by His divine authority and all stepped back and fell down (John 18:6). When Jesus prayed according to God’s will, God performed this other amazing miracle besides answering His prayer (see Matthew 6:33; 1 Kings 3:13, 18:46; Ephesians 3:20). God fulfilled His covenant (John 18:8). Jesus said to the crowd, “Let these men (the disciples) go,” thus fulfilling the promise that none of those given by the Father would be lost (v.9).

After praying in Gethsemane, Jesus was arrested. Who came to arrest Jesus? The accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), and John show some differences:
(1) Synoptics: “A large crowd sent from the chief priests and elders of the people” (Matthew 26:47), “A crowd sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders” (Mark 14:43), “The chief priests, the captain of the temple, and the elders who came to arrest Him” (Luke 22:52). Here, “captain of the temple” refers to the officers guarding the temple. Directly under the high priest was the captain of the temple, followed by the elders. Matthew (26:47) and Mark (14:43) record that a large crowd sent by the chief priests and elders came to arrest Jesus, while Luke (22:52) says the chief priests, the captain of the temple, and the elders came directly to arrest Him. These chief priests, temple captains, and elders represented the Jewish religious authorities.
(2) John: “A detachment of soldiers and officials from the chief priests and Pharisees” (John 18:3), “Soldiers, a centurion, and servants of the Jews” (v.12). Here, “soldiers” refers to Roman soldiers, and the “centurion” is a commander of about 1,000 soldiers, representing the Roman military.

What did they come with to arrest Jesus?
The accounts differ:
(1) Synoptics: “Swords and clubs” (Matthew 26:47), “Swords and clubs” (Mark 14:43; Luke 22:52).
(2) John: “Torches, lanterns, and weapons” (John 18:3).

After arresting Jesus, to whom did they take Him?
(1) Synoptics: To the high priest Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:54; Luke 22:54).
(2) John: First to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas and former high priest (John 18:13), then to Caiaphas (v.15).

Although Jesus could have escaped when the large crowd came to arrest Him, He did not. Matthew 26:53 says, “Do you think I cannot ask my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Jesus said that He could have asked God the Father to send twelve legions of angels to protect Him and Peter, who had cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant Malchus (verse 51; John 18:10), but He chose not to (Matthew 26:53). Here, a “legion” was a Roman military unit consisting of about 6,500 to 7,000 soldiers. Therefore, the twelve legions of angels Jesus spoke of would number approximately 78,000 to 84,000 angels. The large crowd that came to arrest Jesus was about 3,000 people [the “centurion” (John 18:12) commanded 1,000 Roman soldiers plus about 1,500 to 2,000 high priests, temple guards, elders, and their servants, totaling 2,500 to 3,000]. If Jesus had asked God the Father to send two more legions of angels, wouldn’t those 78,000 to 84,000 angels have been able to protect Him from the crowd of about 2,500 to 3,000 people who came to arrest Him? So why did Jesus not flee when He could have, but instead willingly allowed Himself to be arrested? The reasons are: (1) to fulfill God’s will as He had prayed (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44; Mark 14:36, 39, 41; Luke 22:42), (2) to fulfill the covenant (promise) that God had made, and (3) because He wanted to save us.

Therefore, we should be thankful for Jesus’ arrest. Because by being arrested, bound, taken, questioned, suffering, and dying on the cross, we have gained freedom and salvation. We must love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and live according to His will to please Him. I pray that we all can make the decision, “I will live for the Lord.”