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1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. 4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
John 18:1-6
Whereas John 17 describes the prayer of the Lord Jesus that included a request for protection for His disciples, John 18 is an immediate illustration of that part of the prayer. The Lord Jesus had prayed for their safety, and, although He will be led away to His death, the disciples are and will be protected.
In these events, we see the glory of the Son of God which was the subject of the first part of the Lord Jesus' prayer in John 17. His glory shines through the ugliness, darkness, hatred, pain and suffering. The Lord Jesus is , as has always been, in total control over His circumstances. And, that control continues in His arrest, mistreatment, unjust trial, and execution.
In v.1 we read, “Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.” The Lord Jesus is moving toward His own death for all of mankind. He is undaunted. And, He will stand firm as God unleashes His wrath on the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of mankind's rebellion. And the sin problem of all of mankind will be resolved. Think if He had not gone through with this plan; we'd be without hope.
It is now Friday morning, and it is dark. The Apostle John is positioning us to see the glory of the Lord Jesus in His arrest, betrayal and death. Everything is dark, and the darkest of it all is the hearts of the people surrounding the Lord Jesus. In the midst of this darkness, we see the divine resolve, glory, love and righteousness of the Lord Jesus. This is the unfolding of God’s predetermined plan.
Missing in John's account is the agony of the Lord Jesus preceding the coming of Judas and the religious leaders. Missing is His agonizing prayer while in the shadows of the garden of Gethsemane. The other three gospels include these missing events that took place in the garden, but not John's gospel.
The reason John does not mention these incidents is because they reveal the Lord Jesus in His human weakness. John's task was to give an account of the Lord Jesus in His fullness. John's presentation is not contradictory, he just doesn't include certain information that the others do. John draws a contrast in this account between the light and the darkness.
In v.3, we learn that "a detachment of soldiers," came with Judas and the religious leaders. In some cases there would have been 500 soldiers in this group, but it is likely that there were around 50 soldiers who came to apprehend the Lord Jesus. These were carrying lanterns and torches and were armed to the teeth to apprehend the unarmed Son of God. They were armed like this because earlier in the week, all by Himself, the Lord Jesus had run hundreds out of the temple. They knew His power.
So, in v.1-3, the Apostle John includes how the Lord Jesus met the crowd of soldiers and religious leaders who came to arrest Him. In v.2, we read, "Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples."
In v.4, the Lord Jesus asks, "Who is it you want?" They respond, "Jesus of Nazareth." Back in John 10:17-18, we read, “No on takes My life from Me; I lay it down of Myself.” Christianity is not just being saved from sin and death and judgment; it means having a living savior who has conquered sin and death. And, we have a personal relationship with this One who is guiding us through this life on earth.
In v.5, the Lord Jesus replied, “I am he.” So commanding and so unexpected was His response, the soldiers and religious leaders stumbled backwards and fell all over one another. The Lord Jesus actually said, "I AM," which is the relational, covenant-keeping name YHWH.
The Lord Jesus was no victim. He had complete control over this situation. Yet, He is the one of whom Isaiah says, "3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
