18:1 Having said these things, Jesus left with his disciples to the other side of the brook in Kedron, where there was a garden. Jesus and his disciples entered the garden,

18:2 a place the traitor Judas was familiar with, since Jesus took his disciples there often.

18:3 Then Judas arrived with a detachment of deputies of the ruling priests and Pharisees, who carried lanterns, torches, and weapons.

18:4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen to him, came out and said, “Who are you looking for?”

18:5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.He responded, “I am.” (And the traitor Judas was standing with them.)

18:6 But as Jesus said “I am,” they all drew back and fell to the ground.

18:7 So he repeated the question, “Who are you looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

18:8 Once again Jesus responded, “I told you that I am. And if I am the one you want, let these others go.”

18:9 He said this to fulfill what he had said before: “I will not lose one of those you have given me.”

18:10 Then Simon Peter drew the sword he had and struck at the deputy of the ruling priest, cutting off his right ear. (The deputy’s name was Malchos.)

18:11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Sheath your sword! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me to drink?”

18:12 Then the garrison and commander, with the Judean deputies, seized Jesus and tied him up.

18:13 They took him first to Annas because he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the ruling priest that year.

18:14 This was the Caiaphas who advised the Judeans that it would be to their advantage to let one person die for the people.

18:15 Now following Jesus were Simon Peter and another disciple who was known to the ruling priest, and they went with him as far as the ruling priest’s courtyard.

18:16 Peter waited outside the gate, but then the one who knew the ruling priest spoke to the gatekeeper, who let Peter in.

18:17 But then she said to him, “Surely you’re not one of his disciples!” and he replied, “No, I’m not.”

18:18 The deputies and slaves were standing around a charcoal fire, warming themselves because it was cold. Peter stood there warming himself too.

18:19 Meanwhile, the ruling priest asked Jesus about his disciples and teachings.

18:20 And Jesus replied, “I have spoken openly to the world, and I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple compound where the Judeans gather. I never spoke in secret.

18:21 So why are you asking me? Ask those who have heard what I said to them; they know what I said.”

18:22 At this, one of the deputies standing there slapped Jesus in the face and said, “So this is how you answer the ruling priest!”

18:23 But Jesus retorted, “If I said something improper, prove it! Yet if I spoke properly, then why did you strike me?”

18:24 Then Annas sent Jesus, still tied up, to the ruling priest Caiaphas.

18:25 Now Peter was still standing and warming himself when they said to him, “You’ve got to be one of his disciples!” But he denied it and said, “No, I am not!”

18:26 Then one of the deputies of the ruling priest, a blood relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said “I saw you in the garden with him!”

18:27 Again Peter denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed.

18:28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s compound. By this time it was morning, but they did not enter into the compound because it would make them ritually unclean, and they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

18:29 So Pilate came outside to them and demanded, “What is the charge against this person?”

18:30 They replied, “If he weren’t a criminal we wouldn’t have brought him here!”

18:31 “Take him and judge him by your own law,” Pilate responded. But they said, “We are not allowed to execute anyone.”

18:32 This fulfilled what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was about to die.

18:33 Then Pilate returned to the compound and called for Jesus. “So you are the king of the Judeans,” he said.

18:34 Jesus responded, “Do you say this of your own accord, or is this what others have told you?”

18:35 “I’m not a Judean, am I?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and ruling priests handed you over to me. So what did you do?”

18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it had been, my slaves would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans. No, my kingdom is not from here.”

18:37 “So, you are a king then, right?” Pilate asked.“You are saying I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “But I was born into this and have come into the world to testify to the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”

18:38 “What is truth?” Pilate retorted. And having said that, he went out again to the Judeans and told them, “I can’t find a single thing to charge him with.

18:39 But you have a custom that during the Passover I should release to you the person you choose. So do you want me to release the king of the Judeans?”

18:40 “No, not this one but Bar-Abbas!” they shouted. (Bar-Abbas was a robber.)