Author: Jeff Englund

Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, ”You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, ”I am not.”
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ”Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Once again John’s story turns back to Peter. Part of what makes this story special is that Peter is apparently by himself. (We don’t know who or where the other disciple who let him in is.) Peter, driven by the cold has put himself at risk of discovery by drawing close to the fire where others are gathered.

His appearance must have been noteworthy. His anxiety over the Lord being bound and called in before the high priest would be written all over his face. When he opens he announces that he is Galilean much the same way as someone from the Deep South cannot hide their southern drawl. He is desperately concerned for Jesus and at the same time deathly afraid of discovery.

He would not have been known to any of the people there, most of whom were likely familiar with each other. They, too, would be on edge. They were also aware that something of unusual importance was going on. Who was this stranger standing with them in the courtyard?

Perhaps they looked at each other in the firelight. Their eyes would point briefly to Peter and then they would stare intensely with the obvious question on their face: Who is that guy? The expression in response would be a blank look and a shrug of the shoulders: “I don’t know. Don’t you?”

Finally, someone turns to Peter. “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

Continue reading “Escape – John 18: 24-27”

When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. ”Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
”If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, ”testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?”

“Why did you strike me?” is a question for our times. The news I read these days is full of reports about people who have lost the ability to dialog and are resorting to physical violence. Spitting on people, hitting them, yelling at them is rationalized by discounting the personhood of the Other. When we define someone else’s speech as hate, it is easy to equate fighting that person with fighting hate itself. The only problem is that the hate is often limited to the person hurting the other. So hate becomes the excuse to hate.

Similarly, the Pharisees and chief priests have defined what Jesus says as “hate speech.” They didn’t call it that, of course, but the effect was the same as it is today. Since what Jesus taught undermined their power and authority, what Jesus said must be bad. If what he said is bad then hurting Jesus himself is just an extension of punishing the bad things they claimed he said. In their minds, hating Jesus was good.

The irony of this juxtaposition of man’s hate against God’s love is almost beyond parody. How do you read this story and not wonder how the chief priests could be so blind?! Yet the sad fact is that they were, and so are we. This blindness is endemic with humans. Jesus taught about this as recorded in Matthew 7: 1-5:

Continue reading “Why Did You Strike Me? – John 18: 22-23”

”I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. ”I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

It is late at night. Jesus is in the home of Annas the high priest. In terms of the kind of homes we see today this house would be a McMansion. It is cold outside but inside the light from the oil lamps keep the inside of the stone building warm.

Jesus has been without sleep for a day and a night. His day yesterday was wrapped up in the celebration of the Passover. “Celebration” is probably not the appropriate word here. This particular Passover was more like a funeral. Jesus keeps talking about going away, and the sorrows to come. Judas leaves under a cloud of mystery with hints from Jesus about betrayal. During the night Jesus prays for his disciples and teaches them many things.

Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays alone. Then Judas arrives with the soldiers, and Jesus is taken captive. His whole life and ministry have been leading up to this moment and like a fighter who has trained all his life for one big fight, Jesus is ready. He allows himself to be taken captive while at the same time protecting his disciples from being harassed.

Peter follows. Outside in the courtyard, he waits, torn between fantasies of rescuing Jesus and the fear of being outed as a disciple of Jesus.

Inside, in the pre-dawn hours of the night, Annas interrogates Jesus. Finally Jesus answers.

Continue reading “Light From God – John 18: 20-21”

Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

How do you read today’s verse? Do you hear, “Meanwhile, the high priest, wanting to better understand who Jesus was and what he was all about, gently questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.” Or, do you hear, “Meanwhile, the high priest grilled Jesus about the whereabouts of his disciples and how many disciples there might be. He also asked leading questions trying to trick Jesus into admitting his subversive teachings.”

John’s writing style is pithy and economical. He doesn’t give us a lot of information about what is going on. Rather, he sketches out his narrative quickly and efficiently. He is focusing on the important parts of his story, and glossing over the bits of the story that connect the meat to the bone.

Was the high priest, Annas, sympathetic to Jesus in any way? Not likely. Given his close association and relationship with Caiaphas, it is very probable that Annas was at least as hostile to Jesus as Caiaphas was. His questions would not be friendly. They would not be questions intended to allow for fair answers.

And what did Annas want to know about the disciples? Was he looking for information on how big Jesus’ “rebellion” might have grown? Was he thinking ahead to a time when the Jewish leaders might have to hunt down these followers of Jesus? Was there some way he could discover who was secretly a disciple?

What did the high priest’s voice sound like? Was it soft and beguiling? (Come on, Jesus, tell me now… ) Or was his voice sharp and accusatory, angry and spiteful? Regardless of childhood poems that talk about “sticks and stones” and tell us “…names will never hurt me,” words do hurt. How they are said hurts. Especially when they come from someone in authority.

Jesus was already under siege. The forces of evil gather around him and are drawn closer and closer. The Son of God stands quietly, not helplessly, but quietly, submitting to all that is going on.

Food for Thought: Was there a time when you were young, or at school, or this past week where someone attacked you with words? What could Jesus say at this point that would appease the high priest?

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Continue reading “Under Siege – John 18: 19”

It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The last thing Peter wants at this point in the story is for someone to notice him. He is in a strange place, with the door shut behind him. The other disciple who let him in has apparently left Peter in the courtyard by himself. He is alone, but not alone.

He is alone in the sense that he is separated from the other disciples and his Lord. He is not alone in the sense that the people of the world have closed in around him. The courtyard is probably large. The night is old but darkness still rules. It would be easy to avoid being noticed if only he could stay in the shadows.

He has already denied Jesus once. That would not have felt good. Perhaps he brushed it aside as simply a momentary lapse. It really wasn’t that important because, after all, she was just the servant girl. Probably no one else heard him … maybe.

His thoughts are interrupted by the cold. It is ice cold in the dark of the late-night hour. Perhaps the dew has started to settle and the dampness made the cold even more biting. Brrrrrrrrr.

The fire on the other side of the courtyard calls to Peter. Like a moth, he is drawn to the flame. All he wants is a little warmth to fight off the damp chill of the night. But there is danger by the fire. There are people there, and the fire gives off light. What if someone recognizes him?

At the thought of being recognized as a disciple of Jesus, Peter may have balked for a moment. At that moment, he is balanced between the bitterness of the ice-cold night and the warmth of the fire’s flame. The call for warmth wins out and Peter sidles up to the fire, trying to get warm without being noticed. But the trap has been sprung. The fire’s light will catch Peter out. Satan is sifting Peter with fire and with ice. (Luke 22: 31-32)

Food for Thought: Can you relate to Peter’s situation? How would you advise another person to recognize the slippery slope of temptation?

Bonus Question: What advice would you have given Peter?

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Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”

This passage has long fascinated me because the disciple known to the high priest was probably also known as a disciple of Jesus. Maybe not, but given the interest in Jesus, it seems likely. In spite of this, he is allowed into the courtyard. Then he comes back and tells the servant girl to let Peter in. So Peter is allowed in as well. Then the servant girl asks, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” The “too” is another indication that the first disciple was known as a disciple of Jesus.

Instead of acknowledging the obvious, that he, Peter, was “with” the other disciple, he denies it. Why? Who did he think he was fooling? And who was he trying to impress?

In this account, we are not told how Peter and the other disciple get to the house of Annas. Did they follow Jesus? Did they come later? John does not tell us. Is Peter still carrying the sword he used to cut off Malchus’ ear? If so, that might have seemed awkward.

Without the Holy Spirit in him, and the Lord by his side, Peter falls apart. He is, after all, only a simple fisherman. Three years earlier he had been working in the fishing boats making a living catching and selling fish. He had probably never been near a house like the one Jesus was in. Strange environments and strange people are disorienting. Even the lowest of the low, the servant girl, can seem dangerous and intimidating.

Food for Thought: How does having the Holy Spirit in us make the impressive places of the world seem more ordinary?

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Continue reading “Falling Apart – John 18: 15-17”

Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.

If the Serpent had a human face during this entire episode when Jesus is killed, that face would be found among these priests of God’s temple. Caiaphas plotted the death of Jesus long before it happened. Somehow it seems appropriate that Jesus would first be brought to Caiaphas when he is finally taken by the soldiers.

What did Caiaphas think and feel when he saw Jesus brought before him? Jesus was someone who had given sight to the blind, cured lepers of their horrible lingering disease, fed thousands of people with virtually nothing, and raised people from the dead. Perhaps all Caiaphas could see was the threat Jesus’ message represented to the established Jewish religion of legalistic righteousness.

Now that he had Jesus within his power, perhaps Caiaphas felt he could relax again safe in the knowledge that the historic authority of his priestly tribe would remain unchallenged. This upstart who claimed God as his own father would be swept under the rug of history never to be heard from again. Ahhh… it will be so nice not to have to deal with challenges to the Sabbath laws!

As events unfold from this point forward Caiaphas is seen pulling the strings of the Roman governor and using his position of power to maneuver the Jews into condemning Jesus. He had plenty of work ahead of him before this would be over. Even then, the Rug of History would prove to be inadequate for covering up the murder of God’s Son.

Food for Thought: Caiaphas, the High Priest, found himself in the position of literally fighting against God. How do you suppose he felt in the months and years following this moment in history and what can we learn from Caiaphas?

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Continue reading “The Rug of History – John 18: 12-14”

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Keeping up with Jesus is hard. Throughout this gospel, we have struggled along with the disciples, the Pharisees, and Nicodemus to understand Jesus. What is he really saying? Often he speaks figuratively, but in this case, he speaks in a very human and straightforward manner.

“Put your sword away!” A very clear command.

“Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” A figuratively couched question but one that should make sense to the disciples after all of the time they have spent with Jesus.

And what cup is Jesus referring to? Isn’t it for this very moment that he came to earth? Isn’t this why he was born a human? Clear back in the third chapter of Genesis, verse fifteen, this moment was foretold:

”And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.“

This is the moment when Satan strikes at the heel of God. This is the moment when God allows a sinful creation to torture and kill his only Son. This is the moment when the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice unblemished by any sin of any kind, pays the price for all who have sinned and turn to God for salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Food for Thought: If God had to bargain with Satan for the return of those captured by sin, what price do you think Satan would demand?

Bonus Question: Why does God stoop to allowing his only Son to be killed by Satan? (See Matthew 13: 24-30)

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Continue reading “The Strike – John 18: 11”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.

So what do you think Simon Peter was thinking when he put his hand to the sword and started whittling on Malchus’ ear? Do you suppose this whole thing caught him off guard? After all, I don’t think Jesus mentioned anything about this, did he?

… but now I am going to him who sent me. (John 16: 5)

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16: 7)

Jesus went on to say, ”In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” (John 16: 16)

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. (John 16: 20)

I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. (John 16: 28)

A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. (John 16: 32)

Oops. I guess Jesus had tried to give Peter a clue after all.

Food for Thought: Put yourself in Simon Peter’s place and ask yourself why you have the urge to cut off somebody’s ear. What do you hear in answer to your question?

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Continue reading “Oops – John 18: 10”

Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

The night has almost gone. It is still dark but Jesus has been up all night. He celebrated the Passover with his disciples. He then spent a great deal of time giving them his last-minute instructions. He and the disciples made their way outside of the city and across the Kidron Valley. At the other side was Mt. Olive and on the mount was an orchard called the Garden of Gethsemane. Here Jesus had prayed for several hours.

Finally, Judas finds them. With him is a group of soldiers and officials. They have torches and weapons as well as superior numbers. They are ready for anything and expecting the worst.

Jesus leaves no doubt as to who he is. He doesn’t wait for Judas to act. He steps up and takes command of the situation. This is not a matter of someone standing up and taking a bullet for Jesus. Instead, Jesus stands up and takes the hit for every person on the planet. Even those who are wanting to hurt him. He speaks first and he speaks with authority.

Having established himself as the one who is clearly in charge of the situation Jesus issues a challenge: “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” The people he is dealing with are not rocket scientists, yet the logic of what Jesus says does not escape them. They have been told to get Jesus and bring him back. If they fiddle around with Jesus’ followers Jesus might escape and then they would be in a bad spot. Better to stick with the one they are supposed to get rather than take the risk of getting them all.

John tells us why Jesus does this. It is important that Jesus not lose any of the disciples God has given him. When it comes to protecting his own, Jesus does not hesitate to act.

Food for Thought: After reading this passage how would you describe the Jesus we see here?

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Continue reading “Jesus in Charge – John 18: 7-9”