CHAP. XVIII.

[before Caiaphas.

19 The High Priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.

20 Jesus answered him, I spake

(C) Ver. 1-18. Jesus betrayed, and carried before the High Priest.-Our Lord had no sooner concluded his address to his disciples, and the prayer which followed, than he crossed the brook Kidron, and entered his favourite retreat, the garden of Gethsemane, which probably belonged to one of his disciples (see Note on Matt. xxvi. 36); and as Judas might have heard, or at least strongly suspected, that Jesus was going thither, he thither came with the Jewish officers, who were appointed to apprehend him, and with the Roman guard. Jesus, knowing that his hour was now come, instead of withdrawing, as on former occasions, now came forward and demanded, Whom seek ye? and when they answered Jesus of Nazareth, he immediately replied, "I am he." Upon this, whether confounded by the courage and majesty with which our Saviour expressed himself, or whether alarmed by suddenly recollecting the conduct of Elijah, who, when Abab sent to arrest him, suddenly struck the men dead with lightning-so it was, that upon hearing these words, "they drew back, and fell to the ground before him." Jesus then repeating his avowal, that he was the person they sought, added, "If ye seek me, let these go their way." This, it should seem, was acceded to, when Peter rashly drew his sword, and cut off the ear of Malchus, one of the High Priest's servants. This was immediately restored by the miraculous power of our Lord; but the incident probably occasioned some confusion, when the Roman soldiers, who had remained hitherto in the back ground, came forward to assist the Jews; and our Saviour suffered himself to be bound by them, and led away, first to Annas, and then to Caiaphas,who had already predicted that he should die for the people, and who was now active to fulfil his own prediction.

We must not, however, pass over our Lord's reproof of Peter Put up thy sword;" which applies, not only to military heroes, who delight in blood; but,

more especially to religious zealots, who, like Saul of Tarsus, "breathe out threatening and slaughter" against all who differ from them in religion. It is" the sword of the Spirit" only, which becomes the hand of an apostle, or Christian minister. Our Lord adds these memorable words"The cup which my Father giveth me, shall I not drink it?" This was the dreadful "cup" from which our Saviour prayed to be, if possible, delivered: but if he had not drank it, the whole human race must have drank it to the dregs, and have drank it in everlasting misery. But what a lesson is this to us, in our comparatively tasteless cup of woe? Whatever portion of affliction Providence may present to us, shall we not drink it from our Father's, and especially from our Saviour's hand, who drank for us that cup of wrath which our sins had merited? We may pray submissively to have the cup removed, but it is base-ingratitude to refuse it.

Peter, it should seem, now put away his sword for ever, and followed his Master in disguise, as though he had been a stranger, with another disciple, who being known at the palace, procured admission; but Peter stood without till that other disciple (supposed to be John himself) interceded for his admission with the woman who kept the door, and who, upon his admission, directly challenged him with being a disciple; but Peter promptly denied this, and, no farther notice being taken for the present, he stood and warmed himself with the servants, at a fire which they had kindled for the occasion.

It is mentioned that the officers first took Jesus to Annas, who had been previously High Priest, and perhaps still acted occasionally in that office for his son-in-law, on whom the office had been since conferred; but Annas seems to have taken no cognizance of the affair, but sent him immediately to Caiaphas, from whom he had the first hearing. In our next section we shall follow them into the hall, and see the Lord of life and glory arraigned before a timeserving Jewish priest.

Ver. 20. I spake openly.-The Gemera of Babylon mentions proclamation being made by a public crier for any one who could witness the innocence of a prisoner to come forward, before punishment was

executed, and that this was done forty days before the death of Jesus; but we know this to be false. See our Note on Isa, liii. 8

Peter denies]

openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.

21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them behold, they know what I said.

22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the High Priest so?

23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?

24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the High Priest.

25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one

[his Master. of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.

26 One of the servants of the High Priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?

27 Peter then denied again and immediately the cock crew.

28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. (D)

29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?

30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.

(D) Ver. 19–28. Jesus examined before Caiaphas. Of this previous examination the only account is here given by the evangelist John, and this merely states that he was questioned, by the High Priest, of his disciples and his doctrine; in answer to which he appealed to those who had heard him, denying that he had taught any secret doctrines (as the Greek philosophers were known to do) or formed any private faction. But speaking, as the Messiah, with more freedom than the under officers of the Court thought becoming the rank of their master, one of them presumed to strike our Saviour, with this reproof"Answerest thou the High Priest so?" The reply of our Lord may, perhaps, be thus paraphrased :-"If now, or on any other occasion, I have spoken what is contrary to the law, bear witness against me, (as I just now said); but if not, why strikest thou me uncondemned?" (See Acts xvi. 37.) Here John closes this part of his narrative;

probably because the other evangelists had related the process of our Lord's trial before the Sanhedrim, which immediately followed.

Had

But Peter is here again brought before us, and we see the danger of running uncalled into the way of temptation. Peter boldly come forward as a witness to justify his Master, he might probably have died for him, as he proposed (chap. xiii. 37); and he would have anticipated Stephen in the honour of being the first Christian martyr; but for this he disqualified himself by his rash attack on Malchus. he then staid without, and waited the issue of his Master's trial, he might have avoided the temptation to deny him, which he was not able to resist, and saved himself from many hitter tears. Having, however, remarked pretty fully on the cowardice of Peter, we shall not repeat our observations, but refer back to our Exposition of Matt. xxvii. 69-75.

Had

"the

Ver. 22. Struck Jesus with the palm of his hand. -Some explain this word (rapisma), of a blow with a staff or stick; so Beza; but Doddr. says, word is used apparently for any blow. So Camp. Ver. 26. Being his kinsman-i. e. the kinsman of Malchus See ver. 10.

Ver. 28. The hall of Judgment.--Camp. "The Pretorium."— Les: they should be defiled; but that, &c.-Doddr. "Lest they should be polluted, and

prevented from eating the Passover;" i. e. the sacrifices which followed the paschal supper, during the feast of unleavened bread.

Ver. 30. If he were not a malefactor, &c.-" These words import, 1. If the crime he is charged with were not capital, we should have punished him ourselves, and not have come to you. 2. If he were not guilty, we should not have accused him.”— Lard. Cred. vol. i. 334.

31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:

32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.

33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment ball again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?

34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the Chief Priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to

the Jews but now is my kingdom not from hence.

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. (E)

(E) Ver. 29-40. Jesus examined by Pilate, the Roman governor.-Here the first circumstance which strikes us is the hypocrisy of the priests and other members of the Sanhedrim, who, though (in a body, as it should seem) they led Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate, dared not enter into the Roman hall of judgment, lest they should be defiled by mixing with the Gentiles. They were not alarmed at the guilt of shedding innocent blood, but they were afraid of entering the house of a Gentile, lest they should be polluted during all the feast. And even here, it is to be remarked, they were not afraid lest they should be incapacitated from offering sacrifices to God; but lest they should be prevented from eating that part of the sacrifices to which they were entitled, which was considerable. (See Numb. xxviii. 19-24.)

Pilate so accommodated himself to their wishes, that he came out to the door of the hall, probably, to hear what they had to say. At this, however, they seem to take offence; for they wish him to take it

for granted, that the prisoner was guilty of a capital offence, or they would not have brought him; and therefore had thought it not necessary (or at least prudent) to bring him any account of their proceedings. On this Pilate tells them to take him back again, and judge him according to their own law, as he did not wish to interfere. They are now obliged to confess that they wanted not his judgment on the case, but merely that he would order the execution, which they were not allowed to do. Upon this Pilate went back into the hall, and called Jesus to him (under custody, doubtless, of their officers), and began himself to question him.

It is evident that the only charge they had brought against him was, that he made himself "King of the Jews;" and upon this, therefore, he examines him"Art thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus, wishing to draw from him the fact, that the Jews had reported this, in reply asked,

Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?"-Pilate rejoins,

Ver. 31. It is not lawful for us to put any man to death-That is, a criminal we cannot punish according to his deserts. "It is not one of the lesser faults, for which we are wont to scourge men, or to cast out of the synagogue; but he is guilty of blas

phemy, which by our law is punishable with death. And since we cannot be permitted to punish any man capitally, we have brought him to your tribunal, where alone we can have satisfaction."-Lard. Cred. vol. i. 89.

THEN Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe;

3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

6 When the Chief Priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him,

[and mocked,

and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him

no answer.

10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

12 And from thenceforth Pilate

"Am I a Jew? Thine own nation (the Jews) and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me under that charge: confess what thou hast done to occasion it." Jesus now takes an opportunity to explain the nature of his kingdom, which he does in such a manner as disarms the jealousy of the Roman governor: "My kingdom is not of this world," &c. as if he had said,

I interfere not with your authority, neither am I an enemy to Cesar. I assume no worldly state nor riches: my throne is on high, and surrounded with celestial guards. Were I indeed about to institute a temporal kingdom, these would fight for me, and even Roman legions would in vain oppose celestial hosts. But mine is a kingdom of truth, and righteousness, and peace; and I came from heaven to proclaim this truth on earth, and to prepare the world for its establishment.'

Pilate understood enough of this discourse to perceive that Jesus interfered not with his authority, nor with the prerogatives of his royal master. He asks, indeed,

،، What is truth ?" but recollecting he had nothing to do with truth, instead of waiting for an answer, he goes back to the Jewish priests, who were waiting still without, and frankly tells them, "I find no fault in him; but as you have a custom that I should release to you a prisoner at the Passover, will you that I release unto you the King of the Jews, as you call him?" This, however, only made them more cla morous-"Not this man, but Barabbas" -a man convicted both of sedition and murder. To silence their importunity and violence, having heard that Jesus had chiefly preached and wrought his miracles in Galilee, he hopes to get rid of the business by sending him to Herod, whose cu riosity Jesus refusing to gratify, he sends him back again to Pilate, without any judgment on the case. Pilate again calls together the chief priests and rulers, and tells them that neither he nor Herod had found him guilty of any capital offence; he proposes, therefore, to scourge him, and let him go.

CHAP. XIX. Ver. 2. A purple robe.-See Note on Matt. xxvii. 28. Perhaps so decayed that the colour was scarce distinguishable.

Ver. 8. He was the more afraid.-Lardner, on this text, quotes Beza, as saying, "He was not

(F) Ver. 1-15. Christ's last hearing before Pilate.-It appears by St. Luke (chap. xxiii. 22), that Pilate proposed to Scourge Jesus, and let him go: it has been thought, therefore, that by this severity, and the cruel mockery which followed, that he might hope to impress the Jews with some feelings of humanity, and therefore did he bring him forth an object as pitiable as misery, without guilt, could render him-and pointing to him in the robes of mock-royalty, covered with blood -he cries, "Behold the man!"—Vain hope! as well might he impress compassion on the marble pavement on which he stood. All they had to say was comprised in two words, -"Crucify him! Crucify him!"

The chief priests aimed, in the first instance, to prejudice the governor against the prisoner by pretending that he was an enemy to Cesar, for every man that made himself a king, they said was so (ver. 12). But when they saw this had no effect, they said, "We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made (that is, represented himself to be) the Son of God." It is doubtful whether Pilate understood what they meant by this title. Many of the heathen emperors represented themselves as of immortal origin, and it is possible he might think Jesus aimed at such an honour; or, if he understood the term as equivalent to Messiah, he might be aware that all pretenders to that character had hitherto mixed with it more or less of political ambition-" he was (therefore) the more afraid," and thus addressed

our Saviour, "Whence art thou?" From our Lord's giving no answer to this question, we conclude that it was improper, though we do not exactly perceive the

reason.

When, however, Pilate adds, "Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?" Jesus replies immediately, to correct his error; "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above"-that is, from heaven "therefore," subjoins our Lord, "he [Caiaphas] that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." In this reply our Lord gives the heathen governor a lesson on the doctrine of Providence; that all power is from God alone, who says to governors and kings, as he does to the waves of the sea, "Hitherto shall ye come, but no farther." (Job xxxviii. 11.) Knowing, therefore, what was determined concerning him, and the great object to be accomplished by his sufferings, namely, the salvation of his church and people, he was willing to endure (as he had undertaken) whatever might be necessary to accomplish that object, and to satisfy the demands of eternal justice. As to the governor's conduct in this affair, he gives him to understand that, though nothing could justify him in condemning the innocent, the wicked High Priest, and his Jewish confederates, had certainly the greater sin to answer for.

This reply not only softened Pilate's resentment, but led him to make one more effort to save him from crucifixion; but it was a weak one, and shows that he was worried out by the priests, and had not

day before the sabbath (Friday). So Dr. Jennings.And about the sixth hour.-We caunot but suspect with Doddridge, and for the reasons which he gives, that a slight error has here crept into the text, and that we should here read with Mark xv.25, "the third hour," which has the sanction of some good MSS.; otherwise we must suppose the Evangelists used different ways of reckoning, which is very possible.