Interpretive Study of John's Gospel

Jesus is the Son of God

Chapter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, God.

John Chapter 17

Last Supper: The Lord's prayer for His disciples

Links to sentences in this chapter:

C17-S1 (Verse 1-2), C17-S2 (Verse 3), C17-S3 (Verse 4), C17-S4 (Verse 5), C17-S5 (Verse 6), C17-S6 (Verse 7), C17-S7 (Verse 8), C17-S8 (Verse 9), C17-S9 (Verse 10), C17-S10 (Verse 11), C17-S11 (Verse 11), C17-S12 (Verse 12), C17-S13 (Verse 13), C17-S14 (Verse 14), C17-S15 (Verse 15), C17-S16 (Verse 16), C17-S17 (Verse 17), C17-S18 (Verse 18), C17-S19 (Verse 19), C17-S20 (Verse 20-21), C17-S21 (Verse 22-23), C17-S22 (Verse 24), C17-S23 (Verse 25), C17-S24 (Verse 26)'.

Chapter Outline

This chapter has the true 'Lord's prayer for His disciples'. Probably the most important part of this prayer, for the saved of today, is 17:20-21 which tells us Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. Not only does this sentence include the saved of today in this prayer, but it makes it clear that the saved of today are included That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. If the saved of today are not one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, and have the same doctrine and practices as the early church (that they also may be one in us), then the saved of today are not fulfilling the purpose that Jesus Christ had in saving them.

If the reader looks at the sentence summaries they should see a pattern in this prayer. First, Jesus prays for His disciples who will become His Apostles. Second He limits His prayers to the saved and deliberately excludes the lost from this prayer. Next He prays that the ministry be turned over to these disciples. Next He recognizes the steps following His handing over the ministry. Then Jesus prays for their future needs in order to do the ministry. After these items have been prayed for Jesus prays for future believers who will take over the ministry.

Please notice that this entire prayer is centered on the ministry and the spiritual needs to advance the ministry. Even though Jesus is going to the cross, He does not pray about that in public but waits until He is praying in private. The example is that public prayer should be for spiritual needs and should be centered on the ministry while personal needs are dealt with in private prayer. We not only see this truth in this chapter but an examination of Paul's recorded prayers will reveal the same pattern.

Below is a summary of each sentence within this chapter with a link to the note providing the detailed analysis and contextual considerations of each sentence. These sentence summaries also provide part of the basis for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events.

C17-S1: Prayer for future glory based upon prior power.
C17-S2: Add the true reason for giving life eternal.
C17-S3: The work that Jesus did.
C17-S4: The reward that Jesus expects.
C17-S5: What Jesus did with the people that God the Father gave to Him.
C17-S6: The results in the lives of the disciples.
C17-S7: Why the disciples had changed lives.
C17-S8: Jesus only prays for the saved.
C17-S9: Joint ownership of the saved.
C17-S10: Turnover of who is the tool of God
C17-S11: Prayer for protection by God the Father.
C17-S12: Protection of saved. by Jesus.
C17-S13: Immediate plans by Jesus.
C17-S14: A changed life due to the word of God.
C17-S15: Prayer for future protection.
C17-S16: Recognition of saved having the character of Jesus.
C17-S17: Prayer for future sanctification.
C17-S18: Passing on the job.
C17-S19: Jesus is the example of sanctification.
C17-S20: Prayer for future believers.
C17-S21: Jesus prays for ongoing unity.
C17-S22: The eternal future of future believers.
C17-S23: Righteousness shows knowledge of God.
C17-S24: The results of the righteousness of God.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides a chapter outline as:

and lifted. Joh 11:41; Ps 121:1-2; 123:1; Isa 38:14; Lu 18:13
the hour. Joh 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27-28; 13:1; 16:32; Mr 14:41; Lu 22:53 exp: Mt 26:45; Joh 5:25.
glorify. Joh 17:4-5; 7:39; 11:4; 13:31-32; Ac 3:13; Php 2:9-11; 1Pe 1:21'.

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C17-S1 (Verse 1-2) Prayer for future glory based upon prior power.

Equivalent Section: Prayer for future glory.

First Step: Recognize the time in God's plan for the world.

These words spake Jesus,
and lifted up his eyes to heaven,
and said,
Father,
the hour is come;

Second Step: Recognize what is next on the agenda.

glorify thy Son,
that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Equivalent Section: Prayer recognizing power given before.

As thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

This sentence starts a change in the subject matter of this Gospel. For the last several chapters John has been telling us about Jesus doing special ministering to His disciples who will become His apostles. Now, just before His betrayal (next chapter) and death, He finishes His Earthly ministry to others with this prayer for all who are truly saved by believing on Him.

In our First Equivalent Section we see two Steps. The First Step tells us that Jesus is addressing God the Father and he starts with the phrase the hour is come. This is a public prayer and just like when he prayed before raising Lazarus (John 11:41-42), Jesus is also considering His human audience as He prays to God the Father.

When He prays the hour is come, Jesus is referring to the time of His betrayal, death resurrection and ascension. (Please see the word definitions, below, for how a Biblical hour can be a different length of time than we, typically, think of for this word.) We know this meaning for this phrase because the Second Step says glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. The detailed meaning of this phrase is dealt with next. However, what is important for the meaning of the phrase: the hour is come, is that the time referenced starts with this sentence and continues until the Son of God is in heaven where He is glorified, and after He has sent God's Holy Spirit, whom Christ works through, in order to Glorify thee (God the Father) by changing the lives of all truly saved people.

In our Second Equivalent Section we see the prayer recognizing power that God the Father gave to God the Son when He became 'God in human flesh'. Originally, God the Father gave this power to Adam (Genesis 1:26-28). Adam gave this power to Satan when he sinned. As the 'second Adam' (Romans 5:14-19; 1Corinthians 15:45-48), the Son of God took back that power over all flesh when He defeated Satan and all of the devils, while in Hell, to take the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18).

The second phrase, of our Second Equivalent Section, tells us why of the Father did this. The Son of God gives eternal life to those people as thou hast given him. Please notice that this is a decision of God the Father. Our doing some religious act does not force God to save anyone. As explained elsewhere, God the Father elected a way for people to get saved and predestined ('set the place of the end of our journey, to be in heaven, in life before we were born'). However, God also gave us a free will and allows us to reject His predestination Any people who do that are not given to the Son of God for eternal life.

The next thing to pay attention to is the fact that eternal life is not the same as everlasting life Eternal life is 'life with no beginning and no end'. Everlasting life is 'life with a beginning but no end'. Everlasting life is 'given to the saved as their own. Eternal life belongs to God the Father and the Son of God Therefore, when our phrase says that he should give eternal life, it is saying 'that the Son of God should give an ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God, Who is eternal life'. As also explained in many places on this site, true salvation is in the Son of God (John 10:10). We have everlasting life because He maintains our relationship of salvation, and not because of anything else which people claim.

Please also see the note for the next sentence. That word starts with the word and, which adds it to this sentence. Further, the note for the next sentence explains how the doctrine of the prior paragraph is true.

Please see the note for John 1:1 for an extensive note explaining the word word. That note explains the differences, and similarities, between the capitalized and the non-capitalized word word. (The capitalized Word is Jesus while the non-capitalized word is scripture.) It also explains the differences between the word of God and the word of the Lord. Further, that note has links to other notes where this word is dealt with within this site. The functional definition is: 'the means for conveying a message'.

Please see the note for Romans 11:1 about the phrase I say. The functional definition is: 'Uttering in articulate sounds or words; speaking; telling; relating; reciting'. Please also see the note for Romans C10S28 about the word gainsaying. Please also see the notes for Romans C15S15 and 2Corinthians 2:17 about the word speak. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 3:12-14 about the word speech. Please also see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase evil speaking. The words speaketh and saith mean that the person 'keeps on keeping on doing the saying'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C12S13 about the word eye. The functional definition is: ' The organ of sight or vision; properly, the globe or ball movable in the orbit'.

Please see the note for Philippians 2:9-11 about the word heaven. The functional definition is: 'According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Ge 2:19; 7:3,23; Ps 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (La 4:19), etc. (b) The starry heavens (De 17:3; Jer 8:2; Mt 24:29). (c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven" (De 10:14; 1Ki 8:27; Ps 115:16; 148:4; 2Co 12:2)'. Please also see the note for 1Peter 1:2-LJC about the phrase heaven, things in. Please also see the notes for 1Timothy 6:15-LJC and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase kingdom of heaven. Please also see the note for Hebrews 12:2-LJC about the phrase treasure in heaven.

Please see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word father. The functional definition is: 'the being who passes his character to the son'. In context with 1:14 we see that God wants to be a Father to all men.

Please see the note for John 2:4 about the word hour. The functional definition is: 'a short period of time relative to the perspective'. Thus, a thousand years can be considered to be an 'hour / short period of time' from the perspective of eternity. That note tells all of the applications found within the Gospels.

Please see the note for Romans C15S14; 1Corinthians C15S36; Ephesians C1S2; 2Corinthians 10:14-LJC and Colossians C1S6 about the word glory. The functional definition is: 'Abundance, wealth, treasure, and hence honour, dignity of God; of the mind or heart; Splendour, brightness, majesty of Jehovah , the infinite perfections of God' . Think about the 'Mount of transfiguration'.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 5:5 and Philippians 4:15 about the word give. The functional definition is: 'ppr. Bestowing; confering; imparting; granting; delivering. GIV'ING, n. The act of confering'. Please see the note for 2Corinthians 9:8-11 about the word given. Please see the note for 2Corinthians 9:7 about the word giver.

Please see the note for Romans C13S2 about the word power. The functional definition is: ' the faculty of doing or performing any thing; the faculty of moving or of producing a change in something'. Please see the notes for Romans C8S40 and Ephesians C6S8 about the phrase spiritual powers.

Please see the notes for Romans C8S1; 2Corinthians C1S7; Galatians C6S8; Philippians 1:22 and Colossians C1S6 about the word flesh:. The functional definition is: 'our body and all influences upon our mind, our will and our emotions which come through our body and concerns for our body'. Please see the note for Romans C8S7 about the phrase after the flesh. Please see the note for Romans C8S7 about the phrase in the flesh. Please see the note for 2Corinthians 12:7 about the phrase thorn in the flesh.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 4:17-18 about the word eternal. The functional definition is: 'Without beginning or end of existence'. Please note that eternal life is different from everlasting life in that while eternal life is 'Without beginning or end of existence', everlasting life 'has a beginning but is without end of existence'. Please see the note for John 5:24 about the phrase everlasting life. Please also see the note for Life in 1John about the phrase eternal life.

The word life is used 44 times in the Gospel of John. The word definitions, within the note for C1-S4, have links to many other places on this site where this word is also dealt with. 17:3 gives us the definition, from Jesus Christ, when it says: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.. In the Bible, the word know includes a personal intimate relationship (Genesis 4:1). All life moves and changes by its own ability. Only dead things do not move and change by their own ability. Further, a study of this word, within John's Gospel, will also show that those people who truly have received God's life also demonstrate a God caused change in their own life which makes them more holy and more righteous. Further, John 20:31 tells us: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. Thus, we see that our receiving God's life is the main purpose of John's Gospel. Therefore, it should be obvious that this is a major theme of John's Gospel.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 2:15; Philippians 1:19-20; Life in 1John about the word life. The functional definition is: 'Life is that by which a created being enjoys the place in which the Creator has set it' . Please also see the note for Life in 1John about the phrase eternal life. Please also see the notes for Hebrews 1:8-LJC; Philippians 1:27-LJC about the phrase life everlasting. Please note that eternal life is different from everlasting life in that while eternal life is 'Without beginning or end of existence', everlasting life 'has a beginning but is without end of existence'. Please see the note for John 5:24 about the phrase everlasting life. Please also see the note for Life in 1John about the phrase eternal life. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C6S16 about the phrase kingdom of God rejected by lifestyle sins. Please also see the notes for Romans C14S11; Galatians C2-S14 and Philippians 1:21 about the word live. Please also see the note for Colossians C3S4 about the phrase Christ lives through us. Please also see the note for Ephesians C1S2 about the phrase just shall live by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C11S6 about the phrase just shall live by his faith. Please also see the note for Romans C9S28 about the phrase live / walk by faith.

Please be sure to use the links found within the sentence outline, above, to get further support in understanding the detail doctrine of this sentence. When following such links, Please be sure to go to the start of such Studies to get general information, definitions, applications and links to other places within the Bible which have the same application as the original sentence.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'As. Joh 3:35; 5:21-29; Ps 2:6-12; 110:1; Da 7:14; Mt 11:27; 28:18; 1Co 15:25; Eph 1:20; Php 2:10; Heb 1:2; 2:8-9; 1Pe 3:22 give. Joh 17:24; 4:14; 6:27,54-57; 10:28; 11:25-26; Ro 6:23; Col 3:3-4; 1Ti 1:16; 1Jo 1:2; 2:25; 5:20; Jude 1:21 exp: Joh 4:15. many. Joh 6:37,39; 10:29 General references. exp: Ge 25:5; Mr 10:40; Joh 5:22; 16:15; 1Jo 2:25.'.

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C17-S2 (Verse 3) Add the true reason for giving life eternal.

And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent.

This sentence starts with the word and, which means that it is added unto the prior sentence. (Please see the note above about that sentence.) Our sentence goes on to define life eternal, which the prior sentence says that the Son of God gives to the truly Biblically saved.

In the prior sentence, Jesus said that the hour was come for Jesus to be glorified because He was not glorified before the resurrection. (Please see the study titled Jesus used the power of Holy Spirit for more about this truth.) In the prior sentence, Jesus also said that God the Father would be glorified when He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Not all people receive eternal life, according to that sentence, but those that do will glorify the Father. This truth goes against the doctrine which says people can be saved who live for Hell but repeated say some 'prayer of salvation'.

True Biblical salvation isn't just the result of saying some prayer but is life eternal, and is given for the purpose which is defined by this sentence. As pointed out many places in this study (such as the note for John 3:36), true Biblical salvation is God's life in us. The word eternal is a qualifier of (and therefore less important than) life. In this sentence, Jesus is defining life eternal when He says this is life eternal. Within this definition, we see that the main verb is know. In Matthew 7:23 Jesus said And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. These people knew about Jesus and claimed all kinds of knowledge, but they didn't have a personal intimate knowledge of Jesus. Our sentence tells us that the truly Biblically saved will have this type of knowledge.

One thing that needs to be pointed out, and clarified here, is that eternal life and everlasting life are different. Please pay close attention to this technical difference. Our sentence says that life eternal is to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ. This is not what we possess but is a critical part of an ongoing personal relationship. God gives us everlasting life to possess as our own because it has a starting point while eternal life does not have a beginning and, therefore, is only possessed by God. Therefore, we have life eternal through our ongoing personal relationship with God and it is not something which we possess separate from God.

In this sentence, the word know means a personal intimate knowledge. This is emphasized by the very next word which is thee. The Biblical definition of thee is 'you personally' with a strong emphasis on the personal qualifier. Further, the main Being whom the saved are to personally know is the only true God. Obviously, this phrase implies that here are false gods and the truly saved know the only true God well enough to tell the difference from a lying devil.

However, Jesus didn't stop His definition with a personal knowledge of the only true God. He added on and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 1John 4:2-3 and many other places tell us that if someone denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh that they are not saved. However, Jesus is going beyond knowing Jesus personally or knowing that He came in the flesh. The men at the 'Last Supper' with Him knew this. He is using Jesus Christ to emphasize the new role that he will take on after the resurrection.

In the Gospels, Christ is used to say that Jesus has the role of Christ or to say that Jesus has fulfilled the prophetic requirements to prove that He was/is Christ. However, He did not start exercising the rights of the role of Christ until after the resurrection. Ephesians 5:32 tells us that the relationship between Christ and the church is pictured by the relationship between a man and his wife. A Godly man does not exercise the rights of a husband before he is married. Likewise, the Son of God did not exercise the rights, of the role of Christ, until after He received that role. As required by Jewish traditions, He had to pay the dowry, which included His death. The references to the role of Christ, within the Gospels, all tell us about His paying this dowry.

In Acts 2:36 Peter tells us God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Of course, if God made Jesus to be Christ, then there had to be a time that Jesus may have had the title of Christ but was not using the right of that role. In Matthew 1:19, we are told that Joseph was the husband of Mary, even though Matthew 1:25 tells us that Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son. Just as Joseph had the title before he could exercise the privileges, even so Jesus had the title of Christ before He could exercise the privileges.

Genesis 3:15 tells us And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. This is one of the prophecies about Christ that had to be fulfilled before Jesus could exercise the rights of the role of Christ. That is: He had to die before exercising the rights of the role of Christ.

One other thing to note in this sentence is the last phrase of: whom thou hast sent. There are religions which claim to be Christian while denying the truth of this phrase. They claim that Jesus is not God's Christ or that he is not God's ultimate messenger or some other doctrine which, ultimately, denies the truth of this last phrase.

Please see the notes for Romans C10S25; 1Corinthians C1S11; 2Corinthians C1S5; Galatians C3-S9; Colossians C1S3 and know in 1John about the word know. The functional definition is: 'A clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact; and the perception of the connection and agreement, or disagreement between various truths and acts. Within the Biblical usage is the knowledge that comes only from personal intimate experience'. Please see the notes for 2Peter 1:2-LJC; 2Peter 2:20-LJC and Philippians 1:9-11 about the word knowledge. Please see the note for Romans 6:3 about the phrase Know ye not. Please see the note for 1Corinthians C16S17 about the word acknowledge. Please see the note for Romans C11S4 about the word foreknow.

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth's a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

Please see the section on the Minor Titles of the Son of God for other titles like this one. The title in this sentence is true God.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'this. Joh 17:25; 8:19,54-55; 1Ch 28:9; Ps 9:10; Isa 53:11; Jer 9:23-24; 31:33-34; Ho 6:3; 1Co 15:34; 2Co 4:6; 2Th 1:8; Heb 8:11-12; 1Jo 4:6; 5:11,20 the only. Joh 14:9-10; 2Ch 15:3; Jer 10:10; 1Co 8:4; 1Th 1:9; 1Ti 6:15-16; 1Jo 5:20 and Jesus. Joh 3:17,34; 5:36-37; 6:27-29,57; 7:29; 10:36; 11:42; 12:49-50; 14:26; Isa 48:16; 61:1; Mr 9:37; Lu 9:48; 1Jo 4:14-15; 5:11-12 General references. exp: Jas 2:19; 1Jo 2:25.'.

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C17-S3 (Verse 4) The work that Jesus did.

Equivalent Section: The results that Jesus produced.

I have glorified thee on the earth:

Equivalent Section: How He did it.

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

This sentence says what Jesus did with His physical life. The next sentence starts with the words: And now,. The next sentence tells us what Jesus expected as a reward for giving His life to the service of God.

Many people claim that we should not serve God for the future rewards but only work to show out love of God. We definitely should show our love of God and should be thankful. However, that doctrine is a subtle claim that we should disobey the command of God and should, instead, seek the pride of boasting about our own love for God.

Jesus is our example of how to live in the flesh using the power of the Holy Ghost. Our sentence tells us that He dedicated His life to doing the work which thou gavest me to do. Our next sentence is added to this one and tells us that He expected eternal spiritual rewards as a result. These sentences provide us His example of what should be the main focus of our life and why it should be our main focus.

In addition, to the prior thought, this sentence tells us another truth that few people think about. Our Second Equivalent Section says: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. He said that He finished the work and yet there were works that He had not finished. He still had to die and go to Hell for us, so He could not be speaking about our eternal salvation. He had not even started His work of sanctification as Christ, so He couldn't be talking about that. He has not started the 1,000 years reign, so He couldn't be talking about that.

What Jesus had finished was bringing God's message to the Jews and offering them the kingdom of heaven (1Timothy 6:15-LJC and 1Peter 2:1) in the form of the 1,000 years reign with Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. However, the Jews had rejected both. What He also had finished was being an example of how to live in the flesh using the Power of the Holy Ghost.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 5:1 and Philippians 2:9-11 about the word earth. The functional definition is: 'All of this physical world including the influence it has on us. At times the application will focus on only part of the whole'.

Please see the notes for Romans C9S8; 1Corinthians C3S13; Galatians C2-S10 and Philippians 1:1 about the word works. Please see the note for Romans C3S27 about the phrase law of works. Please see the note for Philippians 3:2 about the phrase evil workers. Please see the note for Romans C11S10 about the phrase works are seen of men. Please see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works. The basic Biblical definition of work is: 'to move, or to labor'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'glorified. Joh 12:28; 13:31-32; 14:13 finished. Joh 4:34; 5:36; 9:3; 14:31; 15:10; 19:30; Ac 20:24; 2Ti 4:7 General references. exp: Isa 49:3; Joh 6:62; 10:17.'.

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C17-S4 (Verse 5) The reward that Jesus expects.

And now,
O Father,
glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Our sentence starts with the words: And now. These words add our current sentence to the prior sentence. The prior sentence told us what Jesus dedicated His earthly life to. This sentence adds the reward that he expects as a result. That is what the phrase: glorify thou me is talking about. This goes against the doctrine, which many people believe, that we should not work in God's kingdom for His promised rewards. Such a doctrine denies the purpose of the rewards, tells the believer to disobey the command of God, and ignores the example of Jesus, such as we see in this sentence.

The next thing to pay attention to is the phrase with thine own self. Any true spirituals reward that we receive, here or in eternity, is only through our relationship with God. Too many people believe that they van separate the reward from their ongoing relationship with God. That is: they can 'claim the blessing' even while they separate themselves from God in order to live like a devil in sin.

The last phrase, which we will consider, is: with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. As is written many places on this site, the Son of God had to give up His own power as the Creator, give up all of the riches of heaven and the worship of angels, and more in order to be conceived as a weak human baby. His mommy had to change His diapers. When Death and the resurrection and the life, Death looses. The Son of God had to die as a literal physical man in order to pay for the sins of man. This phrase tells us that He expects to have everything, and more, restored after His return to heaven.

In Revelation 5:8-14 we read about Jesus Christ, God's Lamb, receive the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Please see the section on the Minor Titles of the Son of God for other titles like this one. That is where you will find the titles of Creator and the resurrection and the life.

Please see the notes for Romans C16S33; 1Timothy 1:15; 2Timothy C1S5; 1Corinthians C1S19 and World in 1John about the word world. The functional definition is: 'all of the people in the world as a group'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'glorify. Joh 17:24; 1:18; 3:13; 10:30; 14:9; Pr 8:22-31; Php 2:6; Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:3,10; 1Jo 1:2; Re 5:9-14 exp: Joh 17:1. before. Joh 1:1-3; Mt 25:34; 1Pe 1:20; Re 13:8 exp: Joh 8:58. General references. exp: Joh 6:62; 10:17.'.

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C17-S5 (Verse 6) What Jesus did with the people that God the Father gave to Him.

Equivalent Section: What Jesus did.

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:

Equivalent Section: Who they were.

First Step: God the Father choose them.

thine they were,
and thou gavest them me;

Second Step: Jesus changed their lives.

and they have kept thy word.

Our sentence starts with the phrase: I have manifested thy name. As seen in the word definitions, below, the word manifest. The functional definition is: 'made available for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination'. One of the ways which Jesus did this was by doing more miracles than any other man (John 7:31; John 21:25). This includes raising three people from the dead, before His own resurrection. (Please see the Table of Miracles in the Gospels for those references.) Thus, when we consider these evidences along with the many more evidences contained within the Gospels, we can understand the truth of this phrase. This is important to understand in itself but it is also important to understand as it is the basis of the next sentence which starts with the word Now, which means: 'after understanding what was just said'.

The next phrase of our sentence is of equal importance. Once again we see an important doctrinal statement in this sentence, which is part of the last public prayer by the Son of God. The Jehovah Witnesses, and others, deny the position of the Son of God and claim that they can go directly to God while bypassing the Son of God. Some of these groups even claim to be 'Christian'. However, regardless of their claims, our sentence has the phrase: the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Now, combine this with Acts 4:12, which says: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.. When we consider these statements in God's word, along with many other similar statements, we see that any group which claims that they can bypass the Son of God can not have a doctrine which produces true Biblical salvation. All who follow those false doctrines will spend eternity in the lake of fire along with their spiritual fathers.

Next we need to realize that the equivalency of our sentence means that Jesus considered the remainder of this sentence to be as important as the First Equivalent Section and to have the same message even while saying the same message a different way.

Within our Second Equivalent Section we see two Steps. The First Step tells us that God the Father chooses who gets truly Biblically saved. This doctrine was covered in the notes for prior sentences. Basically, God the Father determined the only way that men can be truly Biblically saved. God the Father chooses all who submit to His way and rejects all others.

Once more we see the phrase thou gavest them me, in our First Step. This is the same message as we already noted for the First Equivalent Section. That is; there is no bypassing the Son of God in order to receive true Biblical salvation.

On our Second Step we see the addition (and) of the phrase they have kept thy word. As seen many other places in the Bible, the truly saved will have a changed life by obeying the commandments of God. No, our obedience (works) is not done in order to be saved because it is not possible. We must first have the indwelling Holy Spirit ('God's life in you') before we can do any spiritual work because we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works Ephesians 2:10). However, as Ephesians 2:10 continues with, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Our obedience (works) is required after true Biblical salvation, as we see in Ephesians 2:10, the last phrase of our current sentence and many other places within the Bible. Yes, it is possible for someone to be truly Biblically saved without manifesting any spiritual works, but any such people do not have true Biblical assurance of their salvation and they are heading for 'eternal poverty' and other undesirable eternal results. God's true plan is that all truly Biblically saved do as our last phrase says. All truly Biblically saved are to keep God's word.

Please see the notes for Romans C3S20; Romans C16S33 and 1John-Manifest about the word manifest. The functional definition is: 'made available for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C1S1 and Philippians 2:9-11 about the word name. The functional definition is: 'How a person or thing is identified. In the Bible, the power and authority which is associated with the name is always part of the message where this word is used'. Please see the note for 1Corinthians C1S4 about the phrase the name. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where the phrase in the name. occurs along with links to where similar phrases occur in the New Testament. Please see the note for 1Peter 4:14-LJC about the name of Christ. Please also see the Summary and Verses documents about the use of this word for the Son of God.

Please see the note for 1Timothy 5:22 about the word keep. The functional definition is: 'To hold; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose or part with'. Please also see the note for 1John 5:2 about the phrase keep his commandments.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'have manifested. Joh 17:26; 1:18; 12:28; Ex 3:13-15; 9:16; 34:5-7; Ps 22:22; 71:17-19; Mt 11:25-27; Lu 10:21-22; 2Co 4:6; Heb 2:12; 1Jo 5:20 the men. Joh 17:2,9,11,14,16,24; 6:37; 10:27-29; 15:19; 18:9; Ac 13:48 thine. Joh 17:9-10; Ro 8:28-30; 11:2; Eph 1:4-11; 2Th 2:13-14; 1Pe 1:1 they. Joh 8:31-32; 14:21-24; 15:3,7; Ps 119:11; Pr 2:1-5,10; 3:1-4; 23:23; Col 3:16; 2Ti 1:13; Heb 3:6; Re 2:13; 3:8 General references. exp: Joh 8:47.'.

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C17-S6 (Verse 7) The results in the lives of the disciples.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

As mentioned in the note for our prior sentence, the word now, means: 'after understanding what was just said'. (Please see the prior note for the meaning of the prior sentence.) In the prior sentence we saw the phrase they have kept thy word. Our current sentence follows with: they have known. There are some things, especially spiritual things, which we can not know, nor understand, until after we obey (have kept thy word).

Once we see that truth, we can deal with the rest of this sentence. However, in order to do that we must first realize that Jesus is 'a literal physical man'. There is a lot of doctrinal error taught about the name of Jesus, including using that name / role to claim that what is restricted to other names / roles of the Son of God are doctrinally applied to the places where the Bible uses the name of Jesus. However, where the Bible uses the name of Jesus it is dealing with the doctrine of 'The Humanity of the Son of God'. He is our example of how to live in this flesh using the Power of the Holy Ghost. There is good doctrine in the saying of: What Would Jesus Do?. Any tile that we face a problem in the flesh, or a problem in this world, we should search the Gospels for where Jesus dealt with a similar problem and follow His example.

That said, there is another source of doctrinal error associated with the name of Jesus. One group uses this name in place of other roles of the name of Son of God, and thereby neglect the doctrine of His humanity. However, other groups emphasize His humanity to the point of denying His Godhood by denying that he is 'God in human flesh'. That is a problem that the disciples had, along with all other people living at that time.

The phrase: all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee specifies that even while Jesus was 'a literal physical man', the power that He used came from God the Father. Thus, our sentence is telling us that these disciples realized this truth because they have kept thy word. Likewise, today, we are to realize that any power, knowledge, understanding or any other spiritual attribute comes from God, who works through men, and those things are not due to the human person whom God works through.

One last consideration is that our next sentence starts with the word for. That means that it is giving us the reason why this sentence and the prior sentence are true. Therefore, the rules of context require us to consider the next sentence, along with the note associated with it, in order to truly understand what the Bible is saying in this sentence.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'they. Joh 7:16-17; 14:7-10,20; 16:27-30 are. Joh 17:10; 8:28; 10:29-30; 12:49-50; 16:15 General references. exp: Joh 8:47.'.

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C17-S7 (Verse 8) Why the disciples had changed lives.

First Step: They were given the words of God.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me;

Second Step: They received the words of God

and they have received them,
and have known surely that I came out from thee,
and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Our sentence has two Steps and it can be argued that the Second Step is more important than the First Step. In addition, since our sentence starts with the word for, it is giving the reason why prior sentences are true. Therefore, context is very important to understanding this sentence.

In our second prior sentence Jesus prayed I have manifested thy name unto the men . Next He prayed and they have kept thy word. Next He prayed Now they have known. Then in our current sentence we see Him pray they have received them followed by and have known and finishing up with and they have believed.

This is the pattern for teaching someone with the result of them becoming an effective worker in the kingdom of God. First, we must 'made available for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination' or 'revealed in every way possible with question-and-answer sessions included' (manifest).

Next we see Jesus pray and they have kept thy word. There must be practical application of what is taught in order for a certain level of understanding to be achieved and for the lesson to be retained longer. Lessons which are taught, but not applied, are soon forgotten. The functional definition, of the word keep, is: 'To hold; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose or part with'. The more ways that we use our mind, while learning, the longer we will retain what it taught. That is why i encourage people to take notes. Not only are they a personal reference which helps to remember the lesson later, but just the proce3ss of writing down notes uses another part of the brain than listening uses. Therefore, the process of taking notes helps us to keep the lesson which we are taught.

Next we see Jesus pray Now they have known. Thus, we see that the Bible tells us that a certain level of knowledge, specially true Bible knowledge, only comes after (now) people have kept thy word. How many people can't say what a message was about an hour after hearing it? How many students remember a lesson after the test? Our entire life is a test by God with the grade coming after we get to heaven and can no longer affect the eternal results. True Bible knowledge is only retained by people who make the extra effort to be sure that they retain, and use, what was taught. Here is why so many people remain spiritual children of God. Often, it is not a failure of the lesson which is taught or preached. Often it is a failure of the people to do what is necessary to truly know what the word of God says.

Next we see Jesus pray they have received them. The functional definition, of this word, is: 'To take, as a thing offered or sent; to accept'. How many times do people say 'I don't believe that' and then ignore the message from the Bible without even checking their Bible to see who is right? How often do people only say this in their mind and ignore the message? God gave us each a mind and all saved have the indwelling Holy Ghost to help them find the truth in their Bible. One major thing which people 'refuse to truly believe' is that God will hold them responsible for the message which He sent them and that they ignored without even verifying the message with God's Holy Ghost and their Bible. We can see, in this Gospel and other places within the Bible, the difference between how these disciples received the messages from Jesus and how the same messages were rejected by other Jews who heard the same lessons. The Bible also tells us the difference in judgment by God for each reaction with these disciples having the greatest eternal reward and the other Jews not only going to Hell themselves but also teaching their children to reject truth so that the condemnation was passed down through several generations. People need to consider eternal results when they decide to receive or reject messages from God's word.

Next we see Jesus pray and have known. This is a past-tense knowledge. This is a type of knowledge which was retained and continued to be used because knowledge that we do not continue to use gets lost from our memory. Thus, this is a type of knowledge which affects a person's life-style and this is a type of knowledge which receives eternal rewards from God, as seen in this chapter and prayer, because it motivates the person to spend their life serving God.

Finally, we see Jesus finish up with and they have believed. True Biblical belief is not just some thought wandering through your brain. True Biblical belief motivates us to obey God's commandments. The difference between true Biblical belief and true Biblical faith is that true Biblical faith is an action word. Thus, when we act our true Biblical belief becomes true Biblical faith. In addition, during the Church Age, true Biblical belief, within the truly saved people, receives prompting by the indwelling Holy Spirit. God does not take away our free will but God does try to get His children to obey, much like a nagging parent does.

Now that we have dealt with the pattern found in these sentences, we can deal with the details of them. The main message which we see in these sentences is that Jesus delivered the message which God the Father gave to him and these disciples believed and received the message as one from God. 1John 4:1 warns us to: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Just because someone claims to be a man of God with a message from God, that claim is not always true and we need to verify their claim. How we verify such claims is covered in the lessens under the Hermey tab of this web site. Without going into those details, we can see the requirement to do this verification. That is what our Second Step, of our current sentence, says that these disciples did.

Please notice the next sentence which does not start with a connecting word but does tell us what Jesus did for these disciples but which He refused to do for the world. This shows us that our beliefs and actions determine what God does for us.

Finally, we can return to the First Step of our sentence. There we see Jesus pray I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. A true man of God 'belongs to' God. His job is not to preach His personal beliefs not is it to preach His 'religious convictions' but it is to deliver the message from God and point people back to God as their ultimate authority. (With the completed word of God, that includes showing people here the message comes from the word of God.) This is the example from Jesus. This is the example and job which is ignored by many people who claim to have a message from God. Therefore, we need to verify a person's true approval from God, by seeing God's work in their life and in their ministry, before we accept that their message is truly from God.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S1; 1Corinthians C15S1 and Colossians 2:6-7 about the word receive. The functional definition is: 'To take, as a thing offered or sent; to accept'.

Please see the notes for Romans C10S15; 1Corinthians C14S25 and Galatians C3-S8 about the word believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. All true Biblical belief results in action based upon that belief'. Please see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for John 12:42 which also has links to every place, in this Gospel, where we find the phrase believe in and the difference in definitions between believe in and believe on.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I have. Joh 17:14; 6:68; 14:10; Pr 1:23; Mt 13:11; Eph 3:2-8; 4:11-12 received. Joh 3:33; Pr 1:3; 2:1; 4:10; 8:10; 1Co 11:23; 15:1; 1Th 2:13; 4:1 and have. Joh 17:6-7,25; 16:27,30; 1Jo 4:14 General references. exp: Joh 8:47; 12:49.'.

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C17-S8 (Verse 9) Jesus only prays for the saved.

Equivalent Section: Jesus prays for the saved.

I pray for them:

Equivalent Section: Jesus makes a difference in who He prays for.

First Step: Jesus distinguishes the saved from the lost.

I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me;

Second Step: Why

for they are thine.

This sentence should be easy to understand, especially if the reader pays attention to the sentence outline, above, and the titles within it.

In this sentence Jesus very clearly makes a difference between the children of God and other people. We have a lot of people preaching the doctrine of devils which claims that 'we are all children of God' and that 'everyone gets the same blessings from God' and that 'people get all of the blessings from God, in the full amount, when they first make a profession'.

This sentence very clearly shows that Jesus did not agree with any of those claims. Remember that John 2:23-24 said Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men. He did not commit himself unto them, which means that they were not saved, even though they believed in his name. In addition, there were many disciples who were not invited to the 'Last Supper' and, therefore, were not included in the disciples who were there when He prayed this prayer. Our sentence very clearly shows that Jesus separated people according to their belief and their actions based upon those beliefs.

Our next two sentences start with the word and, which adds them to this sentence. This sentence through 17:11 form a small sub-group within this chapter which is all one prayer. Therefore, all need to be considered together for contextual considerations.

Please see the notes for Romans C15S25 and 2Corinthians C1S6 about the word pray. The functional definition is: ' In a general sense, the act of asking for a favor, and particularly with earnestness'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'pray for. Joh 14:16; 16:26-27; Lu 22:32; 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1Jo 2:1-2; 5:19; Re 12:9; 13:8; 20:15'.

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C17-S9 (Verse 10) Joint ownership of the saved.

First Step: The saved belong to Jesus and God the Father.

And all mine are thine,
and thine are mine;

Second Step: Jesus is glorified in the saved.

and I am glorified in them.

This sentence and the next sentence start with the word and, which add them to the sentence in 17:8. That sentence through 17:11 form a small sub-group within this chapter which is all one prayer. Therefore, all need to be considered together for contextual considerations.

Our sentence tells us that Jesus Christ and God the Father have joint ownership of all truly Biblically saved people. That means that both have the right to expect absolute obedience from all truly Biblically saved people.

In addition, to that truth, our last phrase says and I am glorified in them. This means that both Jesus Christ and God the Father should be glorified in the lives of true believers. This is accomplished when the world sees a changed life. Satan and sin take away our free will because all types of sin are addictive. However, God will literally let someone spend eternity in the lake of fire before He takes away their free will. God is glorified in the lives of true believers when He can change their life without taking away their free will. God gets truly Biblically saved to stop their sinning and to live a life which displays the holiness and righteousness of God the Father, the sacrifice and service of God the Son and the ongoing personal relationship which is provided through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Please see the note for John 8:58 about the phrase I am (said by God). Please also see the Minor Titles of the Son of God about this title. The functional definition is: 'This phrase clearly identifies God and identifies Jesus as God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'all. Joh 10:30; 16:14-15; 1Co 3:21-23; Col 1:15-19; 2:9 and I. Joh 5:23 11:4 12:23 Ac 19:17; Ga 1:24; Php 1:20; 2:9-11; 2Th 1:10,12; 1Pe 2:9; Re 5:8-14 General references. exp: Joh 10:30; 16:15.'.

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C17-S10 (Verse 11) Turnover of who is the tool of God.

And now I am no more in the world,
but these are in the world,
and I come to thee.

This sentence and the prior sentence start with the word and, which add them to the sentence in 17:8. That sentence through 17:11 form a small sub-group within this chapter which is all one prayer. Therefore, all need to be considered together for contextual considerations.

After being added to the prior sentences, our sentence says I am no more in the world. Well, Jesus was obviously physically in the world when He prayed this prayer. However, as we see many places in the Bible including within this chapter, God's perception of time is different from man's perception of time. Jesus no more in the world because He had completed all of the spiritual work which He had to do in this world. His next task was to defeat Satan and all of the devils compiled, but He did that in Hell. Therefore, from the perspective of spiritual tasks to be done, He was no more in the world because he was starting the next spiritual task, which started with His betrayal. We see that, in this Gospel, following the end of this chapter and prayer.

The second phrase of our sentence says but these are in the world. Our next sentence, which is part of the context of this sentence, is a prayer request for these (that) are in the world. These disciples will be continuing the ministry which Jesus started. Not only are to train the next generation, but we are to pray for God to help them continue the work.

The last phrase of our sentence says and I come to thee. We all need to keep in mind that we will not stay in this world but will face God who will judge the things done in his body. In addition, art of the job of a Godly leader is to prepare the next generation and the leader of the next generation. Moses did that while Joshua did not and we can see the difference in the generations which followed each of these leaders. We can also see this difference throughout all of human history.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I am. Joh 17:13; 13:1,3; 16:28; Ac 1:9-11; 3:21; Heb 1:3; 9:24 but. Joh 17:14-18; 15:18-21; 16:33; Mt 10:16; Jas 4:4; 1Jo 3:12; 5:19 exp: Mt 26:11; Mr 14:7.'.

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C17-S11 (Verse 11) Prayer for protection by God the Father.

Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,
that they may be one,
as we are.

17:8 through our current sentence form a small sub-group within this chapter which is all one prayer. Therefore, all need to be considered together for contextual considerations.

In this sentence we see how to have unity (they may be one, as we are) within the church. It starts by God's people being holy like the Holy Father is. Please notice that Jesus prays keep through thine own name. This means 'to retain in the power and authority of the Holy Father'. In order to do this, God the Father must cause His true children to become holy like He is holy. People can not expect to receive the results of God's power when they refuse to receive God's power. Therefore, people must receive God's power before they can expect unity (they may be one, as we are) within the church.

Please see the notes for Romans C7S16; 1Corinthians C3S17; Philippians 1:3-7 and Colossians C1S6 about the word holy. The functional definition for this word is: 'Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions'. Please also see the Word Study on Spirit for links to every place in the Bible where we find the phrase Holy Ghost. It is my belief that the Bible uses Holy Ghost when speaking about His dealing in this physical world and uses Holy Spirit when telling us about His dealing in spiritual matters. Please also see the note for 1John C2S25 about the phrase Holy One.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Holy. Joh 17:25; Mt 5:48; 1Pe 1:15-17; Re 4:8; 15:4 keep. Joh 17:12,15; 10:29-30; Ps 17:8-9; Isa 27:3; 1Pe 1:5; Jude 1:1,24 exp: 2Ti 1:12. thine. Ps 79:9; Pr 18:10; Isa 64:2; Jer 14:7,21; Eze 20:9,22,44; Mt 6:9; Ro 9:17 that. Joh 17:21-22; 10:30; 14:20; Ro 15:5-6; 1Co 1:10; 12:12-13; Eph 4:4 exp: Lu 9:51; Joh 6:37. General references. exp: Joh 6:62.'.

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C17-S12 (Verse 12) Protection of saved. by Jesus.

Equivalent Section: Protection of saved.

While I was with them in the world,
I kept them in thy name:

Equivalent Section: Distinguish between saved and lost.

First Step: Who was kept and who was lost.

those that thou gavest me I have kept,
and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition;

Second Step: Why.

that the scripture might be fulfilled.

The only other place in the Bible where we find the son of perdition is in 2Thessalonians 2:3. There God's children are warned to not worry about lies from false prophets about him. The notes for these two verses, within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, deal with him. Here we see that he is identified as Judas Iscariot. We also see the error of claiming 'everything rises and falls on leadership' as a way for preachers to take pride in the results of their ministry. Judas had the best leader but he did not rise. Yes, leaders influence others, and they will answer to God for that influence. However, ultimately, we each have a free will and are personally responsible for the judgment which we will personally receive from God.

In our First Equivalent Section we read that Jesus kept them in thy name. However, in the Second Equivalent Section we read that Jesus did not keep the son of perdition. As already mentioned, God will not take away our free will. He will do everything that He can, which is short of taking away our free will, but He will not cross that line.

When we truly consider all that the disciples did which was wrong, and how Jesus responded with patience and love, then we can truly understand what he means by I kept them in thy name.

In our First Equivalent Section we also read that While I was with them in the world. This is opposed to the phrase And now come I to thee which starts the next sentence. Thus, the context makes this sentence a statement of past actions while the next sentence is a statement of future actions.

In our Second Equivalent Section we see two Steps with the Second Step saying that the scripture might be fulfilled. This lets us know that Jesus could have kept...the son of perdition but choose to not do so for this reason as well as not taking away his free will. The fact that God could have this truth prophesied in scripture shows that he knows how Satan will act and how sinful man will act and that he can prophesy events based upon His Divine knowledge even while He does nothing to cause these events to come to past.

In our Second Equivalent Section, our First Step says: I kept in thy name those that thou gavest me. Here we see that God the Father gave these disciples to Jesus and that He was responsible to keep them in thy (God's) name. Likewise, God gives people to others (parents, pastors, etc) to keep in thy (God's) name. Each of us are expected to follow the example of Jesus and do whatever is required in order to keep the people that God gives to us. We are also to expect to be required to give an accounting to God, just like Jesus does in this sentence.

I have not found a scripture that I can definitely say 'This Bible reference is fulfilled by our current sentence'. The best that I could find was Deuteronomy 33:3 or Ezekiel 34. However, in addition to those verses, there are 25 places in the Old Testament which use the words Lord and reserve and promises that the Lord will reserve those people who dedicate their life to His service. Those references are: Deuteronomy 6:24; Joshua 24:17; 1Samuel 30:23; 2Samuel 8:6; 2Samuel 8:14; 1Chronicles 18:6; 1Chronicles 18:13; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 12:7; Psalms 31:23; Psalms 36:6; Psalms 37:28; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 41:2; Psalms 97:10; Psalms 116:6; Psalms 121:7-8; Psalms 140:1; Psalms 140:4; Psalms 145:20; Psalms 146:9; Proverbs 22:12; Isaiah 31:5; Isaiah 49:8; Hosea 12:13.

This prophecy is fulfilled in John 18:8-9.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C1S1 and Philippians 2:9-11 about the word name. The functional definition is: 'How a person or thing is identified. In the Bible, the power and authority which is associated with the name is always part of the message where this word is used'. Please see the note for 1Corinthians C1S4 about the phrase the name. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where the phrase in the name. occurs along with links to where similar phrases occur in the New Testament. Please see the note for 1Peter 4:14-LJC about the name of Christ. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C1S4 about the phrase the name. Please also see the Summary and Verses documents about the use of this word for the Son of God.

Please see the note for John 6:12 about the word lost. The functional definition for this word is: ' Mislaid or left in a place unknown or forgotten; that cannot be found'. Please also see the note for John 12:25 about the word lose.

Please see the note for Philippians 1:27-28 about the word perdition. The functional definition for this word is: 'The beast of Revelation whom religion wrongly calls the Antichrist'.

Please see the notes for Romans C16S33; Galatians C3-S10 and 2Timothy C3S10 about the word scripture. The functional definition is: 'This word occurs but once in the Old Testament, where an angel speaks of 'the scripture of truth.' Da 10:21. In the New Testament the various parts of the Old Testament are referred to as "the scriptures"'.

Please see the note for Romans C15S11 about the word fulfill. The functional definition is: ' A tautological compound of full and fill. 1. To accomplish; to perform; to complete; to answer in execution or event what has been foretold or promised; as, to fulfill a prophecy or prediction; to fulfill a promise'. Please also see the note for Romans C15S11 about the word fill.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I kept. Joh 6:37,39-40; 10:27-28; Heb 2:13 and. Joh 13:18; 18:9; Lu 4:26-27; 1Jo 2:19 the son. Joh 6:70-71; 13:18; 2Th 2:3 that. Ps 109:6-19; Ac 1:16-20,25 exp: Mt 1:22; Joh 12:38. General references. exp: Joh 13:11.'.

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C17-S13 (Verse 13) Immediate plans by Jesus.

First Step: Plan to return to God the Father.

And now come I to thee;

Second Step: Why Jesus prayed this prayer.

and these things I speak in the world,
that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Our sentence starts with the phrase: And now, which adds it to the prior sentence. The prior note dealt with this contextual consideration.

Our sentence has two Steps which are presented in order of priority, and not in time sequence, because, time-wise, the Second Step occurs before the First Step.

In our First Step Jesus says now come I to thee. Once He returns to heaven, in the ascension, he will not personally speak to these disciples any more. He will only speak, indirectly, through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, anything that He wants to tell them personally, as one human being to another, He must do now. Yes, He will speak to them after His resurrection and before His assentation, but then He will speak as Lord Jesus, and not as the human man named Jesus.

In the first phrase of our Second Step Jesus says and these things I speak in the world. The and means that this is added to the First Step. He is speaking these things in the world, at this time, because now come I to thee and will not be able to do this speaking later.

In the second phrase of our Second Step Jesus says that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. The word that lets us know this is the result which he hopes to accomplish by praying this chapter out-loud and in the presence of His disciples. His goal is that His joy (not some other joy), might (be) fulfilled in them. He knows that this will not happen until after His resurrection and ascension. Our last chapter showed us this truth. However, He uses the word might, in our phrase, because He knows that it sometimes will happen for some believers and it sometimes will not happen. However, His desire is for all believers to have His Joy as often and as much as is possible.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S23 and 1John C1S2 about the word joy. The functional definition is: 'a spiritually based sense that we will be blessed by God for enduring current circumstances in a way that brings God glory'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'come. Joh 17:1; 13:3; Heb 12:2 that. Joh 3:29; 15:11; 16:22-24,33; Ne 8:10; Ps 43:4; 126:5; Ac 13:52; Ro 14:17; Ga 5:22; 1Jo 1:4; 2Jo 1:12'.

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C17-S14 (Verse 14) A changed life due to the word of God.

First Step: What Jesus. did.

I have given them thy word;

Second Step: The results.

and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world.

17:7 says I have given unto them the words. 17: says they have kept thy word. Our sentence starts with I have given them thy word. When the Bible used word (singular), it is talking about God's message which is in all of the Bible. When the Bible used words (plural), it is talking about the detailed units which make up the message. Both are preserved by God.

Our Second Step adds the world hath hated them (the disciples). The word hath means: 'keep on keeping on having'. This is a life-style hatred.

Our Second Step continues with: because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. That is, God's word, which they received and kept changed them to be like Jesus. Therefore, the world hath hated them exactly like the world hath hated Jesus.

If someone is truly saved but does not have the world hate them, then they have not become like Jesus. They have not truly received and kept God's word.

Please see the note for John 15:16 about the word hate. The functional definition for this word is: 'this is an action verb which encompasses the opposite attitudes and actions from love'. Please also see the note for Galatians C5S20 about the word hatred.

Please see the note for Romans C1S10 about the word because. The functional definition is: 'provides a cause where the cause and effect are both in the past'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'given. Joh 17:8 the world. Joh 7:7; 15:18-21; Ge 3:15; Pr 29:27; Zec 11:8; Mt 10:24-25; 1Pe 4:4-5; 1Jo 3:12 they. Joh 17:16; 8:23; 1Jo 4:5-6; 5:19-20'.

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C17-S15 (Verse 15) Prayer for future protection.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,
but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

How many people cry 'Why did God allow this?' or something similar? Please notice that Jesus did not pray that they would not experience 'bad circumstances'. Jesus prayed thou shouldest keep them from the evil with evil being what comes from the devil. (Please see the word definitions below.)

Please notice that Jesus prayed I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. Too many people who consider themselves to be Christian want to separate from the world. Yes, we are to live a different (separate) life-style. We are to avoid sin, especially ongoing life-style sin. We are to life a life-style which shows the character of Christ. However, saved people are in this world to influence it for God and be a witness for how God can change a person including how they react to any type of circumstances. The purpose of this is to draw the lost to God, which the truly saved can't do unless they are left in the world.

Please see the note for Romans 7:19 about the word evil. The functional definition is: 'Both the source and consequence of things which people consider to be really really bad. The source and / or result can be natural or spiritual or any combination thereof. However, even what seems to be a natural source can actually be caused by a devil, especially when the recipient is a child of God. In all cases the result is deliberately intended and caused, which is what separates evil from the accidental'. Please also see the note for 1Peter 4:15 about the word evildoer. Please also see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase evil speaking. Please also see the note for Philippians 3:2 about the phrase evil workers. Please also see the note for Romans C1S16 about the phrase inventors of evil thing.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'take. Ps 30:9; Ec 9:10; Isa 38:18-19; 57:1; Lu 8:38-39; Php 1:20-26 keep. Ge 48:16; 1Ch 4:10; Ps 121:7; Mt 6:13; Lu 11:4; Ga 1:4; 2Th 3:3; 2Ti 4:8; 1Jo 5:18 exp: Joh 17:11; 2Ti 1:12.'.

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C17-S16 (Verse 16) Recognition of saved having the character of Jesus.

They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world.

The word even means: 'having the same weight'. When two sides of a balancing scale are even, what is in each side has the same weight as the other side. This means that it is as important for true Biblical Christians to be not of the world as Jesus Christ was not of the world ('not belonging to this world'). his difference is what shows the difference between religion and an ongoing personal relationship with God, which is the result of true salvation. God wants people truly Biblically saved and not having the false 'salvation' which the world offers.

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C17-S17 (Verse 17) Prayer for future sanctification.

Equivalent Section: Prayer for God’s work.

Sanctify them through thy truth:

Equivalent Section: How God will work

thy word is truth.

Here we see Jesus pray that His disciples are sanctified ('Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services'). It is this type of person whom God can really use.

The rest of this sentence is very clear. Unfortunately, too many people don't know about it or ignore it or believe that their opinion is greater than the word of God. Too many people act and life as if this sentence was a lie.

Please see the note for Jude 1:1 about the word sanctified. Please also See the Book Study on 2Timothy and then use the browser FIND function to find the usage of the word sanctified. The functional definition for this word is: 'Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services'. Please also see the notes for 2Thessalonians 2:13-LJC and Hebrews 12:2-LJC about the phrase salvation through sanctification.

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth' is a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Sanctify. Joh 17:19; 8:32; 15:3; Ps 19:7-9; 119:9,11,104; Lu 8:11,15; Ac 15:9; 2Co 3:18; Eph 5:26; 2Th 2:13; Jas 1:21; 1Pe 1:22-23 exp: 1Ch 15:12; Eze 37:28. word. Joh 8:40; 2Sa 7:28; Ps 12:6; 19:7; 119:144,151-152; Eph 4:21; 2Ti 2:25-26 exp: Ps 17:4. General references. exp: Nu 19:18; Joh 15:3.'.

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C17-S18 (Verse 18) Passing on the job.

As thou hast sent me into the world,
even so have I also sent them into the world.

Please notice the word as, which means: 'in the same way and with the same importance'. God the Father spoke through angels and prophets before the birth of Jesus Christ. However, once He was born God the Father spoke only through Him (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5; Mark 1:11; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; Luke 9:35; Luke 20:13). With the exception of when Jesus Christ taught Paul, as the replacement Apostle, He did the same as God the Father did. That is: after this statement He only spoke through His apostles using the Power of the Holy Ghostwhom He would send after His assentation.

Our next sentence starts with the word and, which adds it to this sentence. In addition, the sentence after that starts with the phrase Neither pray I for these alone, which connects is into the context of these sentences. Then the still next sentence starts with the word and, which adds it into the context of all of these sentences. All of these sentences, with their associated notes, must be considered together in order to maintain context.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Joh 20:21; Isa 61:1-3; Mt 23:34; 2Co 5:20; Eph 3:7'.

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C17-S19 (Verse 19) Jesus is the example of sanctification.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself,
that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Our sentence starts with the word and, which adds it to the prior sentence. In addition, the next sentence starts with the phrase Neither pray I for these alone, which connects is into the context of these sentences. Then the next sentence starts with the word and, which adds it into the context of all of these sentences. All of these sentences, with their associated notes, must be considered together in order to maintain context.

The note for this sentence, in the Word Study on truth, explains the relationship between our being sanctified and our keeping God's truth. In addition, the note for the prior sentence explained the importance of the word as, which also applies to this sentence since it starts with the word and.

Basically, we are to follow the example of Jesus when it comes to sanctification. However, our sentence also tells us that this is only possible if we know, accept and obey God's truth. Doing such requires us to understand the spiritual realities of this world which we live in. Those spiritual realities include things such as the fact that we will all die some day and leave all physical things behind while we will only have, in the eternal spiritual reality, whatever treasure that we lay up for ourselves while being in this physical reality. Therefore, the truly wise will sanctify ( 'Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services') themselves to reduce the temptations of the flesh and increase their service to God.

Please see the notes for Romans C15S25; 1Corinthians C9S16 and 2Corinthians 2:10-11 about the word sake. The functional definition for this word is: 'The primary sense is to strain, urge, press or drive forward, and this is from the same root as seek'. Please also see the note for Philippians 1:29-30 about the phrase for His sake

Please see the note for Jude 1:1 about the word sanctified. Pease also See the Book Study on 2Timothy and then use the browser FIND function to find the usage of the word sanctified. The functional definition for this word is: 'Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services'. Please also see the notes for 2Thessalonians 2:13-LJC and Hebrews 12:2-LJC about the phrase salvation through sanctification.

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth' is a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'for. Isa 62:1; 2Co 4:15; 8:9; 1Th 4:7; 2Ti 2:10 exp: Joh 11:15. I sanctify. Joh 10:36; Jer 1:5; 1Co 1:2; Heb 2:11; 9:13,18,26; 10:5-10,29 that. Joh 17:17; Tit 2:14 exp: Joh 16:26. sanctified through the truth. or, truly sanctified. General references. exp: Le 14:29; 16:18; Nu 7:15; 19:18.'.

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C17-S20 (Verse 20-21) Prayer for future believers.

Equivalent Section: What it prayed.

First Step: Identify those prayed for.

Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Second Step: Prayer for future unity.

That they all may be one;

Third Step: Prayer that future believers will follow the Godly example.

as thou,
Father,
art in me,
and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us:

Equivalent Section: Why.

that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Our sentence starts with the phrase Neither pray I for these alone, which connects is into the context of the two prior sentences. Then the next sentence starts with the word and, which adds it into the context of all of these sentences. All of these sentences, with their associated notes, must be considered together in order to maintain context.

This sentence is where believers of today are included in this prayer. The prior sentences, which are part of the context, already brought up sanctification, keeping God's truth, and following the example of Jesus Christ. Now our First Equivalent Section adds in having unity with the doctrine and practices of the apostles. Further, our Second Equivalent Section add in our being a true witness of Jesus Christ. Then our next sentence starts with and, which also adds in becoming spiritually mature (may be made perfect). All of these are things which God expects the saved to have as part of their life because of their ongoing personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

After considering the context, we need to notice that our Second Equivalent Section starts with the word that, which means it is telling us the expected result of Jesus praying for us. Simply put, He included us in His prayer so that we would be effective witnesses for Jesus. We aren't included in the family of God so that we can argue our religious beliefs. We were included so that we would tell the world that Jesus was sent from God the Father and that He (not us nor our religion) has the message from God.

The Third Step, of out First Equivalent Section, starts with the word as, which means: 'in the same way and with the same importance'. In addition, we see the words thou and thee, which makes the statement of this relationship to be personal. Just as Jesus personally manifested the character of God the Father, so also has He included us so that we can personally manifest the character of God the Father and of Jesus.

The main emphasis of our First Equivalent Section is unity. Unfortunately, the main thing which we see, if we look at all of the groups which claim to be Christian, is the opposite of unity. The main reason for this is that people refuse to all become like the character of God the Father and of Jesus. Most so-called Christians refuse the sanctification, the truth and the other things which the context of our sentence tells us in included in this prayer.

One more thing to note is the phrase their word. God uses men as His witnesses. People who refuse the word of God, just because the messenger is less than perfect, have excluded themselves from this prayer.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'pray. Joh 17:6-11; Eph 4:11 for them. Ac 2:41; 4:4; Ro 15:18-19; 16:26; 2Ti 1:2
they all. Joh 17:11,22-23; 10:16; Jer 32:39; Eze 37:16-19,22-25; Zep 3:9; Zec 14:9; Ac 2:46; 4:32; Ro 12:5; 1Co 1:10; 12:12,25-27; Ga 3:28; Eph 4:3-6; Php 1:27; 2:1-5; Col 3:11-14; 1Pe 3:8-9 as. Joh 5:23; 10:30,38; 14:9-11; Php 2:6; 1Jo 5:7 that the. Joh 13:35 General references. exp: Mr 3:24; Joh 10:30; 13:35; 1Co 6:17; Eph 4:3.'.

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C17-S21 (Verse 22-23) Jesus prays for ongoing unity.

Equivalent Section: Jesus acted to produce unity.

First Step: Jesus passed on the glory.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;

Second Step: The glory was given to produce unity.

that they may be one,
even as we are one:

Equivalent Section: The relationship of unity.

First Step: The purpose of unity.

I in them,
and thou in me,
that they may be made perfect in one;

Second Step: The results for unity.

and that the world may know that thou hast sent me,
and hast loved them,
as thou hast loved me.

Our sentence starts with the word and, which adds it to the prior sentence. That sentence started with the phrase Neither pray I for these alone, which connects is into the context of the two sentences prior to it. Then the next sentence starts with the word and, which adds it into the context of all of these sentences. All of these sentences, with their associated notes, must be considered together in order to maintain context.

The First Step of our First Equivalent Section tells us about the glory which thou (God the Father) gavest me (Jesus). Back in 17:5 e saw that the glory belonging to Jesus was not revealed here but would be revealed in heaven. Therefore, when our First Step says I have given them, we can know that this glory will only be revealed in heaven. However, we can also know, without a doubt, that it will be revealed there because Jesus said: I have given them and the phrase have given is past-tense.

Our Second Stat starts with the word that, which means that it is giving us the expected result of this action by Jesus. As in the prior sentence, Jesus is speaking about unity again. The implication is that, since this glory is given with an expected result, their refusing to produce the result will also cause a loss of the glory.

This is a very important consideration. Many people, especially many preachers expect to get a crown (1Corinthians 9:25; Philippians 4:1; 1Thessalonians 2:19; 2Timothy 2:5; 2Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:11. Please see the note for James 1:12 about crowns). Many expect to hear: Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21, Matthew 25:23). However, those rewards are limited to the people who actually do the work and are truly good and faithful servants. However, Galatians 5:15 warns: But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.. The context of that warning is that we by love serve one another. If we are not one, as our current sentence and current Step says that we are to be (even as we are one), then we have truly ignored the warning and should not expect to receive a crown nor should we expect to hear Well done, good and faithful servant. Instead, if we do not have this unity, we should expect what Hebrews 10:26-29 warns us will come if we who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.

Having considered the unity which our First Equivalent Section says that Jesus prayed for and expects from all who seek a true eternal reward, we can now look at the Second Equivalent Section which tells us the relationship which we are to have within this unity.

Our First Step (of the Second Equivalent Section) tells us that one primary reason for this unity is that they may be made perfect in one. The Biblical meaning of the word perfect is: 'completely spiritually mature'. Part of youth is a willingness to fight and babies are always fussing and crying. However, part of maturity is the ability to be a peace maker and to help people to see what is important to fight over and what is not. Along with this is the ability to be patient, loving and understanding while e help the less mature to grow up so that there is unity in purpose even as different people go about pursuing different tasks within the church. Of course, our example of this is God the Father and God the Son with the explanation of Hebrews 5:7-9 which says Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Thus, we see that we are made perfect in one when we obey him and allow Jesus to bring the unity because we are all doing what he commands and not what our own selfish flesh desires.

We are now left with our Second Step of our Second Equivalent Section. Here we see that it is all pointed at our being an effective witness for Jesus Christ and the message that God sent Him. We have all of these religious, even many different so-called Christian religions, which all teach disagreeing doctrines. However, we are not here to prorogate our religion but to deliver the message that thou (God the Father) hast sent me (Jesus Christ). Our unity is to stand in contrast to all religious messages which compete with each other and claim a message from their god which disagrees with the message from Jesus Christ. When we all are united in presenting His message, instead of our particular religious opinions and practices, then we can stand out from the clamor of the world's religions. However, when we disagree with each other then we reduce the message from God to that of a religion and make it no more important than the opinion of man.

With this in mind, we now look at our last phrase which says: and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. When the children of Godly parents are busy fighting and fussing with each other the Godly parents can't reward them but need to punish those children for their sinful attitudes and actions. One reason that God gives us children is so that we will have an example of how we treat Him and how we should expect Him to treat us based upon our own attitudes and actions. With that in mind we can see that our having unity (that they may be one, even as we are one) allows to bless us and demonstrate His love (that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me). We also see this example when Godly parents reward their children for acting right and loving one another.

Please see the note for 1John 4:12 which has links to every place in the Bible where love and perfect are found in the same verse. That note also explains the relationship between these two words found in each Bible reference. In the Bible, the word perfect is defined as: 'fully spiritually mature or making spiritually mature'. Our sentence tells us that our being perfect requires us to have a unity which is rarely found today. Our sentence also tells us that this is why Jesus Christ gives us grace. Many people who refuse to have unity also have trouble figuring out why they don't receive the grace which they expect to receive from God.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C2S5 and 2Timothy C3S10 about the word perfect. The functional definition for this word is: 'completely spiritually mature'. Please also see the note for 1John 4:12 about the phrase perfect love.

Please see the notes for Romans 8:39-LJC; Galatians C5-S14; Philippians 1:9-11; love in 1John and 2John 1:3-LJC about the word love. In particular, the note for 2John 1:3-LJC has links to every place where John writes about the word love. Please also see the note for Revelation 8:35-LJC for a table which divides the various roles of God and gives Bible references for how God loves us through each of His roles. Please also see the note for 1John C3S26about the phrase love one another. Please see the note for 1John C4S13 about the phrase perfect love. Please see the notes for Romans C9S23 and Colossians C3S8 about the word beloved. The true Biblical doctrine of this word is very complex since it is a character trait of God. That said, a simple functional definition is: 'Doing what brings the greatest ultimate good to another being without any consideration of cost to self and not consideration of any response by the other and a willingness to even bring short-term pain if that is what is required in order to bring the ultimate long-tern good'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'the glory. Joh 1:16; 15:18-19; 20:21-23; Mr 6:7; 16:17-20; Lu 22:30; Ac 5:41; Ro 15:15-20; 2Co 3:18; 5:20; 6:1; Eph 2:20; Php 1:29; Col 1:24; 2Th 1:5-10; Re 21:14 that. Joh 14:20; 1Jo 1:3; 3:24 exp: Joh 17:11. General references. exp: 1Co 6:17; Eph 4:3.
I. Joh 6:56 14:10,23 Ro 8:10-11; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Ga 3:28; 1Jo 1:3; 4:12-16 made. Eph 4:12-16; Php 3:15; Col 1:28; 2:2,9-10; 3:14; 1Pe 5:10 the. Joh 13:35 and hast. Joh 17:24; Eph 1:6-14; 1Jo 3:1; 4:19 General references. exp: 1Co 6:17; Eph 4:3.'.

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C17-S22 (Verse 24) The eternal future of future believers.

Equivalent Section: Jesus prays for the eternal future of future believers.

First Step: Jesus prays that future believers will go to heaven.

Father,
I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me,
be with me where I am;

Second Step: Why.

that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me:

Equivalent Section: Why.

for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Wow! If we do not pay attention to context and to Whom is praying, it would be very easy to pervert the meaning of this sentence. With that said, we need to seriously consider these things in order to stick with the true interpretation of this sentence.

Please consider our Second Equivalent Section which says: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. The th, in the word lovedst, means that 'God the Father had a life-style love for God the Son'. Further He had it before the foundation of the world. Now consider that, in spite of this true love, God the Father had God the Son leave all of the power, riches, glory and more that He had in heaven; be born a weak human being; live among people who rejected and hated Him, be beat to the point that He no longer looked human; let Him be crucified, which is the cruelest form of death; be gnashed upon by devils and literally taken into Hell; and had Him face Satan and all of the devils combined. Put those thoughts together with the fact that Jesus prayed this just before going into the garden where He was betrayed. Now, with all of these thoughts in mind, think about the First Equivalent Section and how some perverted minister of Satan can twist and pervert that First Equivalent Section if we ignore these contextual considerations.

Now that we have the context in mind, we can look at the First Equivalent Section and get the proper interpretation.

In the First Step we see Jesus pray: Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. Since Jesus had already paid part of the price for our salvation, and was entering the phase of that payment which would be the greatest payment, this request is reasonable. If it came from anyone else or for any other reason then it would not be reasonable. However, with consideration of all of the context, it becomes reasonable.

There is a very important doctrinal truth in the song that says 'Jesus paid it all'. No, we don't deserve to be in heaven and, Yes, our presence would corrupt heaven. However, Jesus gives us His righteousness (Philippians 3:9) which covers our sinful nature. He also changes us to be like Him and, once we are in heaven, we will not sin any more. Therefore, we will not corrupt heaven after he does these things for us.

With all of that in mind, we can now consider our Second Step where we read that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. Even the saved people, who did not truly believe God's promise of reward for letting Him use their life to build His kingdom, will see the glory that God the Father gave to God the Son as a reward for His work to save us. None will be able to deny that God the Father keeps His promises. All will have to admit that any loss of potential reward, to themselves, was due strictly to their own lack of true Biblical faith.

With all of this in mind, we should be able to understand the warning to Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward (Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41; 2John 1:8).

Please see the note for Philippians 1:15-17 about the word will. The functional definition is: 'That faculty of the mind by which we determine either to do or forbear an action; the faculty which is exercised in deciding, among two or more objects, which we shall embrace or pursue'. Please see the note for 1Peter 2:15 about the phrase will of God.

Please see the note for Colossians C2S3 about the word behold. The functional definition is: 'To fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C3S12 about the word foundation. The functional definition for this word is: 'The basis or ground work, or any thing; that on which any thing stands, and by which it is supported'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I will. Joh 12:26; 14:3; Mt 25:21,23; 26:29; Lu 12:37; 22:28-30; 23:43; 2Co 5:8; Php 1:23; 1Th 4:17; Re 3:21; 7:14-17 may. Ge 45:13; 1Co 13:12; 2Co 3:18; 4:6; 1Jo 3:2; Re 21:22 for. Joh 17:5; Pr 8:21-31 exp: 1Jo 3:2; Re 21:23. General references. exp: Pr 8:23; Mr 10:40; Joh 7:34; 10:17.'.

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C17-S23 (Verse 25) Righteousness shows knowledge of God.

Equivalent Section: The world does not know God.

O righteous Father,
the world hath not known thee:

Equivalent Section: Jesus knew God.

but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me.

Our current sentence, with the next sentence, is the accumulation of this prayer. All of this chapter, which is a single prayer by Jesus, is aimed at the last phrase of this chapter which is: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. The entire purpose is that the saved will experience God's love and an ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God.

Our sentence has two Equivalent Section with the Second Equivalent Section starting with the word but. That makes the two Equivalent Sections polar opposites and this difference is the start of our chapter summary.

Please notice the words thee and known which are in both Equivalent Sections. This, very clearly, is talking about the personal intimate knowledge, which is a vital part of true Biblical knowledge which results from a personal intimate relationship. Yes, the world may know about God, but the world does not know God with the true Biblical meaning. That is the basic message of our sentence.

The first phrase of our sentence is O righteous Father and no one can have a personal intimate relationship with the righteous Father while refusing to be righteous. Our sentence brings this truth out because, while the Son of God was righteous, the world refuses to be righteous. Therefore, we have the difference which is stated within our sentence.

In addition, to what we have already seen in our sentence, the last phrase is added because it starts with the word and. When Jesus says these have known that thou hast sent me, He is talking about the result of the ongoing personal relationship which He has had with these disciples. He also wants the same type of relationship with us and also have the same result. We already saw the unity which these disciples had and that Jesus prayed that future saved people would have. They had the unity because they truly understood that the message came from God the Father, Who is the most wise and powerful Being who exists. Unfortunately, too many people do not truly understand this truth in a personal intimate way. That fact is why true unity does not exist in the church today. Too many people want to 'take a stand' for their pet doctrine instead of maintaining a personal intimate relationship with God so that they will represent His message instead of their own pet doctrine.

Please see the notes for Romans C3S7 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. The functional definition is: 'anything that is not righteous with that word defined below'. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. Please see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11 and James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'righteous. Joh 17:11; Isa 45:21; Ro 3:26 the world. Joh 8:19,55; 15:21; 16:3; Mt 11:27; Lu 10:22; Ac 17:23; 26:18; Ro 1:28; 3:11; 1Co 1:21; 15:34; 2Co 4:4; Ga 4:8-9; 2Th 1:8; Heb 8:11; 1Jo 5:19-20; Re 13:8 exp: 1Jo 3:1. but. Joh 1:18; 5:19-20; 7:29; 10:15 these. Joh 17:8; 6:19; 16:27,30; Mt 16:16 General references. exp: Joh 10:17.'.

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C17-S24 (Verse 26) The results of the righteousness of God.

Equivalent Section: Jesus teaches the righteousness of God.

And I have declared unto them thy name,
and will declare it:

Equivalent Section: The reason for getting the righteousness of God.

that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them,
and I in them.

Our sentence starts with the word and, which adds it to the prior sentence. The note above deals with the context of these two sentences. They are the accumulation of all that is prayed in this chapter for all saved during the Church Age.

The phrase thy name is speaking about 'the personal power and authority of God the Father'. That is what all religions are truly challenging when they try to dispute the literal interpretation of the word of God and the doctrine which is based upon it. Remember that several places throughout this Gospel we have seen Jesus say that He did not deliver His own message, nor did He give His own judgment nor did He do anything of His own choice but He strictly represented God the Father, God's message and God's decisions. Therefore, no matter what people claim, if they do anything else they are not a true follower of Jesus and they have problems with their claim of being a true Biblical Christian.

Our second phrase says and will declare it. This tells us that even today Jesus Christ declares unto them thy (God the Father's personal) name. He still does for the saved what He did for His disciples only now He speaks through the Holy Spirit and the word of God or Godly men.

Our Second Equivalent Section starts with the word that and tells us the result which Jesus sought as He did all of the ministering which He did and the desired result of this prayer. Unfortunately, He does not always get His desired result.

The first desired result is that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them. What our sentences are telling us is that we must know God the Father in a personal intimate way in order to have His love in us. I know that the popular doctrine is that God loves all of us the same and doesn't make any distinction for any reason, but that does not match the doctrine found in these sentences. In these sentences, we are told that as our personal intimate knowledge of God the Father increases, so does the amount of His love, in us, increase.

Our last phrase is and I in them. This is not talking about basic salvation since this chapter started by making a distinction between these disciples and the lost. The Study called Relational Prepositions has links to places where the Bible says if Christ be in you and if your are in Christ. These are written to saved people who have the Holy Spirit in them. That is the doctrine which our last phrase is dealing with.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians 1:11 about the word declare. The functional definition is: 'Made known; told explicitly; avowed; exhibited; manifested; published; proclaimed; recited'.

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John Chapter 18

The Betrayal of Jesus

Links to sentences in this chapter:

C18-S1 (Verse 1), C18-S2 (Verse 2), C18-S3 (Verse 3), C18-S4 (Verse 4), C18-S5 (Verse 5), C18-S6 (Verse 5), C18-S7 (Verse 5), C18-S8 (Verse 6), C18-S9 (Verse 7), C18-S10 (Verse 7), C18-S11 (Verse 8-9), C18-S12 (Verse 10), C18-S13 (Verse 10), C18-S14 (Verse 11), C18-S15 (Verse 12-13), C18-S16 (Verse 14), C18-S17 (Verse 15), C18-S18 (Verse 16), C18-S19 (Verse 16), C18-S20 (Verse 17), C18-S21 (Verse 17), C18-S22 (Verse 18), C18-S23 (Verse 19), C18-S24 (Verse 20), C18-S25 (Verse 21), C18-S26 (Verse 21), C18-S27 (Verse 22), C18-S28 (Verse 23), C18-S29 (Verse 24), C18-S30 (Verse 25), C18-S31 (Verse 25), C18-S32 (Verse 25), C18-S33 (Verse 26), C18-S34 (Verse 27), C18-S35 (Verse 28), C18-S36 (Verse 29), C18-S37 (Verse 30), C18-S38 (Verse 31), C18-S39 (Verse 31-32), C18-S40 (Verse 33), C18-S41 (Verse 34), C18-S42 (Verse 35), C18-S43 (Verse 35), C18-S44 (Verse 36), C18-S45 (Verse 37), C18-S46 (Verse 37), C18-S47 (Verse 37), C18-S48 (Verse 37), C18-S49 (Verse 38), C18-S50 (Verse 38), C18-S51 (Verse 39), C18-S52 (Verse 40), C18-S53 (Verse 40)'.

Chapter Outline

This chapter has the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, the denial by Peter and the rejection by the Jewish people. We need to keep in mind that John wrote His Gospel that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31). What we see in this chapter, if we pay attention, is a reaction to unjust and wrong persecution and torture which can only come from someone who has the Spirit of God. These reactions are not humanly possible.

Our chapter quickly moves from Jesus dealing with His disciples to His betrayal without going into the details of what happens in between like the other Gospels report. However, our chapter does report some aspects of His betrayal which the other Gospels also report while also reporting some aspects of His betrayal which the other Gospels do not report. Therefore, the details of this chapter are important to the Bible student who wishes to know the details. Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter.

The significant message of this chapter is that Jesus was betrayed by the son of perdition, the Jewish Rulers, the servants of the Jewish Rulers, and the Jewish people in general. In addition, He was denied by Peter, abandoned by the other disciples and the Roman government went along with a 'murder by abuse of the law'. Thus, all people of the world are represented and no group can honestly point their finger at another group while declaring their own group innocent.

The events of this chapter have parallel accounts in the other Gospels but the details vary between the various Gospels because the different authors present different points of view. There are no conflicts between the Gospels on these events. Please see the section called the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus, found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to these events within the Gospels.

Below is a summary of each sentence within this chapter with a link to the note providing the detailed analysis and contextual considerations of each sentence. These sentence summaries also show the basis for the chapter summary provided above.

C18-S1: Jesus is done with the private ministry to the disciples.
C18-S2: Judas knew where to find Jesus.
C18-S3: Judas came with a band to arrest Jesus.
C18-S4: Jesus bold went to meet His arrestors.
C18-S5: The arrestors answered Jesus.
C18-S6: Jesus identified Himself.
C18-S7: Judas identified himself with the arrestors.
C18-S8: The miraculous power of Jesus.
C18-S9: Jesus repeats His question.
C18-S10: The foolish people repeat their answer.
C18-S11: Jesus commands His arrestors in order to fulfill prophecy.
C18-S12: Peter tries to prevent the arrest.
C18-S13: Identity of the one hurt.
C18-S14: Jesus commands Peter to cease his efforts.
C18-S15: Jesus was arrested and taken to Annas.
C18-S16: Who Caiaphas was.
C18-S17: Peter and John were where Jesus was tried.
C18-S18: Peter couldn't get into the palace.
C18-S19: John had Peter brought into the palace.
C18-S20: Peter was recognized the first time.
C18-S21: Peter's first denial.
C18-S22: Peter warmed himself by the world's fire.
C18-S23: Meanwhile, the trial of Jesus started.
C18-S24: Jesus answers their challenge.
C18-S25: Jesus gives His own challenge.
C18-S26: Jesus challenges them to use legal methods to verify truth.
C18-S27: Illegal emotional response to a legal challenge.
C18-S28: Jesus demands justification for illegal action.
C18-S29: Annas passes off Jesus.
C18-S30: Meanwhile, Peter was still at the world's fire.
C18-S31: Peter questioned a second time.
C18-S32: Peter's second denial.
C18-S33: Peter is questioned the third time.
C18-S34: Peter's third denial.
C18-S35: Who went into Rome's judgment hall.
C18-S36: Rome's governor asked about their presence.
C18-S37: The non-answer from the Jews.
C18-S38: Pilate tries to avoid entanglement.
C18-S39: The death demand which fulfills prophecy.
C18-S40: Pilate questioned Jesus about rumors which he had heard.
C18-S41: Jesus questions Pilate about the basis of his question.
C18-S42: Pilate answers with a retort.
C18-S43: Pilate asks his next question.
C18-S44: Jesus answers an honest question.
C18-S45: Pilate asks a question to better understand the answer from Jesus.
C18-S46: Jesus points out that Pilate knows the truth.
C18-S47: Jesus explains His purpose.
C18-S48: Jesus adds the test of true salvation.
C18-S49: Pilate confesses his own ignorance.
C18-S50: Pilate declares Jesus not guilty.
C18-S51: Pilate offers the people a way to avoid the decision of their leaders.
C18-S52: The people reject Jesus.
C18-S53: The people prefer a robber.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides a chapter outline as:

1-5. Judas betrays Jesus.
6-9. The officers fall to the ground.
10-11. Peter smites off Malchus' ear.
12-14. Jesus is taken, and led unto Annas and Caiaphas.
15-18. Peter's denial.
19-24. Jesus examined before Caiaphas.
25-27. Peter's second and third denial.
28-35. Jesus arraigned before Pilate.
36-39. His kingdom.
40. The Jews prefer Barabbas.'.

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C18-S1 (Verse 1) Jesus is done with the private ministry to the disciples.

When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron,
where was a garden,
into the which he entered,
and his disciples.

The account of Jesus in Gethsemane is reported in: Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-44 and John 18.

The events of this chapter have parallel accounts in the other Gospels but the details vary between the various Gospels. Please see the general note for this chapter which provides the links for the specific parallel passages related to a particular sentence within this chapter.

Our sentence starts with the phrase When Jesus had spoken these words. The prior chapter had the true 'Lord's Prayer' and it finished the teaching of Jesus to His disciples before His crucifixion. Now that He has finished that, He is going into the garden where He will be betrayed before His crucifixion.

The garden mentioned in this sentence is named as Gethsemane in other Gospel accounts. Where other Gospel accounts deal with vents in this garden, before the betrayal of Jesus, John skips to the betrayal. In this chapter we see Jesus, betrayed and wrongly judged by representatives of every group of people. Therefore, no group can point their finger at another group and cry guilty while claiming that their own group is innocent.

Please see the note for John 1:35-36 about the word disciple. The functional definition is: 'A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example'.

Please see the note for John 19:41 about the word garden. The functional definition for this word is: 'A piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs, or plants, fruits and flowers'.

Please see the note for John 10:8 about the word enter. The functional definition for this word is: 'to leave one place and go into another place'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'spoken. Joh 13:31-35; 14-17 he. Joh 14:31; Mt 26:36; Mr 14:32; Lu 22:39-40 the brook. 2Sa 15:23; 1Ki 15:13; 2Ki 23:6,12; 2Ch 15:16; 30:14; Jer 31:40 Kidron. exp: Ne 2:15. a garden. Joh 18:26; Ge 2:15; 3:23 General references. exp: Mr 14:42.'.

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C18-S2 (Verse 2) Judas knew where to find Jesus.

Equivalent Section: Judas knew the place.

And Judas also,
which betrayed him,
knew the place:

Equivalent Section: Why.

for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.

Please see the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events for links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. This particular sentence tells us about the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, which is also reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

Our sentence has two Equivalent Sections with the Second Equivalent Section starting with the word for. In the prior chapter, we were told that Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him. Our equivalency, with the Second Equivalent Section starting with the word for, lets us know that Jesus deliberately went to the garden because He knew that the betrayal would happen there. Jesus choose to do God's will, even when He knew that it meant facing death.

Please see the note for John 12:4 about Judas Iscariot. The functional definition for this word is: ' The betrayer of Jesus Christ and the Son of Perdition'.

Please see the note for John 6:64 about the word betray. The functional definition for this word is: 'To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust'.

Please see the note for John 10:41 about the word resort. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'RESORT', v.i. s as z. 1. To have recourse; to apply; to betake. The king thought it time to resort to other counsels. 2. To go; to repair. The people resort to him again. Mark 10. John 18. 3. To fall back. The inheritance of the son never resorted to the mother. Obs.'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'for. Mr 11:11-12; Lu 21:37; 22:39 General references. exp: Mr 14:42.'.

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C18-S3 (Verse 3) Judas came with a band to arrest Jesus.

Judas then,
having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. There are several events that happened within the garden which John does not report, but which other Gospel writers do report. This is because those events are not related to the view of Jesus which John is presenting within this Gospel.

The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

In this sentence, we see that Judas, and the men with him, were prepared for Jesus and others to flee and fry to avoid arrest. They certainly were not prepared for the response which John reports within this Gospel.

Please see the note for John 12:4 about Judas Iscariot. The functional definition for this word is: ' The betrayer of Jesus Christ and the Son of Perdition'.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S1; 1Corinthians C15S1 and Colossians 2:6-7 about the word receive. The functional definition is: 'To take, as a thing offered or sent; to accept'.

Please see the note for John 7:32 about the word officer. The functional definition is: 'A person commissioned or authorized to perform any public duty. Officers are civil, military or ecclesiastical'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 4:14 about the word priest. The functional definition for this word is: 'One who represents men before God'. Please also see the note for Mark 14:63 about the phrase high priest.

Please see the note for John 3:1 about the word Pharisee. The functional definition is: 'One of a sect among the Jews, whose religion consisted in a strict observance of rites and ceremonies and of the traditions of the elders, and whose pretended holiness led them to separate themselves as a sect, considering themselves as more righteous than other Jews'.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 10:3-6 about the word weapon. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: '1. Any instrument of offense; any thing used or designed to be used in destroying or annoying an enemy. The weapons of rude nations are clubs, stones and bows and arrows. Modern weapons of war are swords, muskets, pistols, cannon and the like. 2. An instrument for contest, or for combating enemies. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Corinthians 10. 3. An instrument of defense. 4. Weapons, in botany, arms; thorns, prickles, and stings, with which plants are furnished for defense; enumerated among the fulcres by Linne'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Judas. Joh 13:2,27-30; Mt 26:47,55; Mr 14:43-44,48; Lu 22:47-53; Ac 1:16 exp: Mt 27:3. a band. Joh 18:12 (Gr) Ps 3:1-2; 22:12'.

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C18-S4 (Verse 4) Jesus bold went to meet His arrestors.

Jesus therefore,
knowing all things that should come upon him,
went forth,
and said unto them,
Whom seek ye?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

We know from this sentence and from what was already told us in this Gospel that Jesus deliberately went forth to meet Judas and his band. The word therefore lets us know that this action by Jesus was a direct result of their arrival. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus knew the answer to His question before He asked it. He asks it so that they will have no way to deny their intent when they face judgment by God. Their answer, and the events reported from this sentence through John 18:8, make it clear that He gave them a clear warning that they were facing the power, and therefore the judgment, of God. However, as this Gospel tells us, they choose to ignore the warning.

Please see the note for Romans intro about the word therefore. The functional definition is: 'what follows the therefore is a future result that is based upon what came before the therefore and result is only seen there'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C10S24 about the word seek. The functional definition is: 'To go in search or quest of'. Please also see The S and P's of 2Timothy 1.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'knowing. Joh 10:17-18; 13:1; 19:28; Mt 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; 26:2,21,31; Mr 10:33-34; Lu 18:31-33; 24:6-7,44; Ac 2:28; 4:24-28; 20:22-23 Whom. 1Ki 18:10,14-18; Ne 6:11; Ps 3:6; 27:3; Pr 28:1; 1Pe 4:1 exp: Joh 20:15.'.

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C18-S5 (Verse 5) The arrestors answered Jesus.

They answered him,
Jesus of Nazareth.

We know from what was already told us in this Gospel that Jesus deliberately went forth to meet Judas and his band. Jesus knew the answer to His question before He asked it. He asks it so that they will have no way to deny their intent when they face judgment by God. The events reported from John 18:84 through John 18:8, make it clear that He gave them a clear warning that they were facing the power, and therefore the judgment, of God. However, as this Gospel tells us, they choose to ignore the warning.

The note for this sentence, within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Jesus. Joh 1:46; 19:19; Mt 2:23; 21:11 exp: Joh 1:45.'.

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C18-S6 (Verse 5) Jesus identified Himself.

Jesus saith unto them,
I am he.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Jesus. Joh 1:46; 19:19; Mt 2:23; 21:11 exp: Joh 1:45.'.

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C18-S7 (Verse 5) Judas identified himself with the arrestors.

And Judas also,
which betrayed him,
stood with them.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

In this sentence we see that Judas deliberately identified himself as siding with the world and religious leaders who represented devils.

Please see the note for John 12:4 about Judas Iscariot. The functional definition for this word is: 'The betrayer of Jesus Christ and the Son of Perdition'.

Please see the note for John 6:64 about the word betray. The functional definition for this word is: 'To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'stood. Isa 3:9; Jer 8:12'.

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C18-S8 (Verse 6) The miraculous power of Jesus.

As soon then as he had said unto them,
I am he,
they went backward,
and fell to the ground.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

Please see the Table of Miracles in the Gospels about this miracle and others recorded in the Gospels.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

Think about this sentence. It should be obvious that this sentence reports a miracle. Only the power of God could literally nock over a band of men like this with only a few words spoken in a normal voice.

Very few people who list the miracles within the Gospels list this one. Many people have searched books and the internet and no one has ever reporting finding as complete a Table of Miracles in the Gospels as is found on this site.

With this display of power, these men could not deny that they knew they were facing the power of God. In addition, as explained in the notes below, Jews would know that the phrase I am was a deliberate claim to be 'God in human flesh'. There are religions which claim that Jesus never claimed to be God. However, this sentence, as well as other places within the Bible, prove that their claim is a lie.

The word fell is the past-tense form of the word fall. Please see the note for 1Timothy 3:6 about the word fall. The functional definition for this word is: 'To drop from a higher place; to descend by the power of gravity alone'.

Please see the note for Colossians C1S6 about the word ground. The functional definition is: 'The surface of land or upper part of the earth, without reference to the materials which compose it'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'they went. Doubtless by the interposition of Divine power; and it was thus shown that Jesus voluntarily resigned himself into their hands. 2Ki 1:9-15; Ps 27:2; 40:14; 70:2-3; 129:5; Lu 9:54-56; Ac 4:29-30 General references. exp: Lu 4:30.'.

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C18-S9 (Verse 7) Jesus repeats His question.

Then asked he them again,
Whom seek ye?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

Please note the context of this sentence. The prior sentences told us that Jesus literally knocked down all of these armed men with just the power of His voice. That should have clued them in that they were dealing with a power beyond their imagination. Jesus now asks them the same question a second time. They have a chance to walk away. After this second time, they can not plead ignorance when they face judgment by God.

God gives each of us a free will. God provides evidence, or our conscience, or something else that provides notice, before we sin. God will not take away our free will by preventing us from sinning. However, no one will be able to truthfully claim complete ignorance when they face judgment by God.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C10S24 about the word seek. The functional definition is: 'To go in search or quest of'. Please also see The S and P's of 2Timothy 1.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. exp: Lu 4:30.'.

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C18-S10 (Verse 7) The foolish people repeat their answer.

And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

The word again makes it clear that this is the second time that Jesus asked this question. In addition, the prior sentence makes it clear that He claimed to be 'God in human flesh' and that Her demonstrated power to prove His claim. With this second answer, they fulfill the requirement for two witnesses which God says must be used in court. They will not be able to deny their own personal guilt when they face judgment by God.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. exp: Lu 4:30.'.

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C18-S11 (Verse 8-9) Jesus commands the arrestors in order to fulfill prophecy.

Equivalent Section: Jesus reminds them of His prior answer.

Jesus answered,
I have told you that I am he :

Equivalent Section: Jesus commands them to limit their arrest.

if therefore ye seek me,
let these go their way:

Equivalent Section: Jesus fulfills scripture.

That the saying might be fulfilled,
which he spake,
Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus is reported in: Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-54 and John 18:2-12.

The notes for the sentences, related to this section and within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, provide facts which are of significant doctrinal importance.

Our Third Equivalent Section fulfills the prophecy of John 17:12. That note also provides Old Testament references which may apply to this prophecy. In addition, this sentence is one of the Significant Events Reported only Once Within the Gospels.

Our sentence has three Equivalent Section and all tell us that Jesus gave no resistance to being arrested but demanded that the others, who were with Him be let go free. We already saw that there was a large band who came armed and, apparently, expected resistance and people trying to scatter. Jesus avoided all of that by what He did here. Our next few sentences tell us that Peter almost caused a big fight anyway. However, Jesus also prevented a reaction to Peter's action.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C10S24 about the word seek. The functional definition is: 'To go in search or quest of'. Please also see The S and P's of 2Timothy 1.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C4S17 and Psalms 119 about the word way. The functional definition is: 'how we get from where we are at to our destination'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'if. Isa 53:6; Eph 5:25 let. Joh 10:28; 13:1,36; 16:32; Mt 26:56; Mr 14:50-52; 1Co 10:13; 2Co 12:9; 1Pe 5:7 General references. exp: Mr 14:50.
Of. Joh 17:12'.

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C18-S12 (Verse 10) Peter tries to prevent the arrest.

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it,
and smote the high priest's servant,
and cut off his right ear.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

I believe, but can not doctrinally say, that Peter was trying to live up to his promise that I will lay down my life for thy sake. (John 13:37). While his intentions were good, he tried to do God's work the wrong way. In these sentences we see that Jesus instructed Peter but did not rebuke him. This is the correct way to deal with someone who has the correct attitude of heart but takes the wrong action.

I can not say what the significance is that John reports that it was the right ear. Someone else can probably apply some significance to this fact.

Please see the note for 2Peter 1:1 about the name of Simon. While the Bible applies this name to at least 8 men, our sentence makes it clear that this sentence is talking about Simon Peter.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S6 about the name of Peter. The functional definition is: 'the main apostle'.

Please see the note for Romans C8S37 about the word sword. The functional definition for this word is: 'An offensive weapon worn at the side, and used by hand either for thrusting or cutting. 2. Figuratively, destruction by war'.

Please see the note for John 18:23 about the word smite. The functional definition for this word is: 'To strike; to throw, drive or force against, as the fist or hand, a stone or a weapon; to reach with a blow or a weapon'.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S4; 1Corinthians C7S27 and Ephesians C6S4 about the word servant. The functional definition is: 'A person who has a position where they are expected to performs tasks that are stated, implied or desired by another person'. Please also see the notes for Romans C16S21 and 2Timothy C1-S2 about the word serve. Please also see the note for Philippians 2:17 about the word service.

Please see the note for Galatians C5-S13 about the phrase cut off. The functional definition for this word is: 'completely separate'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Joh 18:26; Mt 26:51-54; Mr 14:30,47; Lu 22:33,49-51 exp: Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S13 (Verse 10) Identity of the one hurt.
The servant's name was Malchus.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says about this sentence: 'mal'-kus (Malchos, from melekh, i.e. "counselor" or "king"): The name of the servant of the high priest Caiaphas whose right ear was smitten off by Simon Peter at the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (compare Mt 26:51; Mr 14:47; Lu 22:50; Joh 18:10). It is noteworthy that Luke "the physician" alone gives an account of the healing of the wound (Lu 22:51). As Jesus "touched his ear, and healed him," the ear was not entirely severed from the head. The words of Jesus, "Suffer ye thus far," may have been addressed either to the disciples, i.e. "Suffer ye that I thus far show kindness to my captors," or to those about to bind him, i.e. asking a short respite to heal Malchus. They were not addressed directly to Peter, as the Greek form is plural, whereas in Mt 26:52; Joh 18:11, where, immediately after the smiting of Malchus, Jesus does address Peter, the singular form is used; nor do the words of Jesus there refer to the healing but to the action of his disciple. A kinsman of Malchus, also a servant of the high priest, was one of those who put the questions which made Peter deny Jesus (Joh 18:26).
C. M. Kerr '.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary says about this sentence: 'Malluch in Old Testament (1Ch 6:44; Ne 10:4.) The assault by Peter on the high priest's servant (slave), when in the act of arresting Jesus, is given by all the evangelists, but the name of the servant by John only (Joh 18:10,15-16). Naturally so, for John was "known to the high-priest" and his household, so that he procured admission from her that kept the door, for his close colleague Peter, and was able to state, what the other evangelists omit, that another servant who charged Peter with being Jesus' disciple "was his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off." Another incidental propriety confirming genuineness is, Jesus says to Pilate, "if My kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight"; yet none charged Him, not even Malchus's kinsman who was near, with the violence which Peter had used to Malchus. Why?

Because Jesus by a touch had healed him (Lu 22:51), and it would have wonderfully tended to elevate Jesus as one more than human in love and in power, in Pilate's estimation, had they charged Him with Peter's act. Malchus was Caiaphas the high priest's own servant, not a minister or apparitor of the council. 'There were but two swords in the disciples' hands (Lu 22:38); while the holder of one was waiting for Christ's reply to their question, "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" the holder of the other, Peter, in the same spirit as in Mt 16:22, smote with the weapon of the flesh. What a narrow escape Peter providentially had of a malefactor's and a murderer's end! The sheath is the place for the Christian's sword, except as the judicial minister of God's wrath upon evil doers (Ro 13:4).

Seeing the coming stroke Malchus threw his head to the left, so as to expose the right ear more than the other. Our Lord when His enemies held His hands said to them (not to the disciples), "suffer Me thus far," i.e. leave Me free until I have healed him. Luke (Lu 22:51) alone records this. Matthew and Mark mention the previous laying hold of Him; Luke does not, but in undesigned coincidence, marking truthfulness, implies it here. Jesus used His last moment of liberty in touching and healing afflicted man. The healing by a "touch" implies that the ear hung to its place by a small portion of flesh. Luke, the physician, appropriately is the only one who records the healing. This was Jesus' last miracle relieving human suffering. The hands so often put forth to bless and to cure were thenceforth bound and stretched on the cross, that form of His ministry in the flesh ceasing forever.'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Joh 18:26; Mt 26:51-54; Mr 14:30,47; Lu 22:33,49-51 exp: Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S14 (Verse 11) Jesus commands Peter to cease his efforts.

Equivalent Section: Jesus commands Peter.

Then said Jesus unto Peter,
Put up thy sword into the sheath:

Equivalent Section: Why.

the cup which my Father hath given me,
shall I not drink it?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see Jesus instruct Peter without rebuking him. As explained in the Study called What Would Jesus Do?, Jesus recognized that Peter had good intentions but he tried to do God's work the wrong way. This action by Jesus is the correct way to deal with this type of error.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S6 about the name of Peter. The functional definition is: 'the main apostle'.

We find forms of the word cup occurring 74 times in 65 verses of the Bible, 33 times in 30 verses of the New Testament, but only in this sentence within the Gospel of John. Fausset's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'Ge 40:11, for drinking; Ge 44:5, for divination, practiced by dropping gold, silver, or jewels into the water, and examining their appearance; or looking into the water as a mirror. The sacred cup symbolized the Nile (which was "the cup of Egypt," Pliny H. N., 8:71) into which a golden and silver goblet was yearly thrown. Joseph's cup was of silver; the Egyptians ordinarily drank from vessels of brass. Joseph's preserving his disguise by language adapted to his supposed character before his brethren, "Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?" is inconsistent with his disclaiming all knowledge except what God revealed (Ge 41:16), but was the act of a good but erring man.
Scripture does not sanction it. One alone there was in whose mouth was found no guile (1Pe 2:22). Solomon and the Assyrians probably derived their art mainly from Phoenicia. Assyrian cups from Khorsabad resemble the heads of animals, some terminating in the head of a lion. In Mt 26:7 an "alabaster vase" for ointment is meant, broad at the base, tapering to the neck, with little projections at the sides; such as are in the British Museum. Glass was a material for cups, and a glass bead bearing a Pharaoh's name of the 18th dynasty has been found, i.e. 3,200 years ago. Alabastron, a town in Upper Egypt, had quarries of alabaster near, from whence the name is derived. Figuratively, one's portion (Ps 11:6; 16:5; 23:5). Babylon was called a golden cup (Jer 51:7), because of her sensuality, luxury, and idolatries which she gave draughts of to the subject nations; so mystical Babylon, the apostate church (Re 17:4).
So "the cup of devils" is opposed to "the cup of the Lord" (1Co 10:21). To partake of a wine feast where a libation was first poured to an idol made one to have fellowship with the idol, just as believing participation of the Lord's supper gives fellowship with the Lord. This is called "the cup of blessing which WE bless," the celebrants being the whole church, whose leader and representative the minister is; answering to the passover "cup of blessing," over which "blessing" was offered to God. It was at this part of the feast Jesus instituted His supper (1Co 10:15; Lu 22:17,20; compare 1Ch 16:2-3). Figurative also is the cup of affliction (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17,22). Christ's sufferings (Mt 20:22). The cup of salvation (Ps 116:13).'. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'a wine-cup (Ge 40:11,21), various forms of which are found on Assyrian and Egyptian monuments. All Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold (1Ki 10:1; 21). The cups mentioned in the New Testament were made after Roman and Greek models, and were sometimes of gold (Re 17:4).
The art of divining by means of a cup was practiced in Egypt (Ge 44:2-17), and in the East generally.
The "cup of salvation" (Ps 116:13) is the cup of thanksgiving for the great salvation. The "cup of consolation" (Jer 16:7) refers to the custom of friends sending viands and wine to console relatives in mourning (Pr 31:6). In 1Co 10:16, the "cup of blessing" is contrasted with the "cup of devils" (1Co 10:21). The sacramental cup is the "cup of blessing," because of blessing pronounced over it (Mt 26:27; Lu 22:17). The "portion of the cup" (Ps 11:6; 16:5) denotes one's condition of life, prosperous or adverse. A "cup" is also a type of sensual allurement (Jer 51:7; Pr 23:31; Re 17:4). We read also of the "cup of astonishment," the "cup of trembling," and the "cup of God's wrath" (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15; La 4:21; Eze 23:32; Re 16:19; comp. Mt 26:39,42; Joh 18:11). The cup is also the symbol of death (Mt 16:28; Mr 9:1; Heb 2:9).'.

Nave's Topical Bible provides links for the word cup as: 'General scriptures concerning:L Ge 40:11; 2Sa 12:3; 1Ki 7:26; Mt 23:25. Made of silver: Ge 44:2. Made of gold: 1Ch 28:17; Jer 52:19. Used in the institution of the Lord's Supper: Mt 26:27; Mr 14:23; Lu 22:20; 1Co 10:21. Of the table of demons: 1Co 10:21. Of sorrow: Ps 11:6; 73:10; 75:8; Isa 51:17,22; Jer 25:15-28; Eze 23:31-34; Mt 20:22-23; 26:39; Mr 14:36; Lu 22:42; Joh 18:11; Re 14:10. Of consolation: Jer 16:7 Of joy: Ps 23:5. Of salvation. Ps 116:13'.

Thompson Chain Topics provides links for the word cup as: 'Cup of Suffering, Saints Drink of: Ps 73:10; 80:5; 102:9; Mt 20:22; 26:39; Joh 18:11. Cup of Wrath, the Wicked Drink of: Job 21:20; Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15; 49:12; Eze 23:33; Zec 12:2; Re 14:10; 16:19. (drinking vessels): Ge 40:11; 44:2; 2Sa 12:3; 1Ch 28:17; Jer 52:19; Mr 7:4'.

We find the phrase cup of in:

cup of salvation in: Psalms 116:13.
cup of fury in: Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Jeremiah 25:15.
cup of trembling in: Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Zechariah 12:2.
cup of consolation in: Jeremiah 16:17.
cup of astonishment and desolation in: Ezekiel 23:33.
cup of the LORD'S right in: Habakkuk 2:16.
cup of cold water in: Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41.
cup of blessing in: 1Corinthians 10:16.
cup of the Lord, in: 1Corinthians 10:21; 1Corinthians 11:27.
cup of devils in: 1Corinthians 10:21.
cup of his indignation in: Revelation 14:10.
cup of the fierceness of his wrath in: Revelation 16:19.

Please see the note for Mark 14:23 about the word drink / drank. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'The drinks of the Hebrews were water, wine, "strong drink," and vinegar. Their drinking vessels were the cup, goblet or "basin," the "cruse" or pitcher, and the saucer. To drink water by measure (Eze 4:11), and to buy water to drink (La 5:4), denote great scarcity. To drink blood means to be satiated with slaughter. The Jews carefully strained their drinks through a sieve, through fear of violating the law of Le 11:20,23,41-42. (See Mt 23:24. "Strain at" should be "strain out.")'. The symbolic meaning was well understood in the ancient cultures and is still considered significant by many religions of today.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Put. Joh 18:36; 2Co 6:7; 10:4; Eph 6:11-17 the cup. Ps 75:8; Eze 23:31; Mt 20:22; 26:39,42; Mr 10:38-39; 14:35-36; Lu 22:42; Heb 12:2 my. Joh 11:41-42; 12:27-28; 15:10; 17:24; 20:17; Lu 12:30; Ro 8:15-18; Heb 12:5-10 General references. exp: Mt 26:51; Mr 14:47; Lu 22:50; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S15 (Verse 12-13) Jesus was arrested and taken to Annas.

First Step: The arrest.

Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus,
and bound him,
And led him away to Annas first;

Second Step: Where He was taken.

for he was father in law to Caiaphas,
which was the high priest that same year.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

There is supposed to be only one high priest and he is supposed to be the top guy in the religion. What we see here is that Annas was treated as more important than the true high priest Thus, we see the corruption which enters when organized religion and government are mixed in anyone except Christ. Yes there were prophets who were also government officials, such as Moses, David and Daniel. But none of them were a priest, which is a position in organized religion. The following information may help the reader to understand, but Please remember that these are man-written documents and may contain errors.

We read about him in Easton's Bible Dictionary which says: ' Annas was high priest A.D. 7-14. In A.D. 25 Caiaphas, who had married the daughter of Annas (Joh 18:13), was raised to that office, and probably Annas was now made president of the Sanhedrim, or deputy or coadjutor of the high priest, and thus was also called high priest along with Caiaphas (Lu 3:2). By the Mosaic law the high-priesthood was held for life (Nu 3:10); and although Annas had been deposed by the Roman procurator, the Jews may still have regarded him as legally the high priest. Our Lord was first brought before Annas, and after a brief questioning of him (Joh 18:19-23) was sent to Caiaphas, when some members of the Sanhedrim had met, and the first trial of Jesus took place (Mt 26:57-68). This examination of our Lord before Annas is recorded only by John. Annas was president of the Sanhedrim before which Peter and John were brought (Ac 4:6). '. We also read about him in Smith's Bible Dictionary which says: '(humble), the son of one Seth was appointed high priest A.D. 7 by Quirinus, the imperial governor of Syria, but was obliged by Valerius Gratus, procurator of Judea, to give way to Ismael, son of Phabi, at the beginning of the reign of Tiberius, A.D. 14. About A.D. 25 Joseph Caiaphas, son-in-law of An-nas, became high priest,
Joh 18:13
but in Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas are both called high priests. Our Lord's first hearing,
Joh 18:13
was before Annas, who then sent him bound to Caiaphas. Some maintain that the two, Annas and Caiaphas, were together at the head of the Jewish people,--Caiaphas as actual high priest, Annas as resident of the Sanhedrin-
Ac 4:6
Others again suppose that Annas held the office of sagin, or substitute of the high priest; others still that Annas held the title and was really the ruling power. He lived to old age, having had five sons high priests.'.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S9 about the word Jew. The functional definition is: 'a contraction of Judas or Judah. A Hebrew or Israelite. This is the name for God's chosen people who followed the Mosaic Law'.

Please see the note for John 11:49-50 for links to every place in the Bible where Caiaphas is named along with a comment from Easton's Bible Dictionary.

The functional definition of the word law is: 'A written code or rule that is enforced by God or some government. In most, but not all, New Testament usages this word is used for the Mosaic Law'. Please also see the following notes about law: law of works: Romans C3S27. kinds of laws that apply to us today: Romans C3S31; 1Corinthians 9:21-LJC. Law defined: Romans C6S16; 1Corinthians C6S1. religious part of Moses' law: Hebrews 19:29-LJC. righteousness of the Law: Ephesians 4:7-LJC. Law and faith: Romans C3S25. Mosaic Law added: Galatians C3S22

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'the band. Joh 18:3; Mt 26:57; Mr 14:53; Lu 22:54 the captain. Ac 21:31,37; 22:24-28; 23:10,17-22 bound. Ge 22:9; 40:3; Jg 16:21; Ps 118:27; Mt 27:2; Mr 15:1 General references. exp: Mt 26:57; Mr 14:46.
led. Mt 26:57 Annas. Lu 3:2; Ac 4:6 exp: Joh 18:24. that. Joh 11:51 "And Annas sent Christ bound unto Caiaphas the high priest, Joh 18:24." General references. exp: Mt 26:57.'.

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C18-S16 (Verse 14) Who Caiaphas was.

Now Caiaphas was he,
which gave counsel to the Jews,
that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

A priest is supposed to represent the people before God and get God's grace and mercy for the people. This sentence tells us what a cold-hearted selfish person this High priest was. Consider his character as opposed to Jesus Christ, Who is our high priest (Hebrews 4).

Please see the note for John 11:49-50 for links to every place in the Bible where Caiaphas is named along with a comment from Easton's Bible Dictionary.

Please see the note for John 11:53 about the word counsel. The functional definition for this word is: 'Advice; opinion, or instruction, given upon request or otherwise, for directing the judgment or conduct of another; opinion given upon deliberation or consultation'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C6S18 about the word expedient. The functional definition for this word is: 'hastening; urging forward. Hence, tending to promote the object proposed; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances'.

Please see the notes for Romans C6S4; 2Corinthians 2:15; Philippians 1:19-20 and Colossians C1S4 about the words dead / death / die The functional definition is: 'an ongoing process of corruption which starts at conception and continues until the body is completely destroyed. Physical death is used for the one-time point when the soul and spirit are forced to leave the corrupted body. Spiritual death is also used for the one-time point when the soul and spirit are forced to leave the presence of God. When the Bible uses death for these events, it assumes that the reader understands that the one-time-event is the pinnacle of an ongoing process. Within the Bible, death is to be understood to be an ongoing process, even while highlighting the ultimate point of victory for the process'. Please also see the notes for Sin in 1John; Romans C2S4; 1Corinthians 8:11-LJC and Galatians C3-S26 about the phrase sin unto death. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C11S34 about the phrase sleep is physically dead but spiritually alive.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Caiaphas. Joh 11:49-52 exp: Mt 26:3. General references. exp: Mt 26:57; Joh 11:50.'.

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C18-S17 (Verse 15) Peter and John were where Jesus was tried.

Equivalent Section: Jesus was followed by Peter and John.

And Simon Peter followed Jesus,
and so did another disciple:

Equivalent Section: John got into the palace.

that disciple was known unto the high priest,
and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This is the only account which tells us that John followed along with Peter. Our Second Equivalent Section tells us that disciple was known unto the high priest. Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. However, other places within the Gospels tell us that the parents of James and John had a fleet of boats while Peter and Andrew only had a single boat. Therefore, Peter and Andrew would have been considered poor, and beneath the social class of the high priest. James and John would have been considered to e in the same social class. This is why that disciple was known unto the high priest.

Please see the note for 2Peter 1:1 about the name of Simon. While the Bible applies this name to at least 8 men, our sentence makes it clear that this sentence is talking about Simon Peter.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S6 about the name of Peter. The functional definition is: 'the main apostle'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C4S16 about the word follow. The functional definition is: 'To go after or behind; to walk'. Please also see the note for Romans C14S25 about the phrase follow after. Please also see the note for Mark 2:14 about the phrase follow me.

Please see the note for Mark 14:54 about the word palace. Easton's Bible Dictionarydefines this word as: 'Used now only of royal dwellings, although originally meaning simply (as the Latin word palatium, from which it is derived, shows) a building surrounded by a fence or a paling. In the Authorized Version there are many different words so rendered, presenting different ideas, such as that of citadel or lofty fortress or royal residence (Ne 1:1; Da 8:2). It is the name given to the temple fortress (Ne 2:8) and to the temple itself (1Ch 29:1). It denotes also a spacious building or a great house (Da 1:4; 4:4,1; Es 1:5; 7:7), and a fortified place or an enclosure (Eze 25:4). Solomon's palace is described in 1Ki 7:1-12 as a series of buildings rather than a single great structure. Thirteen years were spent in their erection. This palace stood on the eastern hill, adjoining the temple on the south. In the New Testament it designates the official residence of Pilate or that of the high priest (Mt 26:3,58,69; Mr 14:54,66; Joh 18:15). In Php 1:13 this word is the rendering of the Greek praitorion, meaning the praetorian cohorts at Rome (the life-guard of the Caesars). Paul was continually chained to a soldier of that corps (Ac 28:16), and hence his name and sufferings became known in all the praetorium. The "soldiers that kept" him would, on relieving one another on guard, naturally spread the tidings regarding him among their comrades. Some, however, regard the praetroium (q.v.) as the barrack within the palace (the palatium) of the Caesars in Rome where a detachment of these praetorian guards was stationed, or as the camp of the guards placed outside the eastern walls of Rome. "In the chambers which were occupied as guard-rooms," says Dr. Manning, "by the praetorian troops on duty in the palace, a number of rude caricatures are found roughly scratched upon the walls, just such as may be seen upon barrack walls in every part of the world. Amongst these is one of a human figure nailed upon a cross. To add to the 'offence of the cross,' the crucified one is represented with the head of an animal, probably that of an ass. Before it stands the figure of a Roman legionary with one hand upraised in the attitude of worship. Underneath is the rude, misspelt, ungrammatical inscription, Alexamenos worships his god. It can scarcely be doubted that we have here a contemporary caricature, executed by one of the praetorian guard, ridiculing the faith of a Christian comrade'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Simon. Mt 26:58-68; Mr 14:54; Lu 22:54'.

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C18-S18 (Verse 16) Peter couldn't get into the palace.
But Peter stood at the door without.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Our sentence starts with the word but and tells us the contrast of how John was treated by the servants of the high priest as opposed to how Peter was treated. Please see the note for the prior sentence which explains this difference.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S5 and 1Corinthians C15S1 about the word stand. The functional definition is: 'to be upon the feet, as an animal; not to sit, kneel or lie'. Please also see the note for Galatians C5S1 about the phrase stand fast.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 2:12-13 about the word door. The Morrish Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'Besides the common use of the door as the means of entrance into a house, and of enclosing those within when shut, it is used in scripture symbolically for the way of entrance into blessing. The Lord said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Salvation is only by Him. He also said that as the true Shepherd He entered into the sheepfold by the door, that is, though Son of God, He entered as obedient by God's appointed means, being circumcised, presented in the temple, and baptized. Joh 10:1-9. God opened 'the door of faith' to the Gentiles by Paul and Barnabas. Ac 14:27. Opportunities for service are called opened doors. 1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12; Col 4:3; Re 3:8. When the church is represented as in a Laodicean state the Lord is outside knocking for admission at the door of the assembly, so that the individual may hear, with a promise of blessing to those who open to Him. Re 3:20. Doors in the East are usually made of wood; but in the deserted cities of Bashan doors are found cut out of stone, with a projection top and bottom which served as pivots on which the door turned'.

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C18-S19 (Verse 16) John had Peter brought into the palace.

Then went out that other disciple,
which was known unto the high priest,
and spake unto her that kept the door,
and brought in Peter.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see that John got Peter into the house of the high priest. As explained in the note for John 18:15, Peter and John were considered to be from different social classes. Therefore, while the servant could refuse Peter she did not dare to refuse John. What we see here is that true Christians are to ignore the social statuses which this word impossess and treat all sawed people as the same.

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C18-S20 (Verse 17) Peter was recognized the first time.

Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter,
Art not thou also one of this man's disciples?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This is the first time that Peter is questioned and denies knowing Jesus. It is easy to condemn Peter but none of us have been in his circumstances. In addition, these events, with the restoration by Jesus, are what let Peter learn what he did so that he could write his epistles. God allowed this so that Peter could be a blessing to others.

Please see the note for Mark 5:40 about the word damsel. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'A young woman. Formerly, a young man or woman of noble or genteel extraction; as Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, prince of Wales. It is now used only of young women, and is applied to any class of young unmarried women, unless to the most vulgar, and sometimes to country girls. With her train of damsels she was gone. Dryden. Then Boaz said, whose damsel is this? Ruth ii. This word is rarely used in conversation, or even in prose writings of the present day; but it occurs frequently in the scriptures, and in poetry'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'the damsel. Joh 18:16; Mt 26:69-70; Mr 14:66-68; Lu 22:54,56-57 General references. exp: Joh 20:6.'.

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C18-S21 (Verse 17) Peter's first denial.

He saith,
I am not.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I am not. Joh 18:5,8; 21:15; Mt 26:33 General references. exp: Joh 20:6.'.

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C18-S22 (Verse 18) Peter warmed himself by the world's fire.

Equivalent Section: People made a fire for warmth.

First Step: People made a fire.

And the servants and officers stood there,
who had made a fire of coals;

Second Step: Why.

for it was cold:

Equivalent Section: The world warmed themselves.

and they warmed themselves:

Equivalent Section: Peter sought warmth also.

and Peter stood with them,
and warmed himself.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

We can be pretty sure that some of these officers participated in the arrest of Jesus. Several preachers have, rightly, used this section to warn God's people against 'warming themselves by the world's fires'.

Our sentence has three Equivalent Sections, all of which tell us that people sought physical comfort. Devils use this natural desire to slowly entice God's people into sin. Do you know how to boil a live frog? You put it into cool water and let it get comfortable. The cold makes the frog sleepy. Then you slowly turn up the heat. After the frog is comfortable, it is less inclined to move. Even though the temperature will reach uncomfortable levels before the frog boils, if the relative temperature change is small enough the frog will ignore the total temperature and only pay attention to the relative change. We are the same way with sin. The church allows sins today which were condemned by the world 50 years ago. However, since the relative rate of increased sin is small enough, God's people excuse it. This slow increase is how devils get God's people into sins which they were sure that they would never do. This account of Peter is our Biblical example of the danger and a warning to us to pay attention to the total amount of sin and not just the relative amount in our own life. God never changes and we will be judged by the total sin, as defined by His never-changing word, as opposed to our relative amount of sin.

Please see the note for James 3:6 about the word fire. The functional definition for this word is: 'An extremely painful type of injury that is used by God to cleanse and purify'. Please also see the note for Romans C12S18 about the phrase coals of fire. Please also see the note for Romans 1:3-LJC about the phrase lake of Fire.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S6 about the name of Peter. The functional definition is: 'the main apostle'.

Please see the note for Mark 14:54 about the word warm. The functional definition for this word is: 'Having heat in a moderate degree; not cold'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'who. Joh 18:25; Mr 14:54; Lu 22:55-56 for. Lu 22:44 Peter. Ge 49:6; 1Ki 19:9; Ps 1:1; 26:4-10; Pr 13:20; Ac 4:23; 1Co 15:33; 2Co 6:15-17; Eph 5:11-12'.

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C18-S23 (Verse 19) Meanwhile, the trial of Jesus started.

The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples,
and of his doctrine.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Please see the note for this sentence within the Lord Jesus Christ Study. It explains all of the context and gives links to related passages in the scripture.

Since the priests, and the high priests in particular, had already determined that they were going to have Jesus killed, this questioning was not honest. He was looking for something which he could use as an excuse for doing the murder which he already determined that he would do. In the past he had sent lower level men to try this tactic. Now, as the highest placed priest, he is trying to show that he can do what lower placed men could not do.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C14S6 and 2Timothy C3S10 about the word doctrine. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: ', to teach. 1. In a general sense, whatever is taught. Hence, a principle or position in any science; whatever is laid down as true by an instructor or master. The doctrines of the Gospel are the principles or truths taught by Christ and his apostles. The doctrines of Plato are the principles which he taught. Hence a doctrine may be true or false; it may be a mere tenet or opinion. 2. The act of teaching. He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his doctrine. Mark 4. 3. Learning; knowledge. Whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Isaiah 28. 4. The truths of the Gospel in general. That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Titus 2. 5. Instruction and confirmation in the truths of the Gospel. 2 Timothy 3'. Please also see the note for Lord Jesus Christ Overview about the phrase doctrine of Christ.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'asked. Lu 11:53-54; 20:20'.

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C18-S24 (Verse 20) Jesus answers their challenge.

First Step: Jesus reminds them of evidence He already provided.

Jesus answered him,
I spake openly to the world;

Second Step: Jesus reminds them of witnesses hat are available.

I ever taught in the synagogue,
and in the temple,
whither the Jews always resort;

Third Step: Jesus claims openness with His teaching.

and in secret have I said nothing.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see Jesus not only answer the high priest's questions about His doctrine but Jesus also told him how to verify what He said. This is how we are to answer someone looking for an argument. Not only are we to answer their questions the facts, but we are also supposed to give them the way to verify the facts.

Please notice that Jesus did not answer about His disciples. A coward tries to include others in order to try and deflect part of the punishment . Jesus did not act like a coward.

In our sentence we see three Steps. First, Jesus answered how he spoke in the world. Next, he spoke about teaching to groups of the people in question. Finally, He dealt with His private conversations. Thus, we see a procedure going from the general to the specific.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

We find forms of the word open occurring 307 times in 296 verses of the Bible and 107 times in 105 verses of the New Testament. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'OPEN, a o'pn. 1. Unclosed; not shut; as, the gate is open; an open door or window; an open book; open eyes. 2. Spread; expanded. He received his son with open arms. 3. Unsealed; as an open letter. 4. Not shut or fast; as an open hand. 5. Not covered; as the open air; an open vessel. 6. Not covered with trees; clear; as an open country or field. 7. Not stopped; as an open bottle. 8. Not fenced or obstructed; as an open road. 9. Not frosty; warmer than usual; not freezing severely; as an open winter. An open and warm winter portendeth a hot and dry summer. Johnson interprets open, in this passage, by not cloudy, not gloomy. I think the definition wrong. In America, an open winter is one in which the earth is not bound with frost and covered with snow. 10. Public; before a court and its suitors. His testimony was given in open court. 11. Admitting all persons without restraint; free to all comers. He keeps open house at the election. 12. Clear of ice; as, the river or the harbor is open. 13. Plain; apparent; evident; public; not secret or concealed; as an open declaration; open avowal; open shame; open defiance. The nations contend to open war or in open arms. 14. Not wearing disguise; frank; sincere; unreserved; candid; artless. He was held a man open and of good faith. His generous, open undesigning heart. 15. Not clouded; not contracted or frowning; having an air of frankness and sincerity; as an open look. With aspect open shall erect his head. 16. Not hidden; exposed to view. We are to exercise our thoughts and lay open the treasures of divine truth. 17. Ready to hear or receive what is offered. His ears are open to their cry. Ps. 34. 18. Free to be employed for redress; not restrained or denied; not precluding any person. The law is open. Acts 19. 19. Exposed; not protected; without defense. The country is open to the invaders. - Hath left me open to all injuries. 20. Attentive; employed in inspection. Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men - Jer. 32. 21. Clear; unobstructed; as an open view. 22. Unsettled; not balanced or closed; as an open account. Open accounts between merchants. 23. Not closed; free to be debated; as a question open for discussion. 24. In music, an open note is that which a string is tuned to produce.
OPEN, v.t. o'pn. 1. To unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or cover and set open; as, to open a door or gate; to open a desk. 2. To break the seal of a letter and unfold it. 3. To separate parts that are close; as, to open the lips; to open the mouth or eyes or eyelids; to open a book. 4. To remove a covering from; as, to open a pit. 5. To cut through; to perforate; to lance; as, to open the skin; to open an abscess. 6. To break; to divide; to split or rend; as, the earth was opened in many places by an earthquake; a rock is opened by blasting. 7. To clear; to make by removing obstructions; as, to open a road; to open a passage; the heat of spring opens rivers bound with ice. 8. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand. 9. To unstop; as, to open a bottle. 10. To begin; to make the first exhibition. The attorney general opens the cause on the part of the king or the state. Homer opens his poem with the utmost simplicity and modesty. 11. To show; to bring to view or knowledge. The English did adventure far to open the north parts of America. 12. To interpret; to explain. - While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke. 24. 13. To reveal; to disclose. He opened his mind very freely. 14. To make liberal; as, to open the heart. 15. To make the first discharge of artillery; as, to open a heavy fire on the enemy. 16. To enter on or begin; as to open a negotiation or correspondence; to open a trade with the Indies. 17. To begin to see by the removal of something intercepted the view; as, we sailed round the point and opened the harbor.
OPEN, v.i. o'pn. 1. To unclose itself; to be unclosed; to be parted. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Ps. 106. 2. To begin to appear. As we sailed round the point, the harbor opened to our view. 3. To commence; to begin. sales of stock open at par. 4. To bark; a term in hunting.'. We find forms of the word openly in: Genesis 38:21; Psalms 98:2; Matthew 6:4; Matthew 6:6; Matthew 6:18; Mark 1:45; Mark 8:32; John 7:4; John 7:10; John 7:13; Joh 11:54; Joh 18:20; Acts 10:40; Acts 16:37; Colossians 2:15. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: '1. Publicly; not in private; without secrecy; as, to avow our sins and follies openly. How grossly and openly do many of us contradict the precepts of the Gospel by our ungodliness and worldly lusts! 2. Plainly; evidently; without reserve or disguise.'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C12S27 about the word teach. The functional definition is: 'To instruct; to inform; to communicate to another the knowledge of that of which he was before ignorant'. Please also see the note for John 3:2 about the word teacher.

Please see the note for John 6:59 about the word synagogue. The functional definition for this word is: 'The word synagogue (synagogue), which means a "congregation," is used in the New Testament to signify a recognized place of worship. '.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians 3:16 about the word temple. That note has a lot of detail including several definitions from dictionaries and links from commentators. The functional definition is: 'a sacred house'.

Please see the note for John 13:36 about the word whither. The functional definition for this word is: 'continually seeking many places or going to another place and reaming there, not returning'.

Please see the note for Romans C16S33 about the word secret. The functional definition is: 'hid; concealed from the notice or knowledge of all persons except the individual or individuals concerned'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I spake. Joh 7:14,26,28; 8:2; 10:23-39; Ps 22:22; 40:9; Mt 4:23; 9:35; 21:23-27; 26:65; Lu 4:15; 19:45-47; 20:1-8; 21:37 and in. Joh 7:4; Isa 45:19; 48:16; Mt 24:26; Ac 26:26 General references. exp: Pr 1:21; 8:3.'.

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C18-S25 (Verse 21) Jesus gives His own challenge.
Why askest thou me?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This question is a continuation of the answer from Jesus which was started in the prior sentence and continues into the next sentence. All must be considered together because of context. Please see the note for the prior sentence about the doctrine.

Jesus knew that the high priest was not truly looking for information but was trying to trap Him into saying something which could be used as a pretext for murdering Jesus. Instead of giving the high priest hat he sought, Jesus pointed him to people whose testimony he would have a hard tile disputing and whose testimony would not give the high priest what he truly sought.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'ask. Mt 26:59-60; Mr 14:55-59; Lu 22:67; Ac 24:12-13,18-20'.

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C18-S26 (Verse 21) Jesus challenges them to use legal methods to verify truth.

Equivalent Section: Jesus tells them to ask witnesses to verify truth.

ask them which heard me,
what I have said unto them:

Equivalent Section: Jesus says that the witnesses can verify truth.

behold,
they know what I said.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This question is a continuation of the answer from Jesus which was started in the second prior sentence and in the 'prior sentence and continues into this sentence. All must be considered together because of context. Please see the note for the second prior sentence about the doctrine.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C12S14 and Galatians C3-S7 about the word hear. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'Perceiving by the ear, as sound. 1. Listening to; attending to; obeying; observing what is commanded. 2. Attending to witnesses or advocates in a judicial trial; trying'. Please pay attention to the word 'obey' within this definition. That is what most people refuse to do when the Bible says that they do not hear. Please also see the note for James 2:5 about the word hearken. Please also see the note for Mark 4:9 about the phrase He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Please see the note for Colossians C2S3 about the word behold. The functional definition is: 'To fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care'.

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C18-S27 (Verse 22) Illegal emotional response to a legal challenge.

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?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The truth of this sentence is only reported in this Gospel. Please see the note for this sentence in the Lord Jesus Christ Study about the doctrine of this sentence.

As we see in the next sentence, this action by the officer was wrong.

We find forms of the word strike / struck in: Exodus 12:7; Exodus 12:22; Deuteronomy 21:4; 1Samuel 2:14; 2Samuel 12:15; 2Samuel 20:10; 2Kings 5:11; 2Chronicles 13:20; Job 17:3; Job 20:24; Job 34:26; Psalms 110:5; Proverbs 7:23; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 17:26; Proverbs 22:26; Habakkuk 3:14; Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64; John 18:22; Revelation 9:5. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'STRIKE, v.t. pret. struck; pp. struck and stricken; but struck is in the most common use. Strook is wholly obsolete. G., to pass, move or ramble, to depart, to touch, to stroke, to glide or glance over, to lower or strike, as sails, to curry; L., to sweep together, to spread, as a plaster, to play on a violin, to card, as wool, to strike or whip, as with a rod; a stroke, stripe or lash. 1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or an instrument; to give a blow to, either with the open hand, the fist, a stick, club or whip, or with a pointed instrument, or with a ball or an arrow discharged. An arrow struck the shield; a ball strikes a ship between wind and water. He at Philippi kept his sword een like a dancer, while I struck the lean and wrinkled Cassius. 2. To dash; to throw with a quick motion. They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts. Exodus 12. 3. To stamp; to impress; to coin; as, to strike coin at the mint; to strike dollars or sovereigns; also, to print; as, to strike five hundred copies of a book. 4. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; as, a tree strikes its root deep. 5. To punish; to afflict; as smite is also used. To punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity. Proverbs 17. 6. To cause to sound; to notify by sound; as, the clock strikes twelve; the drums strike up a march. 7. To run upon; to be stranded. The ship struck at twelve, and remained fast. 8. To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate. Now and then a beam of wit or passion strikes through the obscurity of the poem. 9. To lower a flag or colors in token of respect, or to signify a surrender of the ship to an enemy. 10. To break forth; as, to strike into reputation. Not in use. To strike in, to enter suddenly; also, to recede from the surface, as an eruption; to disappear. To strike in with, to conform to; to suit itself to; to join with at once. To strike out, to wander; to make a sudden excursion; as, to strike out into an irregular course of life. To strike, among workmen in manufactories, in England, is to quit work I a body or by combination, in order to compel their employers to raise their wages.
STRIKE, n. 1. An instrument with a straight edge for leveling a measure of grain, salt and the like, for scraping off what is above the level of the top.'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C12S12; Colossians C2S7 about the word hand. The functional definition is: 'the part of the body used to grab and hold'. Please also see the note for 1Peter 5:6-7 about the phrase hand of God. Please also see the note for Mark 16:19 about the phrase the right hand of God.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'struck. Job 16:10; 30:10-12; Isa 50:5-7; Jer 20:2; Mic 5:1; Mt 26:67-68; Mr 14:65; Lu 22:63-64; Ac 23:2-3 the palm of his hand. or, a rod. Answerest. Ac 23:4-5 exp: Mt 26:62. General references. exp: Mr 14:65.'.

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C18-S28 (Verse 23) Jesus demands justification for illegal action.

Equivalent Section: Jesus demands legal handling.

Jesus answered him,
If I have spoken evil,
bear witness of the evil:

Equivalent Section: Jesus demands justification for prior action.

but if well,
why smitest thou me?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The truth of this sentence is only reported in this Gospel. Please see the note for this sentence in the Lord Jesus Christ Study about the doctrine of this sentence.

What we see here is that the action by the officer was wrong. No answer is reported because he can not give an honest answer. Most people, if not all people, will be in a similar situation when they are judged by God. This is true even for the saved because most people do not want to admit, much apologize for, wrong actions which they do.

Our sentence has two Equivalent Sections with the Second Equivalent Section starting with the word but. that makes the two Equivalent Sections polar opposites. In the First Equivalent Section Jesus asks for a witness of the evil that He had done, which would justify the action by the officer. In the First Equivalent Section Jesus asks for a reason to justify the action by the officer. When he had no answer, that proved that his action was wrong.

What many people might not realize is that the officer is there as a part of the legal system. As such, he is not allowed to act upon his personal feelings but must restrict his actions to those which are legal. The face that he did not do this, and was not reprimanded for his actions, proved that this was not a righteous court. Any true reader of the Bible knows this fact but this incident provides the legal proof. Any court which allows illegal actions by 'officers of the court' proves that their actions are not righteous. That is why there are strict procedure for any legal action.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

Please see the note for Romans C15S1 about the word bear. The functional definition is: 'to carry a load over a period of time'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 11:4 about the word witness. Please also see the notes for 2Corinthians 13:1; Colossians C3S13 about the phrase two or three witnesses. While men define a witness as someone who sees or hears an event, the Bible also includes the ability to testify in God's court for the definition of this word. Satan is not a witness because he is a liar and not qualified to testify in God's court. Every usage within John's Gospel includes this extra qualifier. In addition, when we study the use of this word within this Gospel, we see that God punishes people who reject the witness which He sends.

We find forms of the word smite occurring 146 times in 137 verses of the Bible and, in the New Testament, in: Matthew 5:39; Matthew 24:49; Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27; Luke 6:29; Luke 22:49; John 18:23; Acts 23:2; Acts 23:3; 2Corinthians 11:20; Revelation 11:6; Revelation 19:15. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: '1. To strike; to throw, drive or force against, as the fist or hand, a stone or a weapon; to reach with a blow or a weapon; as, to smite one with the fist; to smite with a rod or with a stone. Whoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matt. 5. 2. To kill; to destroy the life of by beating or by weapons of any kind; as, to smite one with the sword, or with an arrow or other engine. David smote Goliath with a sling and a stone. The Philistines were often smitten with great slaughter. This word, like slay, usually or always signification, that of beating, striking, the primitive mode of killing. We never apply it to the destruction of life by poison, by accident or by legal execution. 3. To blast; to destroy life; as by a stroke or by something sent. The flax and the barley were smitten. Ex. 9. 4. To afflict; to chasten; to punish. Let us not mistake God's goodness, nor imagine, because he smites us, that we are forsaken by him. 5. To strike or affect with passion. See what the charms that smite the simple heart. Smit with the love of sister arts we came.'. The important difference between this word and strike is that smite is done against a person and includes passion while strike can be done against an object and done not have to include passion. In addition, our sentence uses the word smitest. The st suffix means that this was a 'life-style action'. If he could have gotten away with it, this officer would have literally beaten Jesus to death.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'If. 2Co 10:1; 1Pe 2:20-23'.

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C18-S29 (Verse 24) Annas passes off Jesus.
Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

Jesus is taken before Caiaphas the high priest as reported in: Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, Luke 22:54 and John 18:24.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

If the reader pays attention to what is really written, they see that Annas truly held the power while Caiaphas was supposed to be in charge. I believe that Annas did as this sentence says so that (he thought) he could put the blame on Caiaphas if there was any trouble over crucifying Jesus. In addition, he did it so that it would appear to the Jews as if they were running the government as the Mosaic Law demanded.

Please see the note for John 18:12-13 about Annas. That note has comments, from others, which explain why there were two high priests at that time.

Please see the note for John 11:49-50 for links to every place in the Bible where Caiaphas is named along with a comment from Easton's Bible Dictionary.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Annas. Annas was dismissed from being high priest, A.D. 23, after filling that office for fifteen years; but, being a person of distinguished character, and having had no fewer than five sons who had successively enjoyed the dignity of the high-priesthood, and the present high priest Caiaphas being his son-in-law, he must have possessed much authority in the nation. It was at the palace of Caiaphas where the chief priests, elders, and scribes were assembled the whole of the night to see the issue of their stratagem. Joh 18:13; Mt 26:57 exp: Lu 3:2; Ac 4:6. bound. Joh 18:13 exp: Mt 27:2. General references. exp: Mt 26:57.'.

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C18-S30 (Verse 25) Meanwhile, Peter was still at the world's fire.
And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

C18-S18 told us that Peter was outside until Joh had a servant let him in. C18-S20 told us that the maid servant who let peter in asked Peter if he knew Jesus C18-S21 told us that Peter made his first denial to her. Other Gospels tell us that it was a cold and that the servants and officers of the high priest's household made the fire that our current sentence tells us Peter stood by. The next two sentences tells us about Peter's second denial.

Please see the note for 2Peter 1:1 about the name of Simon. While the Bible applies this name to at least 8 men, our sentence makes it clear that this sentence is talking about Simon Peter.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S6 about the name of Peter. The functional definition is: 'the main apostle'.

Please see the note for Mark 14:54 about the word warm. The functional definition for this word is: 'Having heat in a moderate degree; not cold'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'stood. Joh 18:18; Mr 14:37-38,67; Lu 22:56 General references. exp: Joh 20:6; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S31 (Verse 25) Peter questioned a second time.

They said therefore unto him,
Art not thou also one of his disciples?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The prior sentence and the next sentence go with this sentence to tell us about Peter's second denial.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'They. Mt 26:69,71; Mr 14:68-70; Lu 22:58 General references. exp: Joh 20:6; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S32 (Verse 25) Peter's second denial.

He denied it,
and said,
I am not.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The prior two sentences go with this sentence to tell us about Peter's second denial.

Please see the note for 2Timothy 2:11-13 about the words deny / denial. The functional definition for this word is: 'To contradict; to gainsay; to declare a statement or position not to be true'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'He. Ge 18:15; Pr 29:25; Ga 2:11-13 General references. exp: Joh 20:6; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S33 (Verse 26) Peter is questioned the third time.

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?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Since this was not the man who lost his ear, he was not positive in his identification of Peter. This sentence and the next sentence tell us about Peter's third denial.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C13S9; 2Corinthians 2:17 and Colossians C1S6 about the words see / sight:. The functional definition is: ' perception of objects by the eye; view. This word is often used symbolically for spiritual understanding'. Please also see the note for John 6:40-LJC about the phrase see the Son.

Please see the note for John 19:41 about the word garden. The functional definition for this word is: 'A piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs, or plants, fruits and flowers'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'being. Joh 18:10 Did. Pr 12:19; Mt 26:73; Mr 14:70-71; Lu 22:59-60 General references. exp: Joh 18:10; 20:6; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S34 (Verse 27) Peter's third denial.

Equivalent Section: Peter's action.

Peter then denied again:

Equivalent Section: God's action.

and immediately the cock crew.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This sentence and the prior sentence tell us about Peter's third denial. The phrase and immediately the cock crew lets us know that God made sure that peter understood that he had acted as Jesus had prophesied and as Peter had denied he could do. Here we see the foolishness of denying a warning that God sends to us.

Please see the note for Mark 1:42 about the word immediate. The functional definition for this word is: 'Proximate; acting without a medium, or without the intervention of another cause or means; producing its effect by its own direct agency. An immediate cause is that which is exerted directly in producing its effect'.

Please see the note for John 13:38 about the word cock. Fausset's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: '"Cockcrowing" was the third watch of the four watches introduced by the Romans. (See WATCHES.) The Jews originally had but three. The first ended at 9, the second at 12, the third or" cockcrowing" at 3, and the fourth at 6 o'clock a.m. (Mr 13:35). The second cockcrowing (Mr 14:72), which marked Peter's third denial of Jesus, was probably at the beginning of the fourth watch between 3 and 4 in the mourning, not long before the first day dawn, just when our Lord was being led bound to Caiaphas across the court where Peter was standing. The Mishna, states that "cocks were not bred at Jerusalem because of the holy things."
But Peter could easily hear their shrill crow on mount Olivet, only a half-mile off from where he was in the porch of the high priest's palace, in the stillness of night. Moreover, the restriction could only apply to the Jews, not to the Romans who used fowl for food. The first crowing being fainter in the distance did not awaken his slumbering conscience; but the second with its loud sound was the crowing which alone is recorded by Matthew (Mt 26:34), Luke (Lu 22:34), and John (Joh 13:38), being that which roused him to remember bitterly his Lord's neglected warning.'.

Please see the note for 2Timothy 2:11-13 about the words deny / denial. The functional definition for this word is: 'To contradict; to gainsay; to declare a statement or position not to be true'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'and. Joh 13:38; Mt 26:34,74-75; Mr 14:30,68,71-72; Lu 22:34,60-62 General references. exp: Joh 20:6; Ac 7:24.'.

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C18-S35 (Verse 28) Who went into Rome's judgment hall.

Equivalent Section: Jesus sent to Rome's judgment hall.

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment:

Equivalent Section: The Jews refused to enter Rome's judgment hall.

First Step: It was early in the day for preparing the passover.

and it was early;

Second Step: The Jews avoided religious defilement.

and they themselves went not into the judgment hall,
lest they should be defiled;

Third Step: Why.

but that they might eat the passover.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

As we read in John 18:31, Jesus was sent to Pilate for a judgment of death since it was not lawful for the Jews to give a death sentence. By including the Roman government, God made sure that Gentiles were represented and that Gentiles can not, rightly, blame the Jews only for the crucifixion of the Son of God. That said, truth has never hindered people believing a desirable doctrinal error.

Our sentence has two Equivalent Sections with the First Equivalent Section telling us that Jesus was sent to the Roman Government for sentencing and the Second Equivalent Section telling us that the religious leaders refused to enter, that day, for religious reasons. They, obviously, had no problem ordering Jews of a lower social position to do what they believed would defile them religiously.

Our next sentence goes with our First Equivalent Section to tell us that Jesus was sent to the Roman Government for sentencing. Pilate was the Roman Governor who had to do that sentencing.

Our Second Equivalent Section has three Steps. The First Step tells us that it was past the time of night when it is technically considered to be the next day. Our Third Step tells us that they wanted to do the religious ceremony of eat the passover. In Exodus, were we see the original passover, they had certain things to do before hand in order to prepare properly. If not done properly then their first born would die. In addition, God instituted a memorial of that event which had certain rules to help them remember that event, God's mercy and God's promise of future blessings. Unfortunately, the Jews did two main things which were wrong. First, they concentrated upon the external physical symbols while ignoring the truly important spiritual lessons. Secondly, they added their own religious rules and emphasized their own rules above the true symbolic actions.

We see the truth of this in the Second Step and in the account of God sending Peter to Cornelius in Acts 10. The religious rules, which were added by the Jews, said that they would be defiled if they had any dealings with Gentiles. This did not come from God because God planned on using the blessings which He gave to the Jews to attract the Gentiles. The Jews were to be God's messengers, which required them interacting with Gentiles socially. Instead, they followed the doctrine of devils and made it impossible for Jews to do God's will without being case out of their religion and society.

The true foolishness of their religious rules is seen in the Second Step. It tells us that they acted like they did lest they should be defiled. Whereas the truth was that they did what would defile them the most by becoming guilty of killing the Son of God.

Please see the note for John 11:49-50 for links to every place in the Bible where Caiaphas is named along with a comment from Easton's Bible Dictionary.

Please see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; 1Corinthians 1:10 and Revelation 19:1-LJC about the word judge. The functional definition is: 'To hear and determine, as in causes on trial; to pass sentence'. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C4S5 and Ephesians C5S6 about the phrase judge, we are to. Please also see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works. Please also see the notes for Romans C2S2; Philippians 1:9-11 and Psalms 119 about the word judgment. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 5:10 about the phrase judgment Seat. Please also see the notes for Romans C14S16 and 2Corinthians 5:10 about the phrase judgment Seat of Christ. Please also see the notes for Romans 14:8-LJC and 2Thessalonians 1:9-LJC about the phrase judgment without mercy.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians 3:17 and James 3:6 about the word defile. The functional definition for this word is: 'To make impure'. Please also see the note for Psalms 119 about the word undefiled.

Please see the notes for Romans C14S2; 1Corinthians C11S37 and Hebrews 13:10 about the word eat. The functional definition is: 'Besides the common use of this word, it is employed symbolically for to 'consume, destroy'.

Please see the note for John 2:13 about the word passover. The functional definition is: 'pass and over. A feast of the Jews, instituted to commemorate the providential escape of the Hebrews, in Egypt, when God smiting the first-born of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Israelites, which were marked with the blood of the paschal lamb'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'led. Mt 27:1-10; Mr 15:1-5; Lu 23:1-5; Ac 3:13 unto. Joh 18:33; 19:9; Mt 27:27; Mr 15:16 (Gr) hall of judgment. or, Pilate's house. early. Pr 1:16; 4:16; Mic 2:1; Lu 22:66 and they. Ps 35:16; Isa 1:10-15; Jer 7:8-11; Am 5:21-23; Mic 3:10-12; Mt 23:23-28; 27:6; Ac 10:28; 11:3 eat. Joh 18:39; 19:14; De 16:2; 2Ch 30:21-24; 35:8-14,17-18; Eze 45:21 General references. exp: Pr 4:16; Mt 23:24.'.

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C18-S36 (Verse 29) Rome's governor asked about their presence.

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

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This is just the start of the trial by Pilate, who represented all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God.

We find Pilate mentioned in: Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 3:1; Luke 13:1; Luke 23; our current chapter; John 19; Acts 3:13; Acts 4:27; Acts 13:28 and 1Timothy 6:13. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary tells us about him with: 'Connected with the Pontian clan (gens), first remarkable in the person of Pontius Telesinus, the great Samnite general. Pilate is probably from pileus, "the cap of freedom,"which manumitted slaves received; Pilate being perhaps descended from a freedman. Sixth Roman procurator of Judaea, appointed in Tiberius' 12th year (A.D. 25 or 26). The pagan historian Tacitus (Ann. 15:44) writes: "Christ, while Tiberius was emperor, was capitally executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate." The procurator was generally a Roman knight, acting under the governor of a province as collector of the revenue, and judge in cases arising under it. But Pontius Pilate had full military and judicial authority in Judas, as being a small province attached to the larger Syria; he was responsible to the governor of Syria. Archelaus having been deposed (A.D. 6), Subinus, Coponius, Ambivius, Rufus, Valerius Gratus, and Pontius Pilate successively were governors (Josephus, Ant. 18:2, section 2).
Pilate removed his military head quarters from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the soldiers brought their standards with the emperor's image on them. The Jews crowded to Caesarea and besought him to remove them He was about to kill the petitioners after a five days' discussion, giving a signal to concealed soldiers to surround them; but their resolve to die rather than cease resisting the idolatrous innovation caused him to yield (Josephus, Ant. 18:3, section 1-2; B.J. 2:9, section 2-4). So far did the Jews' scruples influence the Roman authorities that no coin is stamped with a god or emperor before Nero (DeSaulcy, Numism. 8-9); the "penny" stamped with Caesar's image in Mt 22:20 was either a coin from Rome or another province, the shekel alone was received in the temple. Pilate again almost drove them to rebel
(1) by hanging up in his residence, Herod's palace at Jerusalem, gilt shields with names of idols inscribed, which were finally removed by Tiberius' order (Philo, as Caium. 38, ii. 589);
(2) by appropriating the Corban revenue from redemption of vows (Mr 7:11) to building an aqueduct. (It is an extraordinary engineering work, 30 miles long; the southern source is 15 miles from Jerusalem at wady el Arrub; Ain Kueizibba is its true source; it is carried on a parapet 12 ft. high over wady Marah el Ajjal.) He checked the riot by soldiers with concealed daggers, who killed many of the insurgents and even spectators.
(3) He mingled the blood of Galileans witk their sacrifices, probably at a feast at Jerusalem, when riots often occurred, and in the temple outer court (Lu 13:1-4). Probably the tower of Siloam was part of the aqueduct work, hence its fall was regarded as a judgment; the Corban excluded the price of blood, as Mt 27:6.
It is not improbable that Barabbas' riot and murder were connected with Pilate's appropriation of the Corban; this explains the eagerness of the people to release him rather than Jesus; the name may mean "son of Abba," an honorary title of rabbis, from whence the elders were strongly in his favor. Livy (5:13) mentions that prisoners used to be released at a lectisternium or propitiatory feast in honor of the gods. That Jerusalem was not the ordinary residence of Pilate appears from Lu 23:6, "Herod himself also (as well as Pilate) was at Jerusalem at that time." Caesarea was the regular abode of the Roman governors (Josephus, Ant. 18:4, section 1; 20:4, section 4). The Passover brought Pilate to Jerusalem, as disturbances were most to be apprehended when the people were gathered from the country for the feast. (See JESUS CHRIS't on Pilate's conflict of feelings.)
He had a fear of offending the Jews, who already had grounds of accusation against him, and of giving color to a charge of lukewarmness to Caesar's kingship, and on the other hand a conviction of Jesus' innocence (for the Jewish council, Pilate knew well, would never regard as criminal an attempt to free Judas from Roman dominion), and a mysterious awe of the Holy Sufferer and His majestic mien and words, strengthened by his wife's (Claudia Procula, a proselyte of the gate: Evang. Nicod. 2) vision and message. Her designation of Jesus, "that just man," recalls Plato's unconscious prophecy (Republic) of "the just man" who after suffering of all kinds restores righteousness. Jesus' question, "sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee of Me?" implies suspicion existed in Pilate's mind of the reality of His being "King of the Jews" in some mysterious sense.
When the Jews said "He ought to die for making Himself Son of God" Pilate was the more afraid; Christ's testimony (Joh 18:37) and bearing, and his wife's message, rising afresh before his mind in hearing of His claim to be "the Son of God" His suspicion betrays itself in the question, "from whence art Thou?" also in his anxiety, so unlike his wonted cruelty, to release Jesus; also in his refusal to alter the inscription over the cross (John 18; 19). (See HEROD ANTIPAS for his share in the proceeding.) Jesus answered not to his question, "from whence art Thou?" Silence emphasized His previous testimony (Joh 18:37); but to Pilate's official boast of his power to release or crucify, Jesus' answer, "Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above;" answers also "from whence art Thou?" Thy power is derived thence from whence I am. Pilate had no quaestor to conduct the trial, being only a procurator; but examined Jesus himself.
A minute accuracy, confirming the genuineness of the Gospel narrative; also his having his wife with him, Caecina's proposal to enforce the law prohibiting governors to bring their wives into the provinces having been rejected (Tacitus, Ann. 3:33-34). Pilate sending up (anepempsen; Lu 23:7) Jesus to Herod is the Roman law term for referring a prisoner to the jurisdiction of the judge of his country. The "tesselated pavement" (lithostroton) and the "tribunal" (bema) were essential in judging, so that Julius Caesar carried a tribunal with him in expeditions (Josephus, Ant. 20:9, section 1). The granting of a guard for the sepulchre (Mt 27:65) is the last that Scripture records of Pilate. Having led troops against and defeated the Samaritans, who revolted under a leader promising to show the treasures which Moses was thought to have hid in Mount Gerizim, he was accused before Vitellius, chief governor of Syria, and sent to Rome to answer before Caesar. Caligula was now on the throne, A.D. 36.
Wearied with misfortunes Pilate killed himself (Josephus, Ant. 18:4, section 1-2; Eusebius, H. E., ii. 7). One tradition makes Pilate banished to Vienne on the Rhone, where is a pyramid 52 ft. high, called the "tomb of Pontius Pilate." Another represents him as plunging in despair into the lake at the top of Mount Pilatus near Lucerne. Justin Martyr (Apology i. 76, 84), Tertullian (Apol. 21), Eusebius (H. E. 2:2) say that Pilate made an official report to Tiberius of Jesus' trial and condemnation. "Commentaries (hupomneemata) of Pilate" are mentioned in a homily attributed to Chrysostom (8 in Pasch.). The Acta Pilati in Greek, and two Latin epistles to the emperor, now extant, are spurious (Fabric. Apoer. 1:237, 298; 3:111, 456).
Pilate is a striking instance of the danger of trifling with conscientious convictions, and not acting at once upon the principle of plain duty. Fear of man, the Jews' accusations, and the emperor's frown, and consequent loss of place and power, led him to condemn Him whom he knew to be innocent and desired to deliver. His compromises and delays were vain when once the determined Jews saw him vacillating. Fixed principle alone could have saved him from pronouncing that unrighteous sentence which brands his name forever (Psalm 82). His sense of justice, compassion, and involuntary respect for the Holy Sufferer yielded to his selfishness, worldly policy, and cynical unbelief. Pilate was guilty, but less so than the high priest who in spite of light and spiritual knowledge (Joh 19:11) delivered Jesus to him.'.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia provides the time-line for this trial as: 'The parts may be fitted together thus: Jesus is brought to Pilate (Mt 27:2; Mr 15:1; Lu 23:1; Joh 18:28). Pilate asks for a specific accusation (Joh 18:29-32). Pilate enters the praetorium, questions Jesus about His alleged kingship, and receives the answer that He rules over the kingdom of truth, and over the hearts of men who acknowledge the truth. Pilate asks: "What is truth?" (reported briefly in Mt 27:11; Mr 15:2; Lu 23:3, and with more detail Joh 18:33-38). Pilate brings Him forth (this is the only detail that needs to be supplied in order to make the harmony complete, and in itself it is probable enough), and many accusations are made against Him, to which, to Pilate's surprise, He makes no reply (Mt 27:12-14; Mr 15:3-5). Pilate affirms His innocence, but the charges are repeated (Lu 23:4 f). Pilate sends Him to Herod, who in mockery clothes Him in shining raiment, and sends Him back (Lu 23:6-12). Pilate declares that neither Herod or himself can find any fault in Him, and offers to scourge Him and let Him go (Lu 23:13-16; Joh 18:3Joh 8b). Pilate offers to release Jesus in accordance with an ancient custom (Mt 27:15-18; Mr 15:6-10; Joh 18:39). Pilate's wife sends him a message warning him not to harm Jesus because she has suffered many things in a dream because of Him (Mt 27:19). The people, persuaded thereto by the chief priests and elders, choose Barabbas, and, in spite of the repeated protests of Pilate, demand that Jesus shall be crucified (Mt 27:20-23; Mr 15:11-14; Lu 23:18-23; Joh 18:40). Pilate washes his hands before the people, and they take the guilt of the deed upon themselves and their children (Mt 27:24 f). Pilate releases Barabbas and orders Jesus to be scourged (Mt 27:26; Mr 15:15; Lu 23:24 f). Jesus is scourged and mocked, buffered and spit upon (Mt 27:3-27Mt 1a; Mr 15:2-160a; Joh 19:1-3). Pilate again declares the innocence of Jesus, brings Him out, and says: "Behold the man!" The chief priests and officers cry out: "Crucify him!" They accuse Him of making Himself the Son of God. Pilate, becoming more afraid at this saying, once more interviews the prisoner in the praetorium. He again tries to release Him, but is accused of treachery to the emperor. Overborne by this, Pilate sits on the judgment seat (see GABBATHA ), and says: "Behold your King!" Again the cry goes up: "Away with him, crucify him!" Pilate says: "ShallI crucify your King?" The chief priests answered with a final renunciation of all that God had given them, saying: "We have no king but Caesar" (Joh 19:4-15). Pilate sentences Jesus and gives Him up to be crucified, and He is led away (Mt 27:3Mt 1b; Mr 15:20b; Lu 23:2Lu 6a; Joh 19:16). Pilate writes a title for the cross, and refuses to alter it (Joh 19:19-22). The Jews ask of Pilate that the legs of the three who were crucified might be broken (Joh 19:31). Joseph of Arimathea begs the body of Jesus from Pilate (Mt 27:57,5Mt 8a; Mr 15:42 f; Lu 23:50-52; Joh 19:3Joh 8a). Pilate is surprised that Jesus has died so soon, and questions the centurion (Mr 15:44). He gives up to Joseph the body of Jesus (Mt 27:5Mt 8b; Mr 15:45; Joh 19:3Joh 8b). The chief priests and the Pharisees obtain permission from Pilate to take precautions against any theft of the body of Jesus (Mt 27:62-66).'.

Please see the note for Titus 2:3 about the word accuser. The functional definition for this word is: 'To charge with, or declare to have committed a crime, either by plaint, or complaint, information, indictment, or impeachment; to charge with an offense against the laws, judicially or by a public process; as, to accuse one of a high crime or misdemeanor. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and false accusers are acting like Satan'. Please also see the note for John 8:3 about the phrase accuse him (Jesus).

Please see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man?.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'What. Mt 27:23; Ac 23:28-30; 25:1'.

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C18-S37 (Verse 30) The non-answer from the Jews.

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

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The they, which starts our sentence, is referring to the priests and religious leaders who had just tried Jesus and that the second prior sentence told us that they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment...and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Obviously, the servants had to go into the judgment hall (and) be defiled.

Our next sentence tells us that Pilate tried to avoid doing judgment but the second next sentence tells us why he could not do so. The account involving Pilate started in the prior sentence and continues through the end of the next chapter. The note for the prior sentence gives us a time-line of what happened when we combine all of the Gospel accounts. Please see it.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

We find forms of the word malefactor only in: Luke 23:32; Luke 23:33; Luke 23:39; John 18:30. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'One who commits a crime; one guilty of violating the laws, in such a manner as to subject him to public prosecution and punishment, particularly to capital punishment; a criminal.'. The functional definition for this word is: ' a criminal who is so bad that public execution is required'.

Please see the note for Mark 9:31 about the word delivered. The functional definition for this word is: 'Freed; released; transferred or transmitted; passed from one to another; committed; yielded; surrendered; rescued; uttered; pronounced'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'If. Joh 19:12; Mr 15:3; Lu 20:19-26; 23:2-5 exp: Ac 25:5. delivered. Mr 10:33; Lu 24:7; Ac 3:13 exp: Lu 18:32.'.

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C18-S38 (Verse 31) Pilate tries to avoid entanglement.

Then said Pilate unto them,
Take ye him,
and judge him according to your law.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see that the Jews lived under two sets of laws: the religious laws which the Jewish religious leaders enforced and the civil laws which the Roman Government enforced. This was allowed because the Roman Government did not want to kill off a significant portion of the population, nor scatter them like the Babylonian government did. As history tells us, eventually God forced both the death of many and the scattering.

The truth is that any time a religion emphasizes the physical actions while ignoring, or downplaying, the spiritual / moral truths, you get religious fanatics. It does not matter what the religious basis is as is evident by a true examination of human history.

Please see the note for John 18:29 about Pilate. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Take. Joh 19:6-7; Ac 25:18-20 General references. exp: De 28:43.'.

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C18-S39 (Verse 31-32) The death demand which fulfills prophecy.

Equivalent Section: Why the Jews wanted the Roman Governor to crucify Jesus.

The Jews therefore said unto him,
It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:

Equivalent Section: Jesus had prophesied this death.

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

This sentence is referring to what Jesus said in John 3:14; John 8:28; John 12:32-33; Matthew 20:19; Matthew 26:2; Luke 18:32-33; Luke 24:6-8. This also fulfills prophecies of Deuteronomy 21:23 and Psalms 22:16.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Our sentence has two Equivalent Sections with the titles in the sentence outline, above, explaining each Equivalent Section. God made sure that all people groups were involved in this trial and death. Jesus knew this plan of God, which was how He could prophesy this event. Please note that Jesus said that there were some things in the plan of God that no one else knew (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32).

Please see the note for Hebrews 9:7-10 about the word signify. The functional definition for this word is: 'To make known something, either by signs or words; to express or communicate to another any idea, thought, wish, a hod, wink, gesture, signal or other sign'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'It. Joh 19:15; Ge 49:10; Eze 21:26-27; Ho 3:4-5 General references. exp: De 28:43.
the saying. Joh 3:14; 10:31,33; 12:32-33; Mt 20:19; 26:2; Lu 18:32-33; 24:7-8; Ac 7:59 what. De 21:23; Ps 22:16; Ga 3:13 General references. exp: Joh 19:18.'.

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C18-S40 (Verse 33) Pilate questioned Jesus about rumors which he had heard.

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

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

This sentence through John 18:38 are all dealing with the conversation between Pilate and Jesus about Him being a King. He will not set up His kingdom on this Earth until He returns to reign for 1,000 years. Therefore, He was not offering a physical kingdom the Jews at this time because they had rejected Him as their ruler. Instead, He offers a spiritual kingdom at this time. Pilate was not sure what was the truth but submitted to the wishes of the Jews in order to avoid a riot. From this we see that there are consequences to our decisions and that Pilate should have done what was right regardless of the immediate results.

Please be sure the read both notes for this sentence within the Lord Jesus Christ Study as they give some doctrine not included in this note.

Please see the note for John 18:29 about Pilate. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

Please see the note for John 10:8 about the word enter. The functional definition for this word is: 'to leave one place and go into another place'.

Please see the notes for Romans C1S1; 1Corinthians C1S3 and 1Timothy 6:12 about the word call. The functional definition is: 'A person who has a position where they are expected to performs tasks that are stated, implied or desired by another person'. Please also see the note for Romans 10:13; 2Thessalonians 3:1-LJC; Ephesians 5:8-LJC and 1John 4:14-LJC about the phrase call upon the Lord. The note for Romans 10:13 has links to every place in the Bible where we find the words call and Lord used together, along with a small note on each reference.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'and said. Joh 18:37; Mt 27:11; Mr 15:2; Lu 23:3-4; 1Ti 6:13 the king. Joh 1:49; 12:13,15; 19:3,19-22; Ps 2:6-12; Isa 9:6-7; Jer 23:5; Zep 3:15; Zec 9:9; Lu 19:38-40; Ac 2:34-36 General references. exp: Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S41 (Verse 34) Jesus questions Pilate about the basis of his question.

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

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The significance of this question is dealt with in the note for this sentence within the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Here Jesus is asking Pilate if the prior sentence reflected his personal belief. Remember, all of this Gospel is written to cause people to believe God's truth.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Sayest. Joh 18:36 General references. exp: Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S42 (Verse 35) Pilate answers with a retort.

Pilate answered,
Am I a Jew?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see that Pilate believed the doctrinal error that someone had to become a Jew in order to be saved. Unfortunately, many people die lost because they believe doctrinal errors.

Please see the note for John 18:29 about Pilate. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Am I. Ezr 4:12; Ne 4:2; Ac 18:14-16; 23:29; 25:19-20; Ro 3:1-2 General references. exp: Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S43 (Verse 35) Pilate asks his next question.

Equivalent Section: The basis of his question.

Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me:

Equivalent Section: The question.

what hast thou done?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Pilate did not accuse Jesus of doing anything wrong. He wanted to know what Jesus to upset thine own nation and the chief priests so much that they delivered thee unto me for a death sentence. If you read the notes from commentators about Pilate (John 18:29), your will realize that Pilate understood doing whatever was required in order to maintain control. As a Roman Governor, he would have understood people being been far more concerned over control than over right and wrong. Therefore, he was not asking about right and wrong. He was asking what Jesus did to challenge the power and control of thine own nation and the chief priests.

Please see the note for Romans 1:5 about the word nation. The functional definition for this word is: 'A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Thine. Joh 18:28; 19:11; Ac 3:13 what. Joh 19:6; Ac 21:38; 22:22-24 exp: Ge 3:13; 31:26. General references. exp: Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S44 (Verse 36) Jesus answers an honest question.

Equivalent Section: Jesus answers the true question.

Jesus answered,
My kingdom is not of this world:

Equivalent Section: Jesus explains why He seems to be helpless.

if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight,
that I should not be delivered to the Jews:

Equivalent Section: Jesus warns of a change in the future.

but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Please note that the sentences through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Please be sure the read the note for this sentence within the Lord Jesus Christ Study which explains the main doctrine of this sentence. Basically, Jesus is warning Pilate to consider the spiritual, which is where His kingdom exists. Of course, the spiritual is far more important than the physical. Unfortunately for Pilate, he either did not understand or choose to ignore this warning since he refused to act upon it.

Our sentence has three Equivalent Sections. In the First Equivalent Section Jesus answered the main concern of Pilate, which was a challenge to his authority and control. In the Second Equivalent Section Jesus explains why His servants (angels) were not fighting for Him and why the Jews could deliver Him to Pilate. In the Third Equivalent Section Jesus say but now is my kingdom not from hence, with the indication that His kingdom would be in this world at some time in the future (when it is not now). The but, which starts the Third Equivalent Section, makes it the polar opposite of the Second Equivalent Section. That is: when He returns and sets up His kingdom, His servants will serve and fight for Him and no one will have control over Him (except God the Father, Who will not be physically present).

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

One thing to pay attention to is the word now in our Third Equivalent Section. Jude 1:14-15 tells us And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. When Christ returns to rule for 1.000 years then His kingdom will be from hence. However, at the time that He spoke this sentence, that was not true.

The Jews all knew that Christ would rule on this physical world because of Old Testament prophecy (2Samuel 7:11-16; 1Chronicles 17:11-15; Psalms 89:3-4, 19-37; 110:1-5; 132:11-18; Acts 2:30-31). However, there was also prophecy which they did not understand, such as the requirement for Him to suffer and die. Therefore, their doctrine was wrong because of an incomplete understanding of prophecy. Jesus did have a kingdom, as His answer indicated, but it would be spiritual, and not of this world, until He returns again.

Please see the notes1Corinthians C4S20; 1Corinthians C15S46; Galatians C5S20 and the Doctrinal Study for about the phrase The kingdom of God. The functional definition is: 'God's character in us'. Please also see the notes for Ephesians 5:5; 2Timohy 4:1 and 2Peter 1:11 for about the phrase kingdom of Christ. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C6S16 about the phrase kingdom of God rejected by lifestyle sins. Please also see the notes for 1Timothy 6:15-LJC and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase kingdom of heaven. Please also see the notes for Verses in the New Testament. Summary on the name / role of King. Please also see the note for Revelation 10:11-LJC about the phrase kings of the earth. Please also see the note for Revelation 14:14-LJC about the phrase King of kings. Please also see the note for Matthew 27:37-LJC about the phrase King of the Jews.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 7:5 about the word fight. The functional definition for this word is: 'Contending in battle; striving for victory or conquest'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Jesus. 1Ti 6:13 My kingdom is. Joh 6:15; 8:15; Ps 45:3-7; Isa 9:6-7; Da 2:44; 7:14; Zec 9:9; Lu 12:14; 17:20-21; Ro 14:17; Col 1:12-14 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; 26:51; Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S45 (Verse 37) Pilate asks a question to better understand the answer from Jesus.

Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Please note that the sentences from C18-S44 through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations. In addition, the note for this sentence, within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, explains the doctrine of these sentences as far as the message to Pilate goes. The application is that if a Roman Governor could not get away with ignoring a warning from 'God in human flesh', then neither can anyone else get away with ignoring a warning from 'God working through human flesh'.

The therefore, in our sentence lets us know that this question is a direct result of what Jesus said in the prior sentence. Please notice that Pilate asks about a lower-case king ('a human king of this world'). In our next sentence we see Jesus tell Pilate that he really believed this truth and was only asking for confirmation for his belief. And, in fact, when Jesus returns, as Christ, to rule this world for 1,000 years, he will be 'a human king of this world'. However, that is different from His being a King in the spiritual reality, which was what He really claimed to be in the prior sentence.

Please see the note for John 18:29 about Pilate. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'then. Joh 18:11 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; 26:51; Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S46 (Verse 37) Jesus points out that Pilate knows the truth.

Jesus answered,
Thou sayest that I am a king.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Please note that the sentences from C18-S44 through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations.

As explained in the prior note, Jesus tell Pilate that he really believed this truth and was only asking for confirmation for his belief. Please see the note above for more details.

Please note that this sentence uses a lower-case king. In Matthew 27:11, Pilate asks a different question. he asks , Art thou the King of the Jews?, using an upper-case King. This is a different question even though some commentators try to say that the two questions are the same.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 5:12 about the word answer. The functional definition is: 'To speak in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration or argument of another person'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Thou. Mt 26:64; 27:11; Mr 14:62; 15:2; Lu 23:3; 1Ti 6:13 exp: Mt 26:25. General references. exp: Mt 12:19; Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S47 (Verse 37) Jesus explains His purpose.

To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness unto the truth.

Please note that the sentences from C18-S44 through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here Jesus tells Pilate one reason why He into the world. Other places in the Bible give us other reasons, but this reason relates to the concerns of Pilate. Jesus did not bring up other reasons because they did not relate to the current discussion and could lead to a distraction.

The reason that Jesus gave to Pilate is: that I should bear witness unto the truth. The note for this sentence, in the Word Study on the word truth, explains the doctrine of this sentence. Please also see the start of that Word Study for the true Biblical definition of this word long with the many Biblical applications of it.

Please also see the note for Galatians C4-S17 about the words birth / birthright / birthday. The functional definition is: 'The act of coming into life, or of being born'. Please see the note for Colossians C1S3 about the word firstborn. Please also see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word begotten. The functional definition is: 'Procreated; generated'.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians C2S5 about the word cause. The functional definition for this word is: 'A suit or action in court; any legal process which a party institutes to obtain his demand, or by which he seeks his right or his supposed right. This is a legal, scriptural and popular use of the word'. Please also see the note for Romans C1S10 about the word because.

Please see the note for Romans C15S1 about the word bear. The functional definition is: 'to carry a load over a period of time'.

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth' is a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'that I should. Joh 8:14; 14:6; Isa 55:4; Re 1:4; 3:14 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S48 (Verse 37) Jesus adds the test of true salvation.
Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Please note that the sentences from C18-S44 through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

The note for this sentence, in the Word Study on the word truth, explains the doctrine of this sentence. Please also see the start of that Word Study for the true Biblical definition of this word long with the many Biblical applications of it.

In this sentence we have a precept ('a truth that never changes regardless of circumstances'). The word of is defined as: 'belongs to'. people who are saved (and even all of those who claim to be saved), but who refuse to accept the truth of God's word, do not 'belong to' truth. If they are truly saved, then, at some point, they will either submit to the truth of God's word, or they will suffer the consequence of living a sin unto death (Sin in 1John; Romans C2S4; 1Corinthians 8:11-LJC; Galatians C3-S26).

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth' is a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C14S11 about the word voice. The functional definition is: 'Sound or audible noise uttered by the mouth, either of human beings or of other animals'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Every. Joh 7:17; 8:47; 10:26-27; 1Pe 1:22; 1Jo 3:14,19; 4:6; 5:20 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; Mr 15:2.'.

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C18-S49 (Verse 38) Pilate confesses his own ignorance.

Pilate saith unto him,
What is truth?

Please note that the sentences from C18-S44 through C18-S49 are all related to this sentence and all should be considered together for proper context considerations.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Here we see Pilate admit that he can not tell truth from a lie using his human abilities. No one can do that. We need to trust God's word, which he was not willing to do.

Please see the note for John 18:29 about Pilate. The functional definition for this word is: 'The representative of all Gentiles in the trial and crucifixion of the Son of God'.

Please see the note for John 1:9 for links to every place within this Gospel where we find any form of the word true. The true Biblical definition is: 'Truth is defined by God. Truth is what God says is truth for this physical reality, the spiritual reality and everything else that is, even if we don't know about it. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ and anything less than 'absolute truth' is a lie. Something that is true matches what God reveals in His unchanging word'. That note has a lot more important information and links to every place in this Gospel where we find forms of this word. In addition, it explains how to use the link in the sentence outline above.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'What. Ac 17:19-20,32; 24:25-26 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; 27:15; Lu 23:13; Ac 13:28.'.

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C18-S50 (Verse 38) Pilate declares Jesus not guilty.

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.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

When Pilate said: I find in him no fault at all he was admitting that, to the best of his ability as the Roman Governor and a legal judge, his determination was that Jesus was perfect in every way examined. they had no legal basis doe their demand of any punishment much less their demand of a death sentence. (Please see the definition of the word fault in the word studies below.)

In our next sentence we see that Pilate tried to offer the people a chance to go against the desires of the religious leaders. With their answer, in the second next sentence, they made themselves guilty of the death of the Son of God. Thus, in this chapter, we have seen Jesus betrayed by His friends, His disciples, His people, the Gentiles, the religious system and the legal system.

Matthew 27:18-26 and Mark 15:8 tell us that Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered him. In Matthew 27:24 Pilate also saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made and only gave into their wishes after the people said His blood be on us, and on our children (Matthew 27:25).

Mark 15:15 tells us that Pilate (was) willing to content the people.

Luke 23:22 says And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? Thus, we see that Pilate tried three times to convince the Jews to not demand the death of the Son of God and to avoid the curse of God which resulted from their demand.

Please see the note for John 1:41 about the word find. The functional definition is: 'To obtain by seeking'. The important part of this definition is the ongoing effort which is required until the desired object is found. The Bible does not use this word for 'stumbling upon something'.

Please see the note for James 5:16 about the word fault. The functional definition for this word is: 'Properly, an erring or missing; a failing; hence, an error or mistake; a blunder; a defect; a blemish; whatever impairs excellence; applied to things.'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I find. Joh 19:4,6,21-22; Mt 27:18-19,24; Mr 15:14; Lu 23:4,14-16; 1Pe 1:19; 2:22-23 General references. exp: Mt 12:19; 27:15; Lu 23:13; Ac 13:28.'.

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C18-S51 (Verse 39) Pilate offers the people a way to avoid the decision of their leaders.

Equivalent Section: Pilate reminds them of custom.

But ye have a custom,
that I should release unto you one at the passover:

Equivalent Section: Pilate makes his offer.

will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Our sentence starts with the word but, which means that it is continuing the subject of the prior sentence while going in a different direction. In the prior sentence Pilate said I find in him no fault at all (in Jesus). While Pilate could have dismissed their charges and let Jesus go by his own authority, he didn't because he did not want the civil war which the religious leaders would try to start. Therefore, in this sentence, Pilate offers the people another way to avoid being guilty of crucifying the Son of God. However, as our next sentence lets us know, they refused his offer.

Beyond those contextual considerations, this sentence is easy to understand, especially if the titles of the sentence outline, above, are considered.

Please see the note for Romans C13S10 about the word custom. The functional definition for this word is: 'Frequent or common use, or practice; a frequent repetition of the same act; hence, way; established manner; habitual practice'.

We find forms of the word release in: Deuteronomy 15:1-3,Deuteronomy 15:9; Deuteronomy 31:10; Esther 2:18; Matthew 27:15; Matthew 27:17; Matthew 27:21; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:6; Mark 15:9; Mark 15:11; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:16; Luke 23:17; Luke 23:18; Luke 23:20; Luke 23:25; John 18:39; John 19:10; John 19:12. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'RELE'ASE, v.t. 1. To set free from restraint of any kind, either physical or moral; to liberate from prison, confinement or servitude. Matt. 15. Mark 15. 2. To free from pain, care, trouble, grief, etc. 3. To free from obligation or penalty; as, to release one from debt, from a promise or covenant. 4. To quit; to let go, as a legal claim; as, to release a debt or forfeiture. Deut. 15. 5. To discharge or relinquish a right to lands or tenements, by conveying it to another that has some right or estate in possession, as when the person in remainder releases his right to the tenant in possession; when one co-parcener releases his right to the other; or the mortgagee releases his claim to the mortgager.
RELE'ASE, n. 1. Liberation or discharge from restraint of any kind, as from confinement or bondage. 2. Liberation from care, pain or any burden. 3. Discharge from obligation or responsibility, as from debt, penalty or claim of any kind; acquittance. 4. In law, a release or deed of release is a conveyance of a man's right in lands or tenements to another who has some estate in possession; a quitclaim. The efficient words in such an instrument are, "remised, released, and forever quitclaimed."'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'ye have. Mt 27:15-18; Mr 15:6,8; Lu 23:17,20 I release. Joh 18:33 General references. exp: Mt 27:15; Mr 15:6; Lu 23:17.'.

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C18-S52 (Verse 40) The people reject Jesus.

Then cried they all again,
saying,
Not this man,
but Barabbas.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Matthew 27:16-26 tells us that Barabbas was a notable prisoner. ; Mark 15:7 says that he lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. Luke 23:19 says (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Our next sentence tells us that he was a robber. Acts 3:14 says that he was a murderer. Thus, we see different ways that the character of this man is described within the Bible.

The Morrish Bible Dictionary tells us about Barabbas with: 'One described as a 'robber' in Joh 18:40; 'a notable prisoner' in Mt 27:16-26: he had made an insurrection and had committed murder. Mr 15:7-15. Yet the Jews, led by the chief priests and elders, requested the release of this man rather than the release of the Lord Jesus. Why they petitioned for this particular prisoner is not known; but it manifests in the most decided manner their ungodliness that they could choose such a notoriously wicked man in preference to the Lord of life and glory, their Messiah. Lu 23:18. Peter did not fail to charge this home upon the Jews, "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you." Ac 3:14.'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Mt 27:16,26; Mr 15:7,15; Lu 23:18-19,25; Ac 3:13-14 exp: Mt 23:24; Mr 15:6,11.'.

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C18-S53 (Verse 40) The people prefer a robber.
Now Barabbas was a robber.

Please see the note for the Sequence of the Betrayal of Jesus found in the Study called Significant Gospel Events to find links to where the other Gospels report parallel accounts of this chapter. The events of this sentence are also found in other Gospels with some minor differences in the details reported.

Please see the note above about Barabbas.

Please see the note for Philippians 2:5-8 about the word rob / robbery. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'In law, the forcible and felonious taking from the person of another any money or goods, putting him in fear, that is, by violence or by menaces of death or personal injury. Robbery differs from theft, as it is a violent felonious taking from the person or presence of another; whereas theft is a felonious taking of goods privately from the person, dwelling, etc. of another. These words should not be confounded. 2. A plundering; a pillaging; a taking away by violence, wrong or oppression'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Mt 27:16,26; Mr 15:7,15; Lu 23:18-19,25; Ac 3:13-14 exp: Mt 23:24; Mr 15:6,11.'.

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Interpretive Study of John's Gospel

Jesus is the Son of God

John Chapter 17

Last Supper: The Lord's prayer for His disciples

Links to sentences in this chapter:

Chapter Outline

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides a chapter outline as:

John Chapter 18

The Betrayal of Jesus

Links to sentences in this chapter:

Chapter Outline

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides a chapter outline as:

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