John 18:12-27

Jesus Before Annas

18:12 Then the squad of soldiers ¹  with their commanding officer ²  and the officers of the Jewish leaders ³  arrested ⁴  Jesus and tied him up. ⁵  18:13 They ⁶  brought him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ⁷  18:14 (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised ⁸  the Jewish leaders ⁹  that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.) ¹⁰ 

Peter’s First Denial

18:15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed them as they brought Jesus to Annas. ¹¹  (Now the other disciple ¹²  was acquainted with the high priest, and he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard.) ¹³  18:16 But Simon Peter was left standing outside by the door. So the other disciple who was acquainted with the high priest came out and spoke to the slave girl who watched the door, ¹⁴  and brought Peter inside. 18:17 The girl ¹⁵  who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You’re not one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” ¹⁶  He replied, ¹⁷  “I am not.” 18:18 (Now the slaves ¹⁸  and the guards ¹⁹  were standing around a charcoal fire they had made, warming themselves because it was cold. ²⁰  Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.) ²¹ 

Jesus Questioned by Annas

18:19 While this was happening, ²²  the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ²³  18:20 Jesus replied, ²⁴  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ²⁵  and in the temple courts, ²⁶  where all the Jewish people ²⁷  assemble together. I ²⁸  have said nothing in secret. 18:21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said. ²⁹  They ³⁰  know what I said.” 18:22 When Jesus ³¹  had said this, one of the high priest’s officers who stood nearby struck him on the face and said, ³²  “Is that the way you answer the high priest?” 18:23 Jesus replied, ³³  “If I have said something wrong, ³⁴  confirm ³⁵  what is wrong. ³⁶  But if I spoke correctly, why strike me?” 18:24 Then Annas sent him, still tied up, ³⁷  to Caiaphas the high priest. ³⁸ 

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

18:25 Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing in the courtyard ³⁹  warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” ⁴⁰  Peter ⁴¹  denied it: “I am not!” 18:26 One of the high priest’s slaves, ⁴²  a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, ⁴³  said, “Did I not see you in the orchard ⁴⁴  with him?” ⁴⁵  18:27 Then Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. ⁴⁶ 

[18:12]  ¹ tn Grk “a cohort” (but since this was a unit of 600 soldiers, a smaller detachment is almost certainly intended).

[18:12]  ² tn Grk “their chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militaris, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

[18:12]  ³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, who were named as “chief priests and Pharisees” in John 18:3.

[18:12]  ⁴ tn Or “seized.”

[18:12]  ⁵ tn Or “bound him.”

[18:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “up, and brought.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[18:13]  ⁷ sn Jesus was taken first to Annas. Only the Gospel of John mentions this pretrial hearing before Annas, and that Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who is said to be high priest in that year. Caiaphas is also mentioned as being high priest in John 11:49. But in 18:15, 16, 19, and 22 Annas is called high priest. Annas is also referred to as high priest by Luke in Acts 4:6. Many scholars have dismissed these references as mistakes on the part of both Luke and John, but as mentioned above, John 11:49 and 18:13 indicate that John knew that Caiaphas was high priest in the year that Jesus was crucified. This has led others to suggest that Annas and Caiaphas shared the high priesthood, but there is no historical evidence to support this view. Annas had been high priest from a.d. 6 to a.d. 15 when he was deposed by the Roman prefect Valerius Gratus (according to Josephus, Ant. 18.2.2 [18.34]). His five sons all eventually became high priests. The family was noted for its greed, wealth, and power. There are a number of ways the references in both Luke and John to Annas being high priest may be explained. Some Jews may have refused to recognize the changes in high priests effected by the Roman authorities, since according to the Torah the high priesthood was a lifetime office (Num 25:13). Another possibility is that it was simply customary to retain the title after a person had left the office as a courtesy, much as retired ambassadors are referred to as “Mr. Ambassador” or ex-presidents as “Mr. President.” Finally, the use of the title by Luke and John may simply be a reflection of the real power behind the high priesthood of the time: Although Annas no longer technically held the office, he may well have managed to control those relatives of his who did hold it from behind the scenes. In fact this seems most probable and would also explain why Jesus was brought to him immediately after his arrest for a sort of “pretrial hearing” before being sent on to the entire Sanhedrin.

[18:14]  ⁸ tn Or “counseled.”

[18:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, specifically members of the Sanhedrin (see John 11:49-50). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.

[18:14]  ¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:15]  ¹¹ tn The words “them as they brought Jesus to Annas” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify who Peter and the other disciple were following. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:15]  ¹² tn Grk “that disciple.”

[18:15]  ¹³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “spoke to the doorkeeper”; her description as a slave girl is taken from the following verse. The noun θυρωρός (qurwro") may be either masculine or feminine, but the article here indicates that it is feminine.

[18:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “slave girl.” Since the descriptive term “slave girl” was introduced in the translation in the previous verse, it would be redundant to repeat the full expression here.

[18:17]  ¹⁶ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

[18:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “He said.”

[18:18]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:18]  ¹⁹ tn That is, the “guards of the chief priests” as distinguished from the household slaves of Annas.

[18:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.”

[18:18]  ²¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:19]  ²² tn The introductory phrase “While this was happening” is not in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the translation to clarify the alternation of scenes in the narrative for the modern reader.

[18:19]  ²³ sn The nature of this hearing seems to be more that of a preliminary investigation; certainly normal legal procedure was not followed, for no indication is given that any witnesses were brought forth at this point to testify against Jesus. True to what is known of Annas’ character, he was more interested in Jesus’ disciples than in the precise nature of Jesus’ teaching, since he inquired about the followers first. He really wanted to know just how influential Jesus had become and how large a following he had gathered. This was of more concern to Annas that the truth or falsity of Jesus’ teaching.

[18:20]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:20]  ²⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[18:20]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[18:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.

[18:20]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:21]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Ask those who heard what I said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated since they are redundant in English.

[18:21]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Look, these know what I said.”

[18:22]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:22]  ³² tn Grk “one of the high priest’s servants standing by gave Jesus a strike, saying.” For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.

[18:23]  ³³ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “something incorrect.”

[18:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “testify.”

[18:23]  ³⁶ tn Or “incorrect.”

[18:24]  ³⁷ tn Or “still bound.”

[18:24]  ³⁸ sn Where was Caiaphas the high priest located? Did he have a separate palace, or was he somewhere else with the Sanhedrin? Since Augustine (4th century) a number of scholars have proposed that Annas and Caiaphas resided in different wings of the same palace, which were bound together by a common courtyard through which Jesus would have been led as he was taken from Annas to Caiaphas. This seems a reasonable explanation, although there is no conclusive evidence.

[18:25]  ³⁹ tn The words “in the courtyard” are not in the Greek text. They are supplied for the benefit of the modern reader, to link this scene to the preceding one in John 18:15-18.

[18:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

[18:25]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “That one denied it and said”; the referent of the pronoun (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:26]  ⁴² tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:26]  ⁴³ sn This incident is recounted in v. 10.

[18:26]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “garden.”

[18:26]  ⁴⁵ tn This question, prefaced with οὐκ (ouk) in Greek, anticipates a positive answer.

[18:27]  ⁴⁶ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.