John 18:3

18:3 So Judas obtained a squad of soldiers ¹  and some officers of the chief priests and Pharisees. ²  They came to the orchard ³  with lanterns ⁴  and torches and weapons.

John 18:18

18:18 (Now the slaves ⁵  and the guards ⁶  were standing around a charcoal fire they had made, warming themselves because it was cold. ⁷  Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.) ⁸ 

John 18:28

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. ⁹  (Now it was very early morning.) ¹⁰  They ¹¹  did not go into the governor’s residence ¹²  so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.

[18:3]  ¹ tn Grk “a cohort.” The word σπεῖραν (speiran) is a technical term for a Roman cohort, normally a force of 600 men (one tenth of a legion). It was under the command of a χιλίαρχος (ciliarco", v. 12). Because of the improbability of an entire cohort being sent to arrest a single man, some have suggested that σπεῖραν here refers only to a maniple, a force of 200. But the use of the word here does not necessarily mean the entire cohort was present on this mission, but only that it was the cohort which performed the task (for example, saying the fire department put out the fire does not mean that every fireman belonging to the department was on the scene at the time). These Roman soldiers must have been ordered to accompany the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees by Pilate, since they would have been under the direct command of the Roman prefect or procurator. It is not difficult to understand why Pilate would have been willing to assist the Jewish authorities in such a way. With a huge crowd of pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover, the Romans would have been especially nervous about an uprising of some sort. No doubt the chief priests and Pharisees had informed Pilate that this man Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, or in the terms Pilate would understand, king of Israel.

[18:3]  ² tn The phrase “officers of the chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:32, 45; 18:3, 12, 18, 22; 19:6. They are different from the Levites who served as “temple police” according to K. H. Rengstorf (TDNT 8:540). In John 7:32ff. these officers had made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest Jesus, and perhaps this is part of the reason why their leaders had made sure they were accompanied by Roman soldiers this time. No more mistakes were to be tolerated.

[18:3]  ³ tn The words “to the orchard” are not in the Greek text but are repeated from v. 1 for clarity.

[18:3]  ⁴ tn These were lamps that had some sort of covering to protect them from wind and rain. In earlier usage the word meant “torch” but by NT times it apparently meant a lamp designed to be used outdoors, so “lantern” is a good contemporary English equivalent.

[18:18]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:18]  ⁶ tn That is, the “guards of the chief priests” as distinguished from the household slaves of Annas.

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.”

[18:18]  ⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “to the praetorium.”

[18:28]  ¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:28]  ¹² tn Grk “into the praetorium.”