4 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, came out into the open and *said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
6 Now then, when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 He then asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you are seeking Me, let these men go on their way.” 9 This took place so that the word which He spoke would be fulfilled: “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”
10 Then Simon Peter, since he had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, am I not to drink it?”
John 18:4-11 (NASB)
Whom are you seeking?
As we pointed out yesterday, Jesus showed no fear when Judas and the soldiers (possibly 600) came to arrest Him. He walked up to them and asked, “Whom are you seeking?” Of course Jesus knew so why did He ask? Sometimes He asks, not for Himself, but for the asker. A good example of this is John 5:6 where Jesus asked a paralytic if he wanted to get well. If only they had been seeking Jesus for healing or better, for salvation!
Jesus…I AM
Jesus tells them that He is the one they are seeking. He replies, “I am”, with special meaning. “With this Jesus consciously proclaimed that He was God, connecting His words to the many previous I am statements recorded in the Gospel of John, especially in John 8:58 (but also John 6:48, 8:12, 9:5, 10:9, 10:11-14, 10:36, 11:25, 14:6).” (enduringword.com)
Powerful presence
Verse 6 records they fell to the ground. “Our Lord chose to give them this proof of his infinite power, that they might know that their power could not prevail against him if he chose to exert his might, seeing that the very breath of his mouth confounded, drove back, and struck them down to the earth.” (Clarke)
Jesus had promised in John 17:12 to protect the disciples (“I kept them in Your name”) and here He is doing it.
Peter fights /Jesus accepts
This is a classic Peter response. He acts with his heart, by instinct. It didn’t matter how poor the odds were, Peter was ready to fight to protect Jesus. Just the thought of protecting Jesus seems ludicrous! He cuts off the guy’s ear. Luke 22:51 records that Jesus then miraculously restored the ear. Jesus reprimands Peter (as He has had to do before – Matthew 16:22-23) and courageously declares He is ready to take the cup of God’s wrath.
RЯeflection
- Let’s bow in the presence of Jesus, God, and worship Him!
