#1533 John 18 Part 2 Slap The Shepherd

 

So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.

15 And Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the servant-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “Are you not also one of this man’s disciples?” He *said, “I am not.” 18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. 21 Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, they know what I said.” 22 And when He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby gave Jesus a slap, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” 24 So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. John 18: 12-27 LSB

John 18: 12-27

V. 12-14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people - I've gone into greater detail about Caiaphas in prior posts, so I will include a link below, but he is the son in law of Annas, the prior high priests, who was the mafia boss of the Bazaar of Annas. They hate Jesus because He interfered with business when He turned over tables at the temple. It is crazy how true a statement Caiaphas makes here though, and it is not because of his understanding of OT prophets, for he is more about politics. What he intends for evil God has already prepared for the good of those that love Him. 

Matthew 26 more on Caiaphas and the Kangaroo court

…9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.… Romans 6: 9-11

…17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, 19in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison… 1 Peter 3: 17-19

…10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. 12Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.… Isaiah 53: 10-12

V15-16 Now that disciple was known to the High Priest - People speculate that this is John, and John does have an interesting way of putting himself in stories, referring to himself as "the one Jesus loved", rather than using his own name. He has gone from being one of the sons of thunder to the disciple of love. Growth always moves towards humility, and the maturation of John is the elevation of Christ, Christ foremost. What he finds great about being John, being himself, is that Jesus loved him, that Jesus made him a disciple, and then that Jesus died for him, and that Jesus stands at the right hand of the Father on his behalf. 

“It may be that the family had connections with the priesthood, either by business relationships or possibly by marital ties.” (Tenney)

ii. “Perhaps for that he and his father Zebedee were wont to serve the fat priests with the best and daintiest fish (for this other disciple was John, who had first fled with the rest, and now came sculking in to see what would become of his master).” (Trapp) - Enduring Word

V. 17 Then the servant girl - It's not that she was intimidating, but she had a mouth and could raise suspicion about Peter, who had just cut off someone's ear. Jesus had warned him about this, but here is denial number one. Now we pick on Peter a lot for this scene, yet we ourselves deny Christ often, if not in word then by our deeds. Remember, there were 12, minus Judas, but of the 11 left only two have made it this far, only two have gone into enemy territory. 

…33Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.” 34“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “ this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.… Matthew 26: 33-35

19-21 I have spoken openly to the world - His teaching was public, not a secret society, and square in the face of his enemies. He and John the Baptist both called out the Pharisees. They had plenty of interactions with Him and He corrected their bad Theology often, so they are reaching even more here. 

V.22-24 Is that the way you answer the high priest - The officer that slapped Him is like a little dog. I know men like that today, that follow someone in power, sing their praises, but they only care about the position. Annas and Caiaphas were both corrupt high priests, and Jesus is the High Priest, the One able to enter the Holy of Holies with His own blood on our behalf, Priest, Prophet and King. I feel sorry for men like this because they always hold up and defend the worst sorts, either for praise, nepotism, money or power, but they never see a spade for a spade. No one in these kangaroo courts cares about truth and righteousness. They just want to kill God, and marvelously He is going to allow them to do just that, but just for a minute.  

“This blow was a signal for the indignities which followed.” (Alford)

7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.… Zechariah 13: 7-8

Vs. 25-27 I am not...Peter denied it again - This is the charge. Are you a Christian? What would indicate that, how could I tell, what would the evidence be against you? In times of ease there often arises a cultural Christianity, but it has no salt; it doesn't stand up under scrutiny. In those days they will wear crosses, tattoos, and identify with a movement. There was the "moral majority", but they were really much more like the Pharisees, moralist, not lovers of God. They liked their system, their traditions, and I see a lot of them still today, even those who think they are going to conquer the world through politics and debate, then hand it over to Jesus when He returns. I see 12 step teachers like Joel Osteen and other prosperity teachers, pragmatist, who easily unite under the banner of morals, happiness, and how to books that teach the same stuff you can find in New Age books. They align easily with Mormons, Jehovah's Witness's, Hindus, Buddhist and Roman Catholics. When you take their teachings and compare them to Scripture, when you put them on national television on a talk show, they deny the true Jesus of Scripture and make up another that fits the occasion, the current temperature.