John 18:10-14

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) ¹¹Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?" ¹²Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him ¹³and brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

I love what Calvin says here: “Boldly and courageously, indeed, Peter incurs great risk on Christ’s account; but as he does not consider what his calling demands, and what God permits, his action is so far from deserving praise, that he is severely blamed by Christ. But let us learn that, in the person of Peter, Christ condemns every thing that men dare to attempt out of their own fancy. This doctrine is eminently worthy of attention; for nothing is more common than to defend, under the cloak of zeal, every thing that we do, as if it were of no importance whether God approved, or not, what men suppose to be right, whose prudence is nothing else than mere vanity… Warned by so striking an example, let us learn to keep our zeal within proper bounds; and as the wantonness of our flesh is always eager to attempt more than God commands, let us learn that our zeal will succeed ill, whenever we venture to undertake any thing contrary to the word of God. It will sometimes happen that the commencement gives us flattering promises, but we shall at length be punished for our rashness. Let obedience, therefore, be the foundation of all that we undertake. We are also reminded, that those who have resolved to plead the cause of Christ do not always conduct themselves so skilfully as not to commit some fault; and, therefore, we ought the more earnestly to entreat the Lord to guide us in every action by the spirit of prudence.”

Jesus healed this man, as another Gospel declares, but the focus is on Jesus’ words to Peter. This is not the place to fight, for “he who strikes with the sword shall die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). The time has come for the Son of Man to be delivered over to His enemies for death. Nothing will stand in the way of that coming to pass, as it is the cup the Father has given Jesus to drink. See Isaiah 51, which notably comes right before chapters 52-53. Jesus is determined to die in this way.

Now, Jesus, who beforehand had slain these men with His word and now yields to their heinous will, is taken to Annas, the father-in-law to Caiaphas, the high priest. It is interesting to note that Annas was “the peoples’” high priest. Rome had come down and replaced him with Caiaphas, who was not overly popular with the people. There were also sons and relatives who had taken turns in the high priestly role, but in the minds and hearts of the people, Annas was still the authority in religious matters. Caiaphas was merely the Roman-appointed high priest. Thus Annas gets to see Jesus first, as this is a religious trial before it turns into a civil trial. And as we’ll see, the issue is one of truth. Jesus spoke the truth, and the Jews denied it, thinking they had a grasp on the truth that Jesus could not have obtained.

And then, once again, we are reminded that, as wicked and ill-motivated as the actions of these men were, they were still carrying out God’s purpose; for this Caiaphas is the one who unwittingly prophesied that Jesus would give His life for the sins of the people (John 11:49-53). John sees the doctrine of substitution. John sees the very heart of the gospel itself; that it is necessary for one man to die in the place of you and me, and he sees it as we do, in a way that unbelievers cannot comprehend (1 Corinthians 2:14).