1When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3Judas then, having taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?”
5They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I am he.”
Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When therefore he said to them, “I am he,” they went backward and fell to the ground.
7Again therefore he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way,” 9that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, “Of those whom you have given me, I have lost none.”
10Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
12So the detachment, the commanding officer, and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him, 13and led him to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should perish for the people.
15Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; 16but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought in Peter. 17Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are you also one of this man’s disciples?”
He said, “I am not.”
18Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.
19The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
20Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, they know the things which I said.”
22When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
23Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?”
24Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
25Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said, “I am not.”
26One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
27Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
28They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. 29Pilate therefore went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
30They answered him, “If this man weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have delivered him up to you.”
31Pilate therefore said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is illegal for us to put anyone to death,” 32that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
33Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34Jesus answered him, “Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?”
35Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?”
36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
37Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40Then they all shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
John would have been about 90 years old at the time of the writing of this letter. He has hammered home the faith's big ideas in his epistle. Jesus is God in the flesh. He continually forgives us. We should walk the talk. Love of God and others is paramount. Notice that the word “truth” is echoed again and again in this passage. Truth is centerpoint for the believer. The world tries to tell us that as Christians, we need to be tolerant of everything, but the reality is that what we believe is more important than what we tolerate in others. We must be centered in biblical truth. The most loving thing you can do is to tell someone the truth. Of course, we’re to do so in love. John mentions truth five times in this section of scripture. John could have been speaking to a literal woman, or he could have been referring to the Church as the “bride of Christ”. Sometimes these writers referred to churches as “she” or in a feminine sort of way.
John is speaking to those who know the truth and who abide in the truth. “Truth” in Greek (alétheia)1 can also refer to Jesus Himself or the Word of God. (Your Word is truth. John 17:17). In Greek, the word means “revealed” or "not hidden”. In common everyday Greek literature, it was synonymous with "reality" as the opposite of illusion, i.e., fact. I like that because it reminds us that knowing Jesus and knowing the truth of the Gospel is SPIRITUAL REALITY. There is no illusion here. When we have Jesus, we have that which is real. We hear a lot these days about different truths. One person will say, “Well, my truth is such and such.” Another will claim to have yet another truth. There is really no truth in any of this. There is one truth. The only truth that exists is what is called “objective truth.” Objective truth is truth based on facts rather than things that are imagined or invented.
The problem is that people often ignore the facts, even when they are right in front of them. In John 18, Jesus appears before Pontius Pilate. Jesus, THE TRUTH, was standing before Pilate, and yet Pilate did not recognize Jesus for who He was.
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all. (John 18:37-38)
People still don’t see the truth when it is standing before them. As believers, we can be so comforted to know and understand that God’s Word is truth. The Bible is truth. We don’t have to be knocked off balance by a world gone mad. This is a great source of peace to all believers. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) John adds that this reality will be in us forever. Reader, take hold of the truth. Rejoice in the truth. And today, live in the truth!
https://www.biblehub.com/greek/225.htm truth, but not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness. ↩︎