paper 183 - the betrayal and arrest of...

WORK-IN-PROGRESS (DECEMBER 13, 2015) PARALLEL CHART FOR

Paper 183 — The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

© 2015 Matthew Block

Most endnotes and Urantia Book cross-references have been deleted to enhance readability.

Sources for Paper 183, in the order in which they appear

(1) Rev. Alfred Edersheim, M.A.Oxon, D.D., Ph.D., The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah(Volume Two) (New York: Longman, Green, & Co., Eighth Edition, Revised, 1899)

(2) Wm. Arnold Stevens and Ernest Dewitt Burton, A Harmony of the Gospels for HistoricalStudy: An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1904, 1932)

(3) David Smith, M.A., D.D., Our Lord’s Earthly Life (New York: George H. DoranCompany, 1925)

Note: This source is coded Smith2.

(4) P. Whitwell Wilson, The Christ We Forget: A Life of Our Lord for Men of To-day (NewYork: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1917)

Key

(a) Green indicates where a source author first appears, or where he/she reappears.

(b) Yellow highlights most parallelisms.

(c) Tan highlights parallelisms not occurring on the same row, or parallelisms separated byyellowed parallelisms.

(d) An underlined word or words indicates where the source and the UB writer pointedlydiffer from each other.

(e) Blue indicates UB-specific terminology and concepts. (What to highlight in this regard isdebatable. The highlights are tentative.)

1

Matthew Block13 December 2015

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SOURCE OR PARALLEL URANTIA PAPER 183

Work-in-progress Version 13 Dec. 2015

© 2015 Matthew Block

Revised 16 Jan. 2016

PAPER 183 — THE

B E T R A Y A L A N D

ARREST OF JESUS

183:0.1 After Jesus had finallyawakened Peter, James, and John, hesuggested that they go to their tents andseek sleep in preparation for the duties ofthe morrow. But by this time the threeapostles were wide awake; they had beenrefreshed by their short naps, and besides,they were stimulated and aroused by thearrival on the scene of two excitedmessengers who inquired for DavidZebedee and quickly went in quest of himwhen Peter informed them where he keptwatch.

183:0.2 Although eight of the apostleswere sound asleep, the Greeks who wereencamped alongside them were morefearful of trouble, so much so that theyhad posted a sentinel to give the alarm incase danger should arise. When these twomessengers hurried into camp, the Greeksentinel proceeded to arouse all of hisfellow countrymen, who streamed forthfrom their tents, fully dressed and fullyarmed. All the camp was now arousedexcept the eight apostles. Peter desired tocall his associates, but Jesus definitelyforbade him. The Master mildly admon-ished them all to return to their tents, butthey were reluctant to comply with hissuggestion.

183:0.3 Failing to disperse his follow-ers, the Master left them and walkeddown toward the olive press near theentrance to Gethsemane Park.

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Although the three apostles, the Greeks,and the other members of the camphesitated immediately to follow him, JohnMark hastened around through the olivetrees and secreted himself in a small shednear the olive press. Jesus withdrew fromthe camp and from his friends in orderthat his apprehenders, when they arrived,might arrest him without disturbing hisapostles. The Master feared to have hisapostles awake and present at the time ofhis arrest lest the spectacle of Judas’sbetraying him should so arouse theiranimosity that they would offer resistanceto the soldiers and would be taken intocustody with him. He feared that, if theyshould be arrested with him, they mightalso perish with him.

183:0.4 Though Jesus knew that theplan for his death had its origin in thecouncils of the rulers of the Jews, he wasalso aware that all such nefariousschemes had the full approval of Lucifer,Satan, and Caligastia. And he well knewthat these rebels of the realms would alsobe pleased to see all of the apostlesdestroyed with him.

183:0.5 Jesus sat down, alone, on theolive press, where he awaited the comingof the betrayer, and he was seen at thistime only by John Mark and aninnumerable host of celestial observers.

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1. THE FATHER’S WILL

183:1.1 There is great danger ofmisunderstanding the meaning ofnumerous sayings and many eventsassociated with the termination of theMaster’s career in the flesh. The crueltreatment of Jesus by the ignorantservants and the calloused soldiers, theunfair conduct of his trials, and theunfeeling attitude of the professedreligious leaders, must not be confusedwith the fact that Jesus, in patientlysubmitting to all this suffering andhumiliation, was truly doing the will ofthe Father in Paradise. It was, indeed andin truth, the will of the Father that his Sonshould drink to the full the cup of mortalexperience, from birth to death, but theFather in heaven had nothing whatever todo with instigating the barbarousbehavior of those supposedly civilizedhuman beings who so brutally torturedthe Master and so horribly heapedsuccessive indignities upon his non-resisting person. These inhuman andshocking experiences which Jesus wascalled upon to endure in the final hours ofhis mortal life were not in any sense apart of the divine will of the Father,which his human nature had sotriumphantly pledged to carry out at thetime of the final surrender of man to Godas signified in the threefold prayer whichhe indited in the garden while his wearyapostles slept the sleep of physicalexhaustion.

183:1.2 The Father in heaven desiredthe bestowal Son to finish his earth careernaturally, just as all mortals must finishup their lives on earth and in the flesh.

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Ordinary men and women cannot expectto have their last hours on earth and thesupervening episode of death made easyby a special dispensation. Accordingly,Jesus elected to lay down his life in theflesh in the manner which was in keepingwith the outworking of natural events,and he steadfastly refused to extricatehimself from the cruel clutches of awicked conspiracy of inhuman eventswhich swept on with horrible certaintytoward his unbelievable humiliation andignominious death. And every bit of allthis astounding manifestation of hatredand this unprecedented demonstration ofcruelty was the work of evil men andwicked mortals. God in heaven did notwill it, neither did the archenemies ofJesus dictate it, though they did much toinsure that unthinking and evil mortalswould thus reject the bestowal Son.

[Compare: With amazement angels witnessedthe Saviour’s despairing agony. The hosts ofheaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight(Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages [1898], p.753).]

Even the father of sin turned his faceaway from the excruciating horror of thescene of the crucifixion.

2. JUDAS IN THE CITY

[Note: 183:2 differs in important points fromEdersheim’s, Smith’s and the other identifiedsource authors’ accounts. Edersheim is the onlyone who suggests that Judas first went to the Markhome to catch Jesus, and then proceeded toGethsemane after learning that Jesus and theapostles had already left. However, Edersheimassumes that Judas had already procured theRoman soldiers before going to the Mark home. Sohe imagines that the band (i.e. Judas, the templeguards, the Roman soldiers and others) wentdirectly to Gethsemane after not finding Jesus atthe Mark home. Compare Edersheim2 541-42.]

183:2.1 After Judas so abruptly left thetable while eating the Last Supper, hewent directly to the home of his cousin,and then did the two go straight to thecaptain of the temple guards. Judasrequested the captain to assemble theguards and informed him that he wasready to lead them to Jesus. Judas havingappeared on the scene a little before hewas expected, there was some delay ingetting started for the Mark home, whereJudas expected to find Jesus still visitingwith the apostles.

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The Master and the eleven left the homeof Elijah Mark fully fifteen minutesbefore the betrayer and the guardsarrived. By the time the apprehendersreached the Mark home, Jesus and theeleven were well outside the walls of thecity and on their way to the Olivet camp.

183:2.2 Judas was much perturbed bythis failure to find Jesus at the Markresidence and in the company of elevenmen,

[Luke 22:38 And they said, Lord, behold, here aretwo swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.(§134)]

only two of whom were armed forresistance.

He happened to know that, in theafternoon when they had left camp, onlySimon Peter and Simon Zelotes weregirded with swords;

[See 182:2.3.]

Judas had hoped to take Jesus when thecity was quiet, and when there was littlechance of resistance. The betrayer fearedthat, if he waited for them to return totheir camp, more than threescore ofdevoted disciples would be encountered,and he also knew that Simon Zelotes hadan ample store of arms in his possession.Judas was becoming increasingly nervousas he meditated how the eleven loyalapostles would detest him, and he fearedthey would all seek to destroy him. Hewas not only disloyal, but he was a realcoward at heart.

183:2.3 When they failed to find Jesusin the upper chamber, Judas asked thecaptain of the guard to return to thetemple. By this time the rulers had begunto assemble at the high priest’s homepreparatory to receiving Jesus,

[See 177:4.8.] their bargain with the traitor called forJesus’ arrest by midnight of that day.

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Judas explained to his associates that theyhad missed Jesus at the Mark home, andthat it would be necessary to go toGethsemane to arrest him. The betrayerthen went on to state that more thanthreescore devoted followers wereencamped with him, and that they wereall well armed. The rulers of the Jewsreminded Judas that Jesus had alwayspreached nonresistance, but Judas repliedthat they could not depend upon all Jesus’followers obeying such teaching. Hereally feared for himself and thereforemade bold to ask for a company of fortyarmed soldiers.

[The Sanhedrin, not possessing the power of thesword, had, of course, neither soldiery, norregularly armed band at command (Edersheim2541).]

Since the Jewish authorities had no suchforce of armed men under theirjurisdiction,

they went at once to

[In the fortress of Antonia, close to the Temple andconnected with it by two stairs, lay the Romangarrison (Edersheim2 541).]

the fortress of Antonia

[Compare Edersheim2 541-42.] and requested the Roman commander togive them this guard; but when he learnedthat they intended to arrest Jesus, hepromptly refused to accede to theirrequest and referred them to his superiorofficer. In this way more than an hourwas consumed in going from oneauthority to another until they finallywere compelled to go to Pilate himself inorder to obtain permission to employ thearmed Roman guards.

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It was late when they arrived at Pilate’shouse, and he had retired to his privatechambers with his wife. He hesitated tohave anything to do with the enterprise,all the more so since his wife had askedhim not to grant the request. But inas-much as the presiding officer of theJewish Sanhedrin was present and makingpersonal request for this assistance, thegovernor thought it wise to grant thepetition, thinking he could later on rightany wrong they might be disposed tocommit.

183:2.4 Accordingly, when JudasIscariot started out from the temple, abouthalf after eleven o’clock, he was accom-panied by more than sixty persons—temple guards, Roman soldiers, andcurious servants of the chief priests andrulers.

3. THE MASTER’S ARREST

XXXII: FRIDAY.—THE DAY OFSUFFERING. (A Harmony of the Gospels210)

§137. THE BETRAYAL AND ARREST. Matt.26:47-56. Mark 14:43-52. Luke 22:47-53. John 18:1-11[12].

John 18:3 Judas then, having received theband of soldiers, and officers from the chiefpriests and the Pharisees, cometh thitherwith lanterns and torches and weapons.

183:3.1 As this company of armedsoldiers and guards, carrying torches andlanterns, approached the garden,

Judas stepped well out in front of theband that he might be ready quickly toidentify Jesus so that the apprehenderscould easily lay hands on him before hisassociates could rally to his defense.

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V, XII: GETHSEMANE. (Edersheim2 533)

And there was yet another reason whyJudas chose to be ahead of the Master’senemies:

If Judas had wished, by thus going inadvance of the band and saluting theMaster with a kiss, even now to act thehypocrite and deceive Jesus and thedisciples, as if he had not come with thearmed men,

He thought it would appear that he hadarrived on the scene ahead of the soldiersso that the apostles and others gatheredabout Jesus might not directly connecthim with the armed guards following soclosely upon his heels.

perhaps only to warn Him of theirapproach,

Judas had even thought to pose as havinghastened out to warn them of the comingof the apprehenders,

what the Lord said must have reached hisinmost being (E2 543).

but this plan was thwarted by Jesus’blighting greeting of the betrayer. Thoughthe Master spoke to Judas kindly, hegreeted him as a traitor.

183:3.2 As soon as Peter, James, andJohn, with some thirty of their fellowcampers, saw the armed band withtorches swing around the brow of the hill,they knew that these soldiers werecoming to arrest Jesus, and they allrushed down to near the olive press wherethe Master was sitting in moonlit solitude.As the company of soldiers approachedon one side, the three apostles and theirassociates approached on the other. AsJudas strode forward to accost the Master,there the two groups stood, motionless,with the Master between them and Judasmaking ready to impress the traitorouskiss upon his brow.

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THE ARREST (Smith2 414)

He had thought his work would be donewhen he had conducted the soldiers to thespot,

183:3.3 It had been the hope of thebetrayer that he could, after leading theguards to Gethsemane, simply point Jesusout to the soldiers,

or at most carry out the promise to greethim with a kiss,

and he would keep in the background andsteal away unobserved by his oldcomrades (S2 420).

and then quickly retire from the scene.

Judas greatly feared that the apostleswould all be present, and that they wouldconcentrate their attack upon him inretribution for his daring to betray theirbeloved teacher. But when the Mastergreeted him as a betrayer, he was soconfused that he made no attempt to flee.

§137. THE BETRAYAL AND ARREST. Matt.26:47-56. Mark 14:43-52. Luke 22:47-53. John 18:1-11[12].

[Compare: [W]hile John mentions Judas, he saysnothing of the kiss—prearranged as the signal forour Lord’s arrest. Here, at the very crisis of Hisfate, Jesus would have forestalled the Iscariot’scrime. Arrest—yes; but at least let the treachery beomitted....

... Twice He offered to save Judas, for twiceHe put to Him a question that invited contrition.[Etc.] (Wilson 274)]

183:3.4 Jesus made one last effort tosave Judas from actually betraying him

in that, before the traitor could reach him,he stepped to one side and, addressing theforemost soldier on the left, the captain ofthe Romans,

John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all thethings that were coming upon him, wentforth, and saith unto them, Whom seek ye? said, “Whom do you seek?”

5 They answered him, The captain answered,

Jesus of Nazareth. “Jesus of Nazareth.”

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Then Jesus stepped up immediately infront of the officer

[To the brief spoken, perhaps somewhat contemp-tuous, ‘Jesus the Nazarene,’ He replied withinfinite calmness and majesty: ‘I am He’ (Eders-heim 2 543).]

and, standing there in the calm majesty ofthe God of all this creation,

Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judasalso, who betrayed him was standing withthem.

said, “I am he.”

Many of this armed band had heard Jesusteach in the temple, others had learnedabout his mighty works,

6 When therefore he said unto them, I amhe,

and when they heard him thus boldlyannounce his identity,

they went backward, and fell to the ground. those in the front ranks fell suddenlybackward.

They were overcome with surprise at hiscalm and majestic announcement ofidentity.

There was, therefore, no need for Judas togo on with his plan of betrayal. TheMaster had boldly revealed himself to hisenemies, and they could have taken himwithout Judas’s assistance. But the traitorhad to do something to account for hispresence with this armed band, andbesides, he wanted to make a show ofcarrying out his part of the betrayalbargain with the rulers of the Jews inorder to be eligible for the great rewardand honors which he believed would beheaped upon him in compensation for hispromise to deliver Jesus into their hands.

183:3.5 As the guards rallied from theirfirst faltering at the sight of Jesus and atthe sound of his unusual voice, and as theapostles and disciples drew nearer,

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Matt. 26:49 And straightway he came toJesus,

Judas stepped up to Jesus

and, placing a kiss upon his brow,

and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him. said, “Hail, Master and Teacher.”

And as Judas thus embraced his Master,

Luke 22:48 But Jesus said unto him, Jesus said,

“Friend, is it not enough to do this! 1

Judas, Betrayest thou the Son of man witha kiss?

Would you even betray the Son of Manwith a kiss?”

183:3.6 The apostles and disciples wereliterally stunned by what they saw. For amoment no one moved.

Then Jesus, disengaging himself from thetraitorous embrace of Judas, stepped up tothe guards and soldiers

John 18:7 Again therefore he asked them, and again asked,

Whom seek ye? “Whom do you seek?”

And they said, And again the captain said,

Jesus of Nazareth. “Jesus of Nazareth.”

8 Jesus answered, And again answered Jesus:

I told you that I am he: “I have told you that I am he.

if therefore ye seek me, let these go theirway: 9 that the word might be fulfilledwhich he spake, Of those whom thou hastgiven me I lost not one.

If, therefore, you seek me, let these othersgo their way.

I am ready to go with you.”

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183:3.7 Jesus was ready to go back toJerusalem with the guards, and thecaptain of the soldiers was altogetherwilling to allow the three apostles andtheir associates to go their way in peace.But before they were able to get started,as Jesus stood there awaiting thecaptain’s orders,

[The name Malchus ... was not a Jewish name,while it was common among Syrians, Phœnicians,Arabians, and Samaritans. The suggestion thereforelies near, that Malchus was either a Syrian or aPhœnician by birth (Edersheim2 544, fn).]

one Malchus, the Syrian bodyguard of thehigh priest,

[The definite article here marks that he was, ina special sense, the servant of the High-Priest—hisbody-servant (Edersheim2 544, fn).]

stepped up to Jesus and made ready tobind his hands behind his back, althoughthe Roman captain had not directed thatJesus should be thus bound.

When Peter and his associates saw theirMaster being subjected to this indignity,they were no longer able to restrainthemselves.

10 Simon Peter therefore having a sworddrew it, and struck the high priest’s servant,and cut off his right ear. Now the servant’sname was Malchus.

Peter drew his sword

and with the others rushed forward tosmite Malchus.

But before the soldiers could come to thedefense of the high priest’s servant,

Matt. 26:52 Then saith Jesus unto him, Jesus raised a forbidding hand to Peterand, speaking sternly, said:

Put up again thy sword into its place: “Peter, put up your sword.

for all they that take the sword shall perishwith the sword.

They who take the sword shall perish bythe sword.

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John 18:[11] the cup which the Father hathgiven me, shall I not drink it?

Do you not understand that it is theFather’s will that I drink this cup?

Matt. 26:53 Or thinketh thou that I cannotbeseech my Father, and he shall even nowsend me more than twelve legions ofangels?

And do you not further know that I couldeven now command more than twelvelegions of angels and their associates,

who would deliver me from the hands ofthese few men?”

183:3.8 While Jesus thus effectively puta stop to this show of physical resistanceby his followers, it was enough to arousethe fear of the captain of the guards,

John 18:12 So the band and the chiefcaptain, and the officers of the Jews, seizedJesus and bound him,

who now, with the help of his soldiers,laid heavy hands on Jesus and quicklybound him.

And as they tied his hands with heavycords,

Mark 14:48 And Jesus answered and saidunto them,

Jesus said to them:

Are ye come out, as against a robber, withswords and staves to seize me?

“Why do you come out against me withswords and with staves as if to seize arobber?

49 I was daily with you in the templeteaching,

I was daily with you in the temple,publicly teaching the people,

and ye took me not: but this is done thatthe scriptures might be fulfilled.

and you made no effort to take me.”

183:3.9 When Jesus had been bound,the captain, fearing that the followers ofthe Master might attempt to rescue him,gave orders that they be seized; but thesoldiers were not quick enough since,having overheard the captain’s orders toarrest them,

50 And they all left him, and fled. Jesus’ followers fled in haste back intothe ravine.

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All this time John Mark had remainedsecluded in the near-by shed. When theguards started back to Jerusalem withJesus, John Mark attempted to steal out ofthe shed in order to catch up with thefleeing apostles and disciples; but just ashe emerged, one of the last of thereturning soldiers who had pursued thefleeing disciples was passing near and,seeing this young man in his linen coat,gave chase, almost overtaking him. Infact,

Mark 14:51 And a certain young manfollowed with him, having a linen cloth castabout him, over his naked body: and theylay hold on him;

the soldier got near enough to John to layhold upon his coat,

52 but he left the linen cloth, and flednaked.

but the young man freed himself from thegarment, escaping naked

while the soldier held the empty coat.

John Mark made his way in all haste toDavid Zebedee on the upper trail. Whenhe had told David what had happened,they both hastened back to the tents of thesleeping apostles and informed all eightof the Master’s betrayal and arrest.

[See 184:2.1 re “afar off”.]

183:3.10 At about the time the eightapostles were being awakened, those whohad fled up the ravine were returning, andthey all gathered together near the olivepress to debate what should be done. Inthe meantime, Simon Peter and JohnZebedee, who had hidden among theolive trees, had already gone on after themob of soldiers, guards, and servants,who were now leading Jesus back toJerusalem as they would have led adesperate criminal. John followed closebehind the mob, but Peter followed afaroff.

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After John Mark’s escape from the clutchof the soldier, he provided himself with acloak which he found in the tent of SimonPeter and John Zebedee. He suspected theguards were going to take Jesus to thehome of Annas, the high priest emeritus;so he skirted around through the oliveorchards and was there ahead of the mob,hiding near the entrance to the gate of thehigh priest’s palace.

4. DISCUSSION AT THE

OLIVE PRESS

183:4.1 James Zebedee found himselfseparated from Simon Peter and hisbrother John, and so he now joined theother apostles and their fellow campers atthe olive press to deliberate on whatshould be done in view of the Master’sarrest.

183:4.2 Andrew had been released fromall responsibility in the group manage-ment of his fellow apostles; accordingly,in this greatest of all crises in their lives,he was silent. After a short informaldiscussion, Simon Zelotes stood up on thestone wall of the olive press and, makingan impassioned plea for loyalty to theMaster and the cause of the kingdom,exhorted his fellow apostles and the otherdisciples to hasten on after the mob andeffect the rescue of Jesus. The majority ofthe company would have been disposed tofollow his aggressive leadership had it notbeen for the advice of Nathaniel, whostood up the moment Simon had finishedspeaking and called their attention toJesus’ oft-repeated teachings regardingnonresistance.

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He further reminded them that Jesus hadthat very night instructed them that theyshould preserve their lives for the timewhen they should go forth into the worldproclaiming the good news of the gospelof the heavenly kingdom. And Nathanielwas encouraged in this stand by JamesZebedee, who now told how Peter andothers drew their swords to defend theMaster against arrest, and that Jesus badeSimon Peter and his fellow swordsmensheathe their blades. Matthew and Philipalso made speeches, but nothing definitecame of this discussion until Thomas,calling their attention to the fact thatJesus had counseled Lazarus againstexposing himself to death, pointed outthat they could do nothing to save theirMaster inasmuch as he refused to allowhis friends to defend him, and since hepersisted in refraining from the use of hisdivine powers to frustrate his humanenemies. Thomas persuaded them toscatter, every man for himself, with theunderstanding that David Zebedee wouldremain at the camp to maintain a clear-inghouse and messenger headquarters forthe group. By half past two o’clock thatmorning the camp was deserted; onlyDavid remained on hand with three orfour messengers, the others having beendispatched to secure information as towhere Jesus had been taken, and whatwas going to be done with him.

183:4.3 Five of the apostles, Nathaniel,Matthew, Philip, and the twins, went intohiding at Bethphage and Bethany.Thomas, Andrew, James, and SimonZelotes were hiding in the city. SimonPeter and John Zebedee followed along tothe home of Annas.

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183:4.4 Shortly after daybreak, SimonPeter wandered back to the Gethsemanecamp, a dejected picture of deep despair.David sent him in the charge of amessenger to join his brother, Andrew,who was at the home of Nicodemus inJerusalem.

183:4.5 Until the very end of thecrucifixion, John Zebedee remained,

[See 181:2.3.] as Jesus had directed him, always near athand,

and it was he who supplied David’smessengers with information from hour tohour which they carried to David at thegarden camp, and which was then relayedto the hiding apostles and to Jesus’family.

183:4.6 Surely, the shepherd is smittenand the sheep are scattered! While theyall vaguely realize that Jesus hasforewarned them of this very situation,they are too severely shocked by theMaster’s sudden disappearance to be ableto use their minds normally.

183:4.7 It was shortly after daylight andjust after Peter had been sent to join hisbrother, that Jude, Jesus’ brother in theflesh, arrived in the camp, almostbreathless and in advance of the rest ofJesus’ family, only to learn that theMaster had already been placed underarrest; and he hastened back down theJericho road to carry this information tohis mother and to his brothers and sisters.David Zebedee sent word to Jesus’family, by Jude, to forgather at the houseof Martha and Mary in Bethany and thereawait news which his messengers wouldregularly bring them.

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183:4.8 This was the situation duringthe last half of Thursday night and theearly morning hours of Friday as regardsthe apostles, the chief disciples, and theearthly family of Jesus. And all thesegroups and individuals were kept in touchwith each other by the messenger servicewhich David Zebedee continued tooperate from his headquarters at theGethsemane camp.

5. ON THE WAY TO THE

HIGH PRIEST’S PALACE

183:5.1 Before they started away fromthe garden with Jesus, a dispute arosebetween the Jewish captain of the templeguards and the Roman captain of thecompany of soldiers as to where theywere to take Jesus. The captain of thetemple guards gave orders that he shouldbe taken to Caiaphas, the acting highpriest. The captain of the Roman soldiersdirected that Jesus be taken to the palaceof Annas, the former high priest andfather-in-law of Caiaphas. And this he didbecause the Romans were in the habit ofdealing directly with Annas in all mattershaving to do with the enforcement of theJewish ecclesiastical laws.

And the orders of the Roman captainwere obeyed;

John 18:13 and led him to Annas first; forhe was father in law to Caiaphas, who washigh priest that year.

they took Jesus to the home of Annas forhis preliminary examination.

183:5.2 Judas marched along near thecaptains, overhearing all that was said,but took no part in the dispute, for neitherthe Jewish captain nor the Roman officerwould so much as speak to the betrayer—they held him in such contempt.

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183:5.3 About this time John Zebedee,remembering his Master’s instructions toremain always near at hand, hurried upnear Jesus as he marched along betweenthe two captains. The commander of thetemple guards, seeing John come upalongside, said to his assistant: “Take thisman and bind him. He is one of thisfellow’s followers.” But when the Romancaptain heard this and, looking around,saw John, he gave orders that the apostleshould come over by him, and that noman should molest him. Then the Romancaptain said to the Jewish captain: “Thisman is neither a traitor nor a coward. Isaw him in the garden, and he did notdraw a sword to resist us. He has thecourage to come forward to be with hisMaster, and no man shall lay hands onhim.

[Source?] The Roman law allows that any prisonermay have at least one friend to stand withhim before the judgment bar, 2

and this man shall not be prevented fromstanding by the side of his Master, theprisoner.”

And when Judas heard this, he was soashamed and humiliated that he droppedback behind the marchers, coming up tothe palace of Annas alone.

[!]

183:5.4 And this explains why JohnZebedee was permitted to remain nearJesus all the way through his tryingexperiences this night and the next day.The Jews feared to say aught to John or tomolest him in any way because he hadsomething of the status of a Romancounselor designated to act as observer ofthe transactions of the Jewish ecclesi-astical court.

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John’s position of privilege was made allthe more secure when, in turning Jesusover to the captain of the temple guards atthe gate of Annas’s palace, the Roman,addressing his assistant, said: “Go alongwith this prisoner and see that these Jewsdo not kill him without Pilate’s consent.Watch that they do not assassinate him,and see that his friend, the Galilean, ispermitted to stand by and observe all thatgoes on.” And thus was John able to benear Jesus right on up to the time of hisdeath on the cross, though the other tenapostles were compelled to remain inhiding. John was acting under Romanprotection, and the Jews dared not molesthim until after the Master’s death.

183:5.5 And all the way to the palace ofAnnas, Jesus opened not his mouth. Fromthe time of his arrest to the time of hisappearance before Annas, the Son of Manspoke no word.

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1. Matt. 26:5 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, do that for which thou art come. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus,and took him.

2. Compare: The “Crown,” as we call it, was rich; He was poor; but He was offered no legal assistance, nor duringthe investigation was He released on bail or surety, or permitted to consult His friends (Wilson 282).

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Paper 183 - The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus KEYPreamble1. The Father's Will2. Judas in the City3. The Master's Arrest4. Discussion at the Olive Press5. On the Way to the High Priest's PalaceEndnote

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