The unity of the Father and the Son should serve as a model for the believers in whom they dwell. Israel recognized that their God was "one" and proved their understanding of this truth by their cohesion among other nations, surrounded by a hostile world. This idea is reflected in this passage as well, with the difference that "unity" is understood here rather as God's personal indwelling in each believer (see comment on 14:23,24). For an example of the transfer of glory to the people in whom the Lord will be glorified, see: in Isa. 46:13; moreover, God sanctified His dwelling places with the glory of His presence (Exodus 29:43).

The unity proclaimed here spoke volumes to John's readers, who were under attack from the synagogue and perhaps from apostates who had deserted their ranks (see the introduction to the commentary on 1 John); it is also possible that this refers to the ethnic or cultural unity (10:16; 11:52; 12:20-23) of the people who made up John's audience in Galilee and Asia Minor (see introduction). John speaks with all certainty about the reconciliation of different nations in Christ in chapter 4 (Samaritans). In any case, Jesus' followers were a minority in the hostile world around them and, like any minority, needed to be united. On subsequent generations, cf. e.g. Ps. 77:3—7.

18:1-11 The appearance of the traitor

18:1,2. "The Kidron Stream" is literally, "Kidron being filled with winter"; This flow became full-flowing only in the rainy season - in winter, so it was not difficult to cross it in April. This place is known to this day. Jesus and His disciples met there more than once; cf. Luke. 22:39.

18:3. Many scholars have pointed out that the "band of soldiers" is described as if it were a Roman cohort. However, the same language could have been used in relation to local military units, and this detachment was undoubtedly Jewish, namely the Temple Guard. (Roman soldiers were not routinely used for police actions such as this one, and the Romans would not have taken Jesus to the house of Annas, whom they had removed from office; see 18:13.)

A fully staffed Roman cohort could have numbered up to 800 soldiers, but John makes it clear that the force was small. At night, both the temple guards and the Romans lit their way with torches or "lanterns" (two types of lamps are mentioned in the original), although few were required, especially at Easter, almost at full moon.

18:4-6. The words "this is I" may mean "I am the one you seek," but in literal translation they may contain an allusion to Exod. 3:14. A Jewish tradition, presumably from pre-Christian times (attributed to the Jewish writer of the early Diaspora Artapan), says that when Moses pronounced the name of his God, Pharaoh fell backwards. (If Jesus' listeners thought that he was speaking a divine name, they might have fallen backwards in fear, since magicians were believed to bewitch by that name.)

18:7-9. The fulfillment of the word of Jesus (17:12) with the same certainty with which the Scriptures are fulfilled testifies to His divine nature and mission. Although some Jewish writers admitted that "prophecy continued after the conclusion of the Old Testament era," they never recognized such revelations as having a status equal to that of the Scriptures.

18:10. As a slave of the high priest, Malchus may have been a significant figure. On the symbolic meaning of this mutilation, see the commentary to Mk. 14:47.

18:11. For the possible origin of the image of the "chalice," see comment. to Mk. 10:39.

18:12-27 At Anna's house

18:13-14. Annas was high priest from 6 to 15 C.E. until he was deposed by the Romans. Under Jewish law, the high priest was appointed to the ministry for life, so many Jews considered Annas' deposition null and void, and he continued to be held in high esteem. He was a wealthy and influential man, but later Jewish sources (written by followers of his opponents) speak disapprovingly of him. Prior to the conquest of Jewish Palestine by the Romans, the high priests of Jerusalem held supreme authority.

The hearing of capital crimes had to take place in the presence of a majority of judges (according to the later tradition, at least twenty-three judges). By law, no one had the right to impose the death sentence alone, but this did not stop Anna from wanting to demonstrate her political power and personally interrogate Jesus. Perhaps he justified himself by another law, according to which persons condemned by the "Sanhedrin for the indignation of the masses of the people" had to first pass through two lower courts. But this, apparently, was the law of the "Pharisees, adopted later than the first century; generally speaking, it is doubtful that Anna was guided by any law. The Sadducees, who formed the backbone of the religious elite of the time, certainly did not follow the precepts of the Pharisees: they sought to please the Romans, not the Pharisees.

18:15—18. For more information, see comment. to Mk. 14:66—69. According to later rabbinical teaching, in order to save their lives, Jews were allowed to renounce their Jewishness, especially by means of evasive answers (cf. Mk. 14:68). An open denial that could defame God's name was considered shameful. Peter was probably not familiar with these rules, but they characterize the society of that time, which did not treat denial as harshly as Jesus. Like most people, Peter was a son of his day and had not yet met the radical requirements of Jesus in practice.