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.

18:19. A sudden transition from one scene to another was a common device of ancient literature to keep readers in suspense, which was considered, as in modern times, a sign of good writing

John does not claim that the "high priest" mentioned here was a hierarch recognized by Rome (see 18:13-24); like other New Testament writers and Josephus, John follows the common practice of calling all prominent members of the priestly aristocracy "high priests."

18:20. Although "the rabbis initiated only selected disciples into the most difficult aspects of doctrine (e.g., the doctrine of creation or God's chariot throne), they adhered to the rule that the law was supposed to teach openly, unlike the false prophets, who taught 'in secret.'

18:21. From what we know about Jewish law, investigators had no right to compel a person to testify against himself. But even if this law existed in the time of Jesus, the religious elite, supported by Rome and acting in the interests of the people, did not bother to enforce it.

18:22—24. Violence against a prisoner was undoubtedly contrary to Jewish law. This act shows how unscrupulous and indifferent the high priest Annas was to the requirements of Jewish legality; His interest in the case was motivated by political rather than legal considerations. This detail corresponds to the depiction of high priests preserved in the texts of other minorities in Judaism who were hostile to them ("Pharisees and Essenes"). Cm. Comment. to Mk. 14:1,43. Jesus did not violate the injunction of Exod. 22:28; cf. Acts. 23:3-5.

18:25—27. On the crowing of the rooster, see comment. by 13:38.

18:28-38a Jesus before Pilate