searching. Pavós occurs here only in N.T. Both A. V. and R. V. vary between 'torch,' 'light,' and 'lamp' for λaμñás (Matt. xxv. 1—8; Acts xx. 8; Rev. iv. 5, viii. 10). Torches were fed with oil carried in a vessel for the purpose, and perhaps 'torch' would be best everywhere for λaurás, leaving lamp' for the translation of λúxvos (v. 35; Matt. v. 15, vi. 22; Luke viii. 16, &c.). There is a suppressed irony in the details of this verse: all this force against one; against one who intended no resistance; against One who with one word (v. 6; Matt. xxvi. 53) could have swept them all away.'

4.0ev. From what? (1) from the shade into the light; (2) from the circle of disciples; (3) from the depth of the garden; (4) from the garden itself. It is impossible to say which of these is right; the last is not contradicted by v. 26. The kiss of Judas is by some placed here, by others after v. 8. While His hour was not yet come' (vii. 30, viii. 20), He had withdrawn from danger (viii. 59, xi. 54, xii. 36); now He goes forth to meet it. He who had avoided notoriety (v. 13) and royalty (vi. 15), goes forth to welcome death. His question may have had two objects; to withdraw attention from His disciples (v. 8), and to make His captors realise what they were doing.

5. 'I. T. Nalwpaîov. Jesus the Nazarene (Matt. ii. 23), a rather more contemptuous expression than 'Jesus of Nazareth' (i. 46; Acts x. 38; comp. Matt. xxi. 11). The Nazarene' in a contemptuous sense occurs xix. 19; Matt. xxvi. 71; Mark xiv. 67. It is sometimes used in a neutral sense (Mark x. 47; Luke xviii. 37, xxiv. 19). Later on the contempt of Jews and heathen became the glory of Christians (Acts ii. 22, iii. 6, iv. 10, vi. 14).

¿yú eiu. These words to Jewish ears were the name of Jehovah. We have had the same expression several times in this Gospel (iv. 26), vi. 20, viii. 24, 28, 58, xiii. 1 (see notes). Judas, if not the chief priests, must have noticed the significant words. There is nothing in the narrative to shew that either the whole company were miraculously blinded (Luke_xxiv. 16), or that Judas in particular was blinded or paralysed. Even those who knew Him well might fail to recognise Him at once by night and with the traces of the Agony fresh upon Him.

EioτηKEL... TaрadiSoús. Judas, who was betraying Him (v. 2) was standing with them. This tragic detail is stamped on the Evangelist's memory: that one dark figure standing as the chief representative of the ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους. S. John has been accused of personal hatred towards Judas; but he alone of the four Evangelists omits the traitor's kiss. For eioтýкeɩ v. 16, comp. i. 35, vii. 35, xix. 25, xx. 11.

6. ws oûv elπev. When therefore He said; intimating that what followed was the immediate consequence of His words. They fell backwards, recoiling from the majesty of goodness, not forwards in adoration of it. Whether their falling was the natural effect of guilt meeting with absolute innocence, or a supernatural effect wrought by Christ's will, is a question which we have not the means of determining.

Moreover, the distinction may be an unreal one. Is it not His will that guilt should quail before innocence? The result in this case proved both to the disciples and to His foes that His surrender was entirely voluntary (x. 18). Once before, the majesty of His words had overwhelmed those who had come to arrest Him (vii. 46); and it would have been so now, had not He willed to be taken. Comp. Matt. xxvi. 53, where the expression legions of angels' may have reference to the fragment of a legion that had come to superintend His capture.

7. Táλiv ovv. Again therefore. Their first onset had been baffled: He Himself gives them another opening. They repeat the terms of their warrant; they have been sent to arrest 'Jesus the Nazarene.'

8. PETE TOÚTOVS Úжάуav. He is no hireling (x. 12); His first thought is for the sheep. At first Jesus had gone forward (v. 4) from His company, as Judas, to give the kiss, from his. Judas has fallen back on his followers, while the disciples gather round Christ. Thus the two bands and two leaders confront one another.

9.

not one.

οὓς δεδ. μ., οὐκ ἀπ. Of those whom Thou hast given Me, I lost The reference is to xvii. 12, and is a strong confirmation of the historical truth of chap. xvii. If the prayer were the composition of the Evangelist to set forth in an ideal form Christ's mental condition at the time, this reference to a definite portion of it would be most unnatural. The change from 'not one of them perished' to 'I lost of them not one' brings out the protective intervention of Christ.

It does not follow, because S. John gives this interpretation of Christ's words, that therefore they have no other. This was a first fulfilment, within an hour or two of their utterance, an earnest of a larger fulfilment in the future. The meaning here must not be limited to bodily preservation. Had they been captured, apostasy might have been the result, as was actually the case with S. Peter.

10. Σ. ovv II. Simon Peter therefore; because he' saw what would follow' (Luke xxii. 49). The position of our is remarkable, as if IIérpos had been added as an after-thought, possibly in allusion to the significance of the name. All four Evangelists mention this act of violence; S. John alone gives the names. While S. Peter was alive it was only prudent not to mention his name; and probably S. John was the only one who knew (v. 15) the servant's name. This impetuous boldness of o lepμòs IIéтpos illustrates his impetuous words xiii. 37 and Mark viii. 32. The sword was probably one of the two produced in misunderstanding of Christ's words at the end of the supper (Luke xxiii. 38). To carry arms on a feast-day was forbidden; so that we have here some indication that the Last Supper was not the Passover. No doubt Malchus had been prominent in the attack on Jesus; hence τὸν τ. ἀρχ. δοῦλον, which does not mean that only one servant was there (v. 26). Or Tov 8. may mean 'the servant of whom you have so often heard.' S. Peter had aimed at his head. S. Luke also mentions that it was the right ear that was cut, and he alone mentions the healing, under cover of which S. Peter probably escaped.

11. Bále. See on v. 7. S. John alone gives the words about the cup: the Synoptists alone (Matt. xxvi. 39, &c.) give the prayer to which they obviously refer. Thus the two accounts confirm one another. Comp. ii. 19, xii. 8; and for the metaphor Ps. lxxv. 8, lx. 3; Job xxi. 20; Rev. xiv. 10, xvi. 19. S. Matthew gives another reason for sheathing; 'all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword' (xxvi. 52). Any zeal is proper for religion but the zeal of the sword and the zeal of anger" (Jeremy Taylor). For où un interrogative comp. Ruth iii. 1; οὐ μὴ εὕρω σοι ἀνάπαυσιν; See on iv. 48.

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12-27. THE JEWISH OR ECCLESIASTICAL TRIALS.

12-27. Much space is given in all four Gospels to the Jewish and Roman trials, space apparently disproportionate to the brief account of the Crucifixion. But the two trials illustrate the two great elements of Christ's Messiahship. By the Sanhedrin He was condemned as claiming to be the Son of God, by Pilate as claiming to be the King of the Jews. The Crucifixion would be unintelligible if we did not clearly understand Who was crucified, and why.

12. ἡ οὖν σπ. Therefore the band; because of S. Peter's violent attempt at rescue. The xλlapxos is the tribune of the Roman cohort. His presence with the detachment shews that the hierarchy had prepared the Romans for serious resistance. Peter's violence confirms these representations. Jesus the Nazarene is a dangerous character who incites His followers to rebellion; He must be secured and bound. And the incident in v. 6 would suggest great caution, as in dealing with a powerful magician.

13. πρὸς ̓́Ανναν πρῶτον. The πρῶτον shews that S. John is aware of the subsequent examination before Caiaphas given by the Synoptists. Whether Annas was chief' of the priests (2 Kings xxv. 18), or president, or vice-president, of the Sanhedrin, we have no information. Certainly he was one of the most influential members of the hierarchy, as is shewn by his securing the high-priesthood for no less than five of his sons as well as for his son-in-law Caiaphas, after he had been deposed himself. He held office A.D. 7-14, his son Eleazar A.D. 16, Joseph Caiaphas A.D. 18-36; after Caiaphas four sons of Annas held the office, the last of whom, another Annas (A.D. 62), put to death S. James, the first bishop of Jerusalem. The high-priests at this time were often mere nominees of the civil power, and were changed with a rapidity which must have scandalized serious Jews. There were probably five or six deposed high-priests in the Sanhedrin which tried our Lord (see on xi. 49 and Luke iii. 2). Other forms of the name Annas are Ananias, Ananus, and Hanan.

v yap Teve. And therefore Caiaphas would be sure to respect the results of a preliminary examination conducted by him. Possibly the chief priests thought that Annas was a safer man than Caiaphas. This examination before Annas is given us by S. John only, who tacitly corrects the impression that the examination before Caiaphas was the only one.

14. συμφέρει. See on xi. 50-52. S. John intimates that a trial conducted under such auspices could have but one issue.

15. ἠκολούθει. Was following; the descriptive imperfect. Some good authorities (3 C) insert & before aλos, but the balance is decidedly against it. There is no very strong reason for rejecting the almost universal opinion that this äλos μa@nrýs is S. John himself. It agrees with his habitual reserve about himself (i. 40, xiii. 23—25, xix. 26, xx. 2-8, xxi. 20-24); with his being often found with S. Peter (Luke xxii. 8; Acts iii. 1, iv. 13, viji. 14); and with his knowledge of the high-priest's servant's name (v. 10). Yet the opinion is not a certainty; the facts just mentioned would fit his brother S. James almost equally well; and the fact of S. John's elsewhere designating himself as the μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς is slightly against the opinion. But on the other hand that designation would have no point here; the unnamed disciple is not receiving any mark of favour from Jesus. See Introduction, p. xxxiv.

YVWσTÒS T. APX. Comp. Luke ii. 44, xxiii. 49. The nature of the acquaintance is not explained: in connexion with it we may remember the tradition that S. John himself wore the high-priestly badge in later life; p. xvii. To apx. is probably Caiaphas (vv. 13, 24): deposed high-priests were thus designated sometimes (Luke iii. 2; Acts iv. 6), but never by S. John. Possibly Annas lived in his son-in-law's official residence; but if not, there is nothing improbable in his conducting a preliminary examination there. The avλy (x. 1, 16) is the court or open space in the centre or in front of the house (Luke xxii. 55): w (v. 16) agrees better with an interior court.

16. ElorηKEL. Was standing; descriptive imperfect, as in vv. 5, 15, 18. The details again indicate an eyewitness. Female doorkeepers were common among the Jews: LXX. in 2 Sam. iv. 6; Rhoda, Acts xii. 13; Josephus, Ant. vII. ii. 1.

17. μr kal σú. Art thou also (shewing that she knew his companion to be a disciple), or, surely thou also art not. See on iv. 29 and comp. iv. 33, vi. 67, vii. 47, ix. 40; where, as here, the un anticipates a negative answer. S. Peter's denial is thus put into his mouth. ToÚTOU and the turn of the sentence are contemptuous; ix. 16, 24, xi. 47. S. John had hurried on to the room where Christ was being examined; as at the Cross (xix. 26) he kept close to his Master; and in neither case was molested. S. Peter, who 'followed afar off' (Luke xxii. 54) and that rather out of curiosity to see the end' (Matt. xxvi. 58) than out of love, encountered temptation and fell.

6

18. εἱστήκ. δὲ οἱ δ. Now the servants and the officers were standing .....and were warming themselves. The tribune (v. 12) has withdrawn his men, having completed the arrest. Only the officials of the Sanhedrin remain, joined now by the household servants of the high-priest. Ανθρακιά means charcoal in a brazier, πρὸς τὸ φῶς of which S. Peter stood and sat, pretending to be indifferent, but restlessly changing his posture (Luke xxii. 56): comp. xxi. 9; Ecclus. xi. 32. Cold nights in

April are exceptional but not uncommon in Palestine, and Jerusalem stands high.

HET AUTŵv. Peter also is with the Lord's enemies, making himself comfortable in this night of cold. Otia pulvinar Satanae.

19. ỏ ovv άpx. The our connects what follows with vv. 13, 14. Again we are in doubt as to who is meant by the high-priest (see on v. 15), but it will be safest to consider that Caiaphas is meant throughout. Neither hypothesis is free from difficulty. If the high-priest here is Caiaphas, the difficulty is to explain v. 24 (see note there). But we may suppose that while Annas is conducting the examination Caiaphas enters and takes part in it. It was hoped that some evidence might be obtained which would be of service in the formal trial that was to follow.

20.

ey. With strong emphasis. He answers no questions about His disciples, but bears the brunt alone. Moreover He seems to contrast His openness with the secrecy of His enemies: for παρρησίᾳ see on vii. 13, and for ἐν συναγωγῇ on vi. 59. 'I always taught in public places, where all the Jews come together. I am not the head of a secret society; nor am I ashamed of My doctrine.' Comp. Matt. x. 27. Veritas nihil erubescit praeter abscondi

(Tertullian).

21. SE OûTOL. As if implying that they were present and ought to be examined. Witnesses for the defence were heard first. Οὗτοι cannot mean S. Peter and S. John: S. Peter is still outside by the fire. For de see on i. 29.

22. páιopa. Elsewhere only xix. 3 and Mark xiv. 65. Literally, 'a blow with a rod,' and dépeis (v. 23) agrees with this. But páжιoμа is also used for 'a blow with the open hand:' comp. paπijew, Matt. v. 39. In later Greek this meaning prevailed, perhaps exclusively. Christ's conduct here shews how Matt. v. 39 is to be understood: personal retaliation is forbidden, but not calm protest and rebuke.

23. εἰ κ. ἐλάλησα. If I spake evil is perhaps better than If I have spoken evil. Like éλáλnoa in v. 20 and eîrov in v. 21, this seems to refer to Christ's teaching, about which He is being examined, rather than to His reply to the high-priest. For the construction comp. xiii. 14, xv. 20.

24. ȧTÉσT. Oûv. The ovv (see critical note) shews that the remark is not an afterthought. Because the preliminary examination before Annas produced a primâ facie case, but nothing conclusive, Annas therefore sent Him for formal trial to Caiaphas, who had apparently been present during the previous examination and had taken part in it (v. 19). Hence there is no need to discuss whether άréσTEIλev may be equivalent to a pluperfect: comp. Matt. xxvi. 48, xiv. 3, 4.

Christ had been bound at His arrest (v. 12) to prevent escape. During the examination He would be unbound as possibly innocent. He is now bound again. Apparently He was unbound a second time before the Sanhedrin, and then bound afresh to be taken to Pilate (Matt. xxvii. 2).