John 18-20

Amplified Bible

Judas Betrays Jesus

18 Having said these things, Jesus left with His disciples and went across the ^[a]ravine of the Kidron. There was a garden there, which He and His disciples entered. ² Now Judas, who was betraying Him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. ³ So Judas, having obtained the Roman ^[b]cohort and some officers from the high priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.^{(A) 4} Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen to Him, went to them and asked, “Whom do you want?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, was also standing with them. ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Again He asked them, “Whom do you want?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you want Me, let these men go on their way.” ⁹ This was to fulfill and verify the words He had spoken, “Of those whom You have given Me, I have not lost even one.”^{(B) 10} Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword [back] in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

Jesus before Annas and Caiaphas

¹² So the cohort and their commander and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him, ¹³ and led Him to ^[c]Annas first; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.^(C)

¹⁵ Simon Peter and ^[d]another disciple were following Jesus. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the [residence of the] high priest; ¹⁶ but Peter was standing outside at the door. So the other disciple (John), who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter inside.^{(D) 17} Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the servants and the officers had made a fire of coals, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. And Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.

¹⁹ Then the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching.^{(E) 20} Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in a synagogue and in the temple [area], where all the Jews habitually congregate; and I said nothing in secret. ²¹ Why question Me? Question those who have heard what I said to them. They know what I said.” ²² But when He said this, one of the officers who was standing nearby ^[e]struck Jesus [in the face], saying, “Is that how You answer the high priest?” ²³ Jesus replied, “If I have said anything wrong, make a formal statement about the wrong; but if [I spoke] properly, why did you strike Me?” ²⁴ So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was [still] standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”^{(F) 26} One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you with Him in the garden?” ²⁷ So Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸ Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium (governor’s palace). Now it was early and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium so that they would not be [ceremonially] unclean, but might [be able to] eat [and participate in the Feast of Unleavened Bread which began after] the ^[f]Passover [supper]. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”^{(G) 30} They answered, “If He were not a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you [for judgment].” ³¹ Then Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your own law.” The Jews said, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” ³² This was to fulfill the word which Jesus had spoken to indicate by what manner of death He was going to die.^(H)

³³ So Pilate went into the Praetorium again, and called Jesus and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own people and their chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done [that is worthy of death]?” ³⁶ Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world [nor does it have its origin in this world]. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting [hard] to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world.” ³⁷ So Pilate said to Him, “Then You are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say [correctly] that I am a King. This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth [who is a friend of the truth and belongs to the truth] hears and listens carefully to My voice.”^{(I) 38} Pilate said to Him [scornfully], “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation]. ³⁹ But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. So shall I release for you the King of the Jews?”^{(J) 40} Then they all shouted back again, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a ^[g]robber.

The Crown of Thorns

19 So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him ^[h]scourged (flogged, whipped). ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him;^{(K) 3} and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], “Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!” And they slapped Him in the face.^{(L) 4} Then Pilate came out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].” ⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, “Look! The Man!” ⁶ When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify [Him]! Crucify [Him]!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].”^{(M) 7} The Jews answered him, “We have a law [regarding blasphemy], and according to that law He should die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”^(N)

⁸ So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more ^[i]alarmed and afraid. ⁹ He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not answer him.^{(O) 10} So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the ^[j]one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own].” ¹² As a result of this, Pilate kept making efforts to release Him, but the Jews kept screaming, “^[k]If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who makes himself out [to be] a king opposes Caesar [and rebels against the emperor]!”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[l]The Pavement, but in ^[m]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the day of Preparation for the ^[n]Passover [week], and it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” ¹⁵ But they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶ Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.

¹⁷ So they took Jesus, and He went out, ^[o]bearing His own cross, to the place called ^[p]the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.^{(P) 18} There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.^{(Q) 19} Pilate also wrote an inscription [on a placard] and put it on the cross. And it was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”^{(R) 20} And many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but, ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’” ²² Pilate replied, “What I have written I have written [and it remains written].”

²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the ^[q]tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout.^{(S) 24} So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “They divided My outer clothing among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”^{(T) 25} So the soldiers did these things.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister [^[r]Salome], ^[s]Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.^{(U) 26} So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the ^[t]disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty.”^{(V) 29} A jar full of ^[u]sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth.^{(W) 30} When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] ^[v]gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs ^[w]broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out. ³⁵ And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe. ³⁶ For these things took place to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of His shall be broken.”^{(X) 37} And again another Scripture says, “They shall look at Him whom they have pierced.”^(Y)

³⁸ And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body.^{(Z) 39} Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] ^[x]pounds. ⁴⁰ So they took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

The Empty Tomb

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw the stone [already] removed from the [groove across the entrance of the] tomb.^{(AA) 2} So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the ^[y]other disciple (John), whom Jesus loved (esteemed), and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and ^[z]we do not know where they have laid Him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb.^{(AB) 4} And the two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. ⁵ Stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen ^[aa]wrappings [neatly] lying there; but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came up, following him, and went into the tomb and saw the linen wrappings [neatly] lying there; ⁷ and the [burial] ^[ab]face-cloth which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the [other] linen wrappings, but ^[ac]rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ So the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, went in too; and he saw [the wrappings and the face-cloth] and ^[ad]believed [without any doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead]. ⁹ For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.^{(AC) 10} Then the disciples went back again to their own homes.

¹¹ But Mary [who had returned] was standing outside the tomb sobbing; and so, as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb; ¹² and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹³ And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” ¹⁴ After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?” Supposing that He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you are the one who has carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in ^[ae]Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “^[af]Do not hold Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came, reporting to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.

Jesus among His Disciples

¹⁹ So when it was evening on that same day, the first day of the week, though the disciples were [meeting] behind barred doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “^[ag]Peace to you.” ²⁰ After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with great joy. ²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you [as My representatives].” ²² And when He said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.^{(AD) 23} If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven [because of their faith]; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained [and remain unforgiven because of their unbelief].”

²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.”^{(AE) 28} Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].”

Purpose of Writing this Gospel

³⁰ There are also many other signs (attesting miracles) that Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written so that you may believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God; and that by believing [and trusting in and relying on Him] you may have life in His name.^(AF)