John 18:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

NIV: It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

NASB: Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

CSB: Now the servants and the officials had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.

NLT: Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

KJV: And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.

NKJV: Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

Peter and John have followed the band of men who arrested Jesus (John 18:15–17). They gained access to the courtyard through John's connections with the high priest's family. They're attempting to keep a low profile, however, so they are not themselves arrested (Matthew 26:58). At least one person has already been suspicious of Peter, either recognizing his face or being suspicious of his Galilean accent (Matthew 26:73).

This statement sets up a return to Peter's story later in this passage (John 18:25). If this scene were part of a modern movie, the scene would jump to Jesus' conversation with the priests inside (John 18:19–24) before jumping back to Peter here at the fire (John 18:25).

John 18:15–18 includes the first of Peter's predicted denials of Christ (John 13:36–38). Peter has followed the party who arrested Jesus, obviously at some distance, attempting to secretly see what will happen. Though Peter was brave in attempting to defend Jesus earlier, he shrinks in the face of danger here. Asked to admit his relationship with Christ, he lies. The unnamed disciple here is probably John, who may have been a relative of the priestly family.

Jesus is secretly, quietly arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and taken to a series of sham trials before Jewish leadership. This leads to His encounter with the local Roman governor. Jesus accepts being described as "King" but denies that His current purpose is earthly rule. A mob assembled by Jesus' enemies reject Pilate's attempt to free Jesus. In the meantime, Peter fulfills Christ's prophecy about a three-fold denial.

John's Gospel was written well after the other three, so he frequently chooses to present different details. Chapter 17 detailed Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, just before He entered the garden of Gethsemane. This chapter describes Jesus' arrest, sham trials before Jewish leadership, and the beginning of His trial before the Roman governor. In the following chapter, Jesus will be unfairly condemned, executed, and buried.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.