John 18:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?"

NIV: When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.

NASB: But when He said this, one of the officers, who was standing nearby, struck Jesus, saying, 'Is that the way You answer the high priest?'

CSB: When he had said these things, one of the officials standing by slapped Jesus, saying, "Is this the way you answer the high priest?"

NLT: Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. 'Is that the way to answer the high priest?' he demanded.

KJV: And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?

NKJV: And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

What modern people think of as "civil rights" did not meaningfully exist in most ancient cultures. However, the basic concepts of law and order usually applied. Beating a person suspected of committing a crime has been frowned upon by most law-minded societies. While the man striking Jesus is not necessarily trying to beat a confession out of Him, his actions are not part of protocol. Either under Jewish tradition (Deuteronomy 25:1–2; John 7:51), or Roman law, what's happening here was probably illegal.

The real motivation for this assault is the pointed comment Jesus has just made. In essence, He called out the high priest for hypocrisy. He challenged His accusers to provide evidence for their allegations (John 18:20–21). Few things inspire as much rage as having one's wrongdoing exposed (John 3:19–20). Authority figures have a habit of mistaking defense for defiance, punishing underlings simply because they don't bow and scrape with enough reverence. Likewise, criticizing someone's tone is a common way to avoid responding to the substance of their argument.

Jesus will respond by emphasizing this last idea: if His words are false, His accusers should prove it, and if they are true, there is no cause for them to react with violence.

John 18:19–24 begins a series of dishonest hearings led by Jewish religious leaders. The person leading the interrogation is Annas, the "true" high priest, though his son-in-law Caiaphas is Rome's current appointee. Much as a courtroom prosecutor might ask an accused to explain their actions, the high priest gives Jesus an opportunity to confess what He has taught. Yet, as Jesus points out, everyone there already knows what He has been teaching. Additional details of this sham trial are found in Matthew 26:59–68, Mark 14:55–65 and Luke 22:63–71.

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.