John 18:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.

NIV: When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.

NASB: Now then, when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground.

CSB: When Jesus told them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground.

NLT: As Jesus said 'I AM he,' they all drew back and fell to the ground!

KJV: As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

NKJV: Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He identified Himself as "I Am" (Exodus 3:14). This summarizes God's nature as the only uncreated, eternal, always-existing being: He just is, because He must be. Seven times in the Gospel of John, Jesus pointedly used that same phrasing while claiming certain attributes of God (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1).

Here, the claim is made as a blatant show of divine power. When a band of heavily-armed men arrived to arrest Him, Jesus actively engaged by asking who they had come for (John 18:4–5). His self-identification, recorded in the prior verse, literally knocks these men to the ground. Christ has always been clear that He knows what will happen, and is choosing to cooperate with God's plan (Matthew 20:18; John 12:32–33; 13:26–27). This moment highlights His sovereignty, reminding everyone that nothing happens to Him which is beyond His own control (John 10:17–18; Matthew 26:53).

Until now, Jesus has controlled both how and when He interacts with others. This overt demonstration of power is the last fully active deed in His earthly ministry. From this point forward, Jesus will submit to His own fallible creations as they condemn and murder Him (John 19:15–16).

John 18:1–11 occurs after Jesus' High Priestly Prayer (John 17). The garden setting evokes both the beginning and end of human history (Genesis 2:8; Revelation 22:1–5). Christ's obedience contrasts with the disobedience of Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45; Philippians 2:8; Genesis 3:12). Writing after the other Gospels were in circulation, John skips over Jesus' prayers in the garden (Matthew 26:36–46). Judas arrives to identify Jesus so He can be arrested. Christ provides a last demonstration of power before submitting to His enemies. Peter's maiming of a servant is mentioned, along with Jesus' rebuke of Peter, but not the healing of the servant's ear (Luke 22:50–51), or the disciples retreat (Matthew 26:56). David, also, experienced betrayal by a close ally while crossing Kidron on the way to the Mount of Olives (2 Samuel 15:23–31).

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.