John 18:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

NIV: and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

NASB: and brought Him to Annas first; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

CSB: First they led him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

NLT: First they took him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.

KJV: And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

NKJV: And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year.

A common scholarly assumption is that whatever business was conducted in the temple was supervised by the family of the high priest. Jesus, on at least one occasion, had greatly disrupted that commerce (Matthew 21:12–17). It's possible Annas and Caiaphas had a personal bitterness towards Jesus, beyond questions of status and reputation (John 11:48–50; 12:42–43).

According to the Old Testament, high priests were supposed to serve for life (Numbers 35:25). Roman politics preferred to avoid giving locals that much influence, and so they "appointed" their own choice to that title. Annas was the approved high priest until about AD 18, replaced by his son-in-law, Caiaphas. As noted in the following verse (John 18:14), this is the same Caiaphas who accidentally summarized Jesus' role as Savior (John 11:50).

John typically refers to himself in third person (John 1:35; 13:23–25). In the passage which follows, it's likely that John is the unnamed person who goes with Peter (John 18:15–16). Since that person is said to be "known to the high priest," it would suggest John had some interaction with the family of Annas and Caiaphas.

John 18:12–14 prefaces Jesus' interrogation in front of Jewish religious leaders. Rome artificially installed high priests, despite the Old Testament calling for a lifetime appointment. Annas was a former high priest who'd been replaced by a new Roman governor. This initial interview, before Jesus is taken to Caiaphas, suggests Annas was a major figure in Jewish leadership, despite not holding an official office.

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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.