John 18:12-14
So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.
Of the four evangelists, John is the one with the strongest sense of narrative. His use of symbolism, metaphor, and plot development make his account often read like a novel. Which is part of what explains this scene on two levels.
First, these few verses serve as a transition from the high drama of the arrest to the more tempered but also more ominous trial scenes. But within this transition, John also identifies some of the key players, almost as an aside but with an eye to reminding his audience of who’s who in the larger story of Jesus’ passion. In this case, John identifies Annas and further links him to the high priest Caiaphas.
Second, John uses these verses to remind his readers of a critical moment of foreshadowing that had happened earlier in the story. Immediately after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, his opponents debated how to respond to the threat that Jesus represented. Amid this discussion, Caiaphas interrupts and tells them that it is better “to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed” (11:50).
Caiaphas, of course, believes he is advancing political strategy. But John sees things differently, and comments as the narrator, “He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God” (11:51-52).
And so now, as we transition from the arrest to the trial and “passion proper,” John the master story-teller reminds us of these words so that they may serve as a preface of all that is to come, so that all who believe will see that, indeed, it was better for one man to die than for a nation to be destroyed. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Dear God, when we read the story of your Son’s passion, let us be reminded again of your love for us and the whole world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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