John 18:7-11 - Put your sword away

18:7-9

Jesus asked them again, “who is it you want?”. “Jesus of Nazareth” was the reply. A literal rendition of this would be “Jesus the Nazarene”. Jesus then urges them to let the others (ie the disciples) go. This point was all about Jesus, there is nothing anyone else could do to add anything to it. Our salvation was bought at a price paid by Jesus alone. There is nothing any other man could do to add to it at the time, and there is nothing we can, or need to, do to add to it now. Peter had made his earlier declarations of allegiance, but we know how that ended.

In having made the arresting party say it was Jesus of Nazareth they were after, Jesus made it impossible for them to do anything other than let the disciples go. Verse 9 then sees this as a fulfilment of not having lost any that the Father gave to Him. When we think of that promise we probably think of it in spiritual terms, in terms of our eternal salvation. This verse shows that it has a very practical here and now application as well. The promises of God have both a here and now and an eternal significance.

18:10

The other gospels refer to this incident, but only John tells us that it was Peter who cut off the soldiers ear, and only John tells us that the soldier was called Malchus (Matt 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-50). And only Luke tells us that Jesus healed the man (Luke 22:51).

18:11

Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away. Jesus did not come to avoid going to the cross. If that was His purpose then He would never have come to earth in the first place. Moreover, this happens after Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane when He has prepared His heart and mind for what lay ahead. It was the Father’s will that Jesus went to the cross. One of the repeated themes in John’s gospel is that Jesus came to do the will of the Father.