Unlike the synoptics, John does not tell us about Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane; yet he does tell us of Jesus’ arrest in a somewhat different way. When Judas brought a detachment of soldiers and police came with their lanterns and weapons, Jesus asked them for whom they were looking (John 18:3-4). When they said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, “I am” – it is usually translated “I am he” but the Greek text is simply “I am” – and the soldiers stepped back and fell to the ground (18:6).

Frequently throughout the gospel John has recounted how the power of Jesus is expressed in these words “I am” – I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, and so on. That might count as just a way of identifying various roles played by Jesus, if it were not for the famous statement “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58). That recalls for us the name of God revealed to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me’” (Exodus 3:14).

So here again we encounter the power of Jesus, expressed in those words “I am.” John recounts this incident for us to enable us to understand that if Jesus does not allow them to arrest him, they have no power to do so: if he simply reveals himself through the mention of these words, they fall to the ground before him.

In contrast to that, Simon Peter draws a sword and, as reported in all four gospels, strikes out and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Luke the physician, always interested in healings, records what the other three do not, namely that Jesus touched the wound and healed it (Luke 22:51). But John also includes a detail the others do not – the name of the slave, Malchus (John 18:10) – apparently the name is mentioned simply as a personal recollection on the part of John, since there is no mention of him to be found anywhere else. But Simon Peter’s effort to defend Jesus is rebuked: the Father has given Jesus a cup to drink – that is, a fate to accept – and he will drink it (18:11).

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Just a word from you, identifying yourself “I am,” and your enemies fall to the ground, Jesus: why then are we so hesitant to fall down and worship before you? We would rather fight, it seems, to defend you from your enemies. Yet you are determined to do the Father’s will, no matter how costly. Grant us the courage, Lord, to hold that same attitude.

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