John 18: does the-God conform to Bible prediction?

 John 18: does the-God answer to Bible prediction?

[I comprehend Genesis 1:28, in Jesus’s perspective, to suggest that, while God offers appreciation and Jesus offers peace, male human-being unites to female and the unit provides safety& security to the living species and to the earth. Every person can& may accept the safety& security duty, which I call Genesis-1 “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. I read Bible passages with Genesis-RHI perspective.]

18 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. [Rabbis and the national guard.]

⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” [Jesus expressing leadership.]

⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” [This John quoting John. I don’t trust John; John 18:9 John 6:39. Nevertheless, I consider Jesus reliable, primarily because I glean civic-integrity from his independent thought.]

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹ Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” [This is Catholic doctrine; did Jesus actually say that? If so, was he representing his political philosophy more than the-God?]

¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. [What was the charge at the time of the arrest?] They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴ Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people. [Really? To what people and what benefit? Jews leaders claimed that Jesus was leading an insurrection against Rome that would result in Rome punishing the Jewish people: better to murder Jesus.]

Peter’s First Denial

¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶ but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple [John competing against Peter?], who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

¹⁷ “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

¹⁸ It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

¹⁹ Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹ Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” [Why have Jesus refer to hearsay? Does John accept that Jesus could lie . . . that his audience could be more reliable?]

²² When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

²³ “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” [So far, Jesus’ question seems strange.] ²⁴ Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

²⁵ Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” ²⁷ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. [This construct is too convenient to have impact on my life: I don’t trust John.]

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” [I don’t believe Jesus would call his followers “servants”. I do not believe he would cite “another place”. His leadership and advice was for living, not for death. Jesus affirmed Genesis 1:28: humankind is independently responsible for safety on earth, and so advised people he persuaded.]

 [Plato’s record of Socrates’ trial and execution presages some elements of the Biblical Jesus story: unjust accusation and conviction, friends to rescue Socrates if he would agree, and false witnesses in the jury. Socrates chose death instead of exile. Socrates died to uphold the-rule-of-law, even when adjudication fails.]

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. [At this point, Pilate, in the-God’s image and in the interest of statutory justice would not have killed Jesus. To say that he had to kill Jesus to fulfill the-God’s plan is a construct I do not accept. The-God could have handled Pilot delivering justice in the-God’s image.] ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. [Mark 15:7 says he was imprisoned with insurrectionist who had committed murder. Perhaps an uprising against Rome, but not by the influential Jesus; in other words, not reflecting on the Jewish people, as Jesus did.]

[In this story, the truth is that Pilate failed Jesus’ suggestions, such as, render unto Caesar, be perfect, appreciation existed before Abraham was born, and more. Pilate killed an innocent man, in order to to partner with the clergy and religious elites.

Each human being who considers this story has a choice: Believe Jesus’ independence, or believe the Church’s construct. We don’t know the-ineluctable-truth, where “ineluctable” means “not to be avoided, changed, or resisted”. Each of us has only reason with which to make our choice. I choose Jesus’s message and assert that the-God could have managed without the crucifixion of Jesus. The Church is no different from us:  It is important to them to maintain humility toward the-God.

I don’t want anyone to think as I do; rather let them think as they do. However, I do not encourage anyone to think I can advocate a Jesus that differs from the one that influences my person, regardless of my distrust of John and other writers who reported decades after Jesus died.

I think for the first time in my life I am in another place where that is possible: today’s UBC, enhanced to me by Nomads class, at least. (The other place is with my family.)]