The “I AM” Statement During Jesus’ Arrest in Gethsemane

In our daily 3-minute meditations at groupbiblestudy.com, we are reflecting on what Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. Today, we focus on Jesus's arrest. Judas knew where Jesus often slept overnight, so he brought a “crowd” (v. 47) of Roman soldiers and officials from the religious leaders:

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" ⁴⁹When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" ⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him. ⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns" (Luke 22:47-53).

The apostle John, in his gospel, uses the Greek word speira, translated as "detachment" (John 18:3), to describe a specific group of Roman soldiers sent from Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. This detachment included 450 combatants, along with men sent from the Chief Priests and Pharisees. Some scholars estimate that six hundred soldiers were sent to arrest Jesus.

Why so many? It is likely they expected a fight and thought the high priest and leaders believed there might be more of Christ’s disciples in the garden with Him. They brought lanterns because, perhaps, they thought Jesus would hide. The Lord didn't wait for them to seek Him; He took the initiative—Jesus went out of the garden to them (John 18:4). Christ was in control of everything happening during His arrest, especially concerning the safety of His disciples. The apostle John provides a bit more detail about what occurred. Jesus asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said (and Judas the traitor was standing there with them). When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:4-6). What do you think caused the soldiers to fall to the ground? What was happening?

Roman soldiers were fearless and were not known to fall to the ground. I'm sure they were prepared for anything as they approached the garden, not knowing how many followers of Jesus were with Him. Imagine the scene. When they said they were looking for Jesus, the Lord responded by uttering the divine name in Greek —the name of God —"I AM" (egō eimi). Some of you have the words, "I am he" in the text, but the word “He” is absent from the original Greek and added by the translators to make the statement clearer in English. Again, in the Gospels, we see Jesus adding the name of God to different aspects of His character. "I am the Gate"; "I am the Good Shepherd"; "I am the Light of the World"; "I am the Way," etc. When He uttered the divine name, a display of spiritual power floored the soldiers. Jesus was showing them that He willingly surrendered Himself into their hands. What a scene it must have been—hundreds of men overwhelmed and terrified of one Man and His eleven disciples, with only one using a sword in defense. He was, and still is, in complete control. I can't wait for Him to show up on earth and confound His enemies like this again. Keith Thomas.

The video teaching on Jesus in Gethsemane is one of 64 YouTube videos. Here’s the link to it: https://youtu.be/GLBuK6QlBnU

The complete written Study 60 in Luke is at the following link: Jesus at Gethsemane.

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