John 18:5-6 “They answered Him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am He.’ And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”
Jesus had just asked the soldiers and officers, “Whom do you seek?” Apparently He wasn’t addressing Judas, for he would know whom they were seeking as he was leading them to Jesus, but the Holy Spirit through John wants us all to understand the stunning and authoritative statement Jesus made to them. “I Am.” was His response. Contrast the difference between whom they think they are seeking and who He really is. “Jesus the Nazarene” may be considered a name of embarrassment or shame. It was apparently well known that nothing good could come from Nazareth for Nathanael remarked to Philip, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Jesus’ reply was shocking. His reply was literally the name of God, “I am.”
Upon hearing Jesus say, “I am,” the entire entourage drew back and fell to the ground. Let’s try to imagine this. Besides Judas, there were the officials from the chief priests and pharisees (we don’t know the number, but these were “police” officers of the temple). A Roman cohort could be anywhere from 480-600 men according to my research. So imagine the 500-600 men in battle gear on the hillside of Gethsemane marching in military order up the hill with Judas and the temple guard at the head. Coming down the hill are Jesus with His disciples trailing Him. They meet, and these words are exchanged, “Whom do you seek?” asks Jesus? Some of the crowd answer, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Then Jesus replies, “I Am.” Now watch this! 500-600 armed soldiers draw back—step back?, take many steps back? Then fall to the ground. This is not like Moses falling on the ground of His own will to worship God. Their falling on the ground isn’t a collective bowing down to offer honor to a king—at least not intentionally. They fell to the ground in response to a statement of divine authority. Jesus’ words were accompanied with power and glory. It’s something like what Paul declared will happen at some point with all humanity when he wrote to the Philippians. Phil. 2:8-11. He wrote of Jesus, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In the garden, this was, in a sense, a premonition of the glory of Christ to come. We aren’t told that the disciples fell to the ground. Isn’t that interesting. It seems it was only His enemies that were struck by the authority of God’s declaration, “I Am.” That great day is coming again soon, when Jesus will appear, will go forth as He did that evening, and upon His approach, all will fall down, awe-struck with the glory and authority of the Son of God. May we live to love today aware that we love in the authority of the great I Am.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
