1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Comment: Over Easter I jumped ahead from where I was at in John’s gospel and picked a few short passages for comment. I now intend to go through this portion of John’s gospel a bit more thoroughly. The other gospels give more detail about what happened before Judas arrived with the priests and their soldiers. Jesus faced the entering mob with the question ‘Whom do you seek?‘ ‘Jesus of Nazareth.‘ Jesus said to them, ‘I am he.‘ The next sentence is surprising. They already knew who this man was. They had come to capture him and we know from before that they planned to kill Him, with a pseudo-legal cover up of His murder – so why did they fall over backwards? They read into His words His true meaning. In Exodus “I am” is God’s name. They were charging Him with blasphemy and, if He were not the Messiah, He gave them evidence to use against Him. Poor Malchus, we know from elsewhere that Jesus healed Malchus. Courageous Peter swung his sword but that wasn’t the help Jesus wanted. Jesus made sure that He alone was the only one taken into captivity.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for not avoiding the Cross, where You sacrificed Yourself for my sins.
As I read it! 
Thank you Barry for your comments on this passage. I believe also that when Jesus said “I AM HE”, those words had such power that they literally “blew them all away”. As you said, in Exodus when God said to Moses “Tell Pharoah I AM has sent you”, those words are WHO GOD IS. We as humans don’t realize the POWER in words. We use them every day and underestimate how powerful a word, or words, are. The other little thing that came to me was about Peter, and the fact that he was carrying a sword and a sheath. I wonder how often he did that? Also that once again, when Peter “came to the rescue” in this situation, Jesus rebuked him once again, and told him to put away his sword, because the Scriptures must be fulfilled. God bless you.
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Which ever it happened, I am not amazed at all that Jesus claiming to be the Everlasting God made them fall over backwards. The sad thing is that they dared get up again, and not fall on their faces in reverential worship. Thank God for the Easter story from the trial to the resurrection! God bless.
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