John 18:1-27
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest… (v. 15a) I keep wondering about this disciple “known to the high priest”. I commented below that many (most?) scholars presume that it was John, the Gospel author. I commented on this item (below) in our 2019 discussions, wondering if John’s father, Zebedee may have been known to the high priest, such that John and James would also be likewise known. That could be the case if Zebedee was a well-to-do fisherman, an argument we discussed two years ago, who (reflecting on today’s political donors) may have been generous to the Temple treasury.
But I think it’s somewhat of a stretch for someone from Galilee to be “known to the high priest”. Another suspect in this regard could be Lazarus. I recall John S. (in 2019) arguing that Lazarus may have been the Gospel writer and maybe even “…the disciple whom Jesus loved…” (see my May 30 comments). I can imagine some of the disciples fleeing from Gethsemane and running to Bethany to alert Lazarus of Jesus’ arrest, and I can follow that story forward to Lazarus bringing Peter into the courtyard. Maybe we have two people remaining anonymous, one “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, the other “known to the high priest”. Interesting…
See also: November 17 / John 18:1-11; November 21 / John 18:12-27