Charles Ellicott Commentary John 18:11

"Jesus therefore said unto Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath: the cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" — John 18:11 (ASV)

Put up thy sword into the sheath.—Compare Note on Matthew 26:52. Here again St. John’s narrative is more vivid and exact. St. Matthew has “place” for “sheath.”

The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?—Compare Notes onMatthew 20:22; Matthew 26:39. This is the only instance of the occurrence of this familiar imagery in St. John. St. Peter’s act is one of opposition to what Jesus Himself knew to be the will of the Father. There is in the words a tender trustfulness which robs the cup of all its bitterness—The cup which My Father hath given Me. They are, as it were, an echo of the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is not recorded by St. John. It is the Father to whom He has prayed, and solemnly committed the disciples (John 17); the Father whose presence never leaves Him (John 16:32); the Father into whose hands He is about from the cross to commend His Spirit (Luke 23:46).