Charles Ellicott Commentary John 18:6

"When therefore he said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground." — John 18:6 (ASV)

They went backward, and fell to the ground.—There is nothing in the narrative to suggest that our Lord exerted miraculous power to cause this terror. The impression is rather that it was produced by the majesty of His person, and by the answer which to Jewish ears conveyed the unutterable name, “Jehovah” (I AM). (Compare to the note on John 8:24-25.) Guilt trembled before the calmness of innocence.

Man fell to the ground before the presence of God. To Judas the term must have been familiar, and have brought back a past which may well have made him tremble at the present. To the officers the voice came from Him whom they had previously been convinced that Never man spake like this man (John 7:46). They have come to take Him by force, but conscience paralyzes all their intentions, and they lay helpless before Him. He will surrender Himself because His hour has come (John 17:1); but His life no one takes from Him. For this sense of awe in the presence of Christ, compare the account of the cleansing of the Temple in John 2:14 and following.