Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 18:8

"Jesus answered, I told you that I am [he]; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:" — John 18:8 (ASV)

Jesus’ chief intent seems not to have been to advance a claim but to shield the disciples. In a sense, he sacrificed himself for their safety. He had promised the Father that he would protect them (17:12), and he fulfilled his guarantee in the voluntary surrender of his life. The utterance in v.8 is a graphic illustration of the principle of substitutionary atonement that pervades this gospel (cf. 1:29; 3:14–16; 10:11, 15–18; 12:32; 17:19).