Jesus did not ask because He needed the answer. John says He knew "all things that should come upon him" (John 18:4). Gill says the question was put "not out of ignorance; for he knew full well who they were seeking after," but "to show that he was not afraid of them." Matthew Henry pictures Him going "forth to meet them, and, as if he had been unconcerned, softly asked" what they wanted. Instead of hiding, He stepped forward and made them say His name.

"They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said, "I am he," and "Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them" (John 18:5). As soon as He said, "I am he," "they went backward, and fell to the ground" (John 18:6). Then Jesus asked them the same question again (John 18:7).

The "band of men" is the Greek speira, which Thayer defines as a military cohort, "the tenth part of a legion," about 600 men. Gill notes that its captain is called a chiliarch (John 18:12), a commander of a thousand. The "officers" were servants of the chief priests and Pharisees. Barnes points out it was the time of the full moon, yet "their taking lights with them shows their determination to find him." In Greek, Jesus' answer "I am he" is just two words, ego eimi, "I am"; the word "he" is supplied in English.

Jesus is not caught in this scene. He goes out to meet the soldiers, asks the first question, and names Himself. John has already told us that Jesus knew "his hour was come" (John 13:1). Here He walks into that hour with open eyes.

Why did the soldiers fall back? The commentators differ. Gill says they were "confounded, surprised, and intimidated." Barnes says the cause is not mentioned and that various things might have produced it; he suggests that probably Jesus' firm and mild manner made them feel "they were in the presence of more than mortal man," but warns that to assume mere physical force here "greatly detracts from the moral sublimity of the scene." Either way, the armed men are the ones on the ground, and the One they came to bind is standing.