Note 4 at Joh 18:6: It is evident that it was the power of God that made these 600-plus men (see note 5 at this verse) fall backward to the ground, but why did it happen when He said, "I am he"?

In this verse, and also Joh 18:8, the word "he" is italicized. That means that the word "he" was not in the original text but was added by the translators to make the sentence grammatically correct. This serves a useful purpose and is very helpful in most cases. However, the translators used italics to indicate these additions so that we could be aware of what the text literally said.

In this instance, Jesus literally said, "I am." Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh (see note 6 at Joh 5:21, note 7 at Joh 5:22, and note 8 at Joh 5:23), His statement of "I am" carried just as much weight as when it was spoken to Moses (Ex 3:14). This was nothing less than the Almighty God releasing His glory through this powerful statement of "I AM." No wonder these men were knocked to the ground.

This graphically illustrates how Jesus could have very easily defended Himself against any size army that could have come to take His life (see note 2 at Mt 26:53). As He said in Joh 10:18, "No man taketh it [i.e., His life] from me, but I lay it down of myself" (brackets mine). Compare this with Mt 26:53.

Note 5 at Joh 18:6: There are many instances recorded in Scripture where people fell to the ground as a result of being in God's presence. At the dedication of Solomon's temple, the glory of the Lord filled the house "so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud" (2Ch 5:14). Ezekiel fell prostrate on his face twice as he saw the glory of the Lord (Eze 1:28 and 3:23) and had to be quickened by the spirit to get up again (Eze 2:2 and 3:24).

This same thing also happened to Daniel twice (Da 8:17 and 10:8-9). In these instances, Daniel said, "I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground" (Da 8:18), and "there remained no strength in me...and I retained no strength" (Da 10:8). In this second instance, even after the Lord touched Daniel, he was only able to get up on his hands and knees (Da 10:10).

Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, also fell to the ground on the road to Damascus as the glory of the Lord shone from heaven (Ac 9:4). He later revealed that all of those who were with him fell to the ground (Ac 26:14). The Apostle John, on the isle of Patmos, fell at the feet of Jesus and said that it was like he was dead (Re 1:17).

This instance of over 600 men falling backward to the ground brings to eight the number of clear references to times when people were overwhelmed by the glory of God and fell to the ground. The same thing still happens today. Just as some people faint when they experience fear, experiencing the awesome presence of God can cause people to become weak and retain no strength in their physical bodies.