Malchus: The Last Miracle :1-11

If you had been a reporter covering the arrest of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, you might have reported it from several prospectives. -From ' prospective you might have reported our Lord's arrest as a triumph: “At last we have seized Him!” -From the captain of the band of soldiers the report might have been: “Fourteenth of Nisan, 11:30 pm, arrested one prisoner, Jesus of Nazareth.” -But if you were the apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you might report: “From beginning to end, Jesus - not His Captors – was in complete charge of the situation.”

It was Jesus who delayed in the Garden while the arresting party came seeking Him.

It was He who surrendered Himself voluntarily.

It was Jesus who demonstrated power toward the soldiers.

It was Jesus who showed grace toward His disciples and mercy toward His enemies.

In the Garden, 600 soldiers, armed with lanterns and weapons, came for one unarmed man. If he had chosen to resist them, no weapon would have been sufficient. Jesus was arrested because He willingly chose to give Himself up to die to save us.

This incident must have made an impression on the disciples, because it is recorded in all four . Only John tells us it was Peter who swung the sword at Malchus, and that the servant's name was Malchus. Only Luke tells us that Jesus healed his ear. When we think about all that happened that night, the betrayal and the arrest, the disciples never forgot what happened to Malchus. No doubt it contains important lessons for us.

I. The Cause for the Miracle – 18:10-11

This is the last miracle performed before going to the cross. In some respects, it is the most beautiful and touching of all the miracles.

Jesus had preached, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hurt you.” Now He would practice what he preached.

When they laid hold of Jesus, we can understand Peter's desire to fight back, but at this point we remember the words of James: “Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. For human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness” (James 1:19-20).

-Not many of us are good at being slow to anger. Our anger and God's righteousness generally move in opposite directions.

When we find ourselves getting angry, we need to ask ourselves, “What am I afraid of?”

272 -Most anger stems from fear, and most of our fear comes from the perception that we are not in control or that we are losing control. -Think about it for a moment. As long as we are in control and in the driver's seat and things are going our way, we rarely get angry. But let things spin out of control and fear takes over. It is only a short step from fear to impulsive anger, and from sudden anger comes all manner of evil.

Peter takes his sword, swings at a man's head, but only cuts his ear and Jesus tells Peter to put up his sword, for all who live by the sword will die by the sword.

-Brute force doesn't advance 's kingdom. We can't accomplish God's work by bullying people into submission. There may be some short-term results, but it always backfires in the end, because the use of brute force means we don't really believe God.

Jesus said that He could call twelve legions of or 72,000 angels and 72,000 angels could handle 600 soldiers. -Well, if Jesus had that kind of power at His disposal, why didn't He use it? Because He knew that what was happening must happen to fulfill God's plan.

Jesus didn't need Peter's help. He didn't want to be rescued. Jesus can take care of Himself. -Listen: Jesus didn't die because He couldn't help it. Pilate's army could not have taken Him if He had not been willing to be taken.

The word Luke uses for “ear” means “a portion of the ear.” The servant could have lived a full life without part of his ear. It would not have impaired his hearing. At worse, the damage would have been cosmetic. -Jesus would not tolerate so much as the loss of an ear in His defense. The only blood shed would be His own. -Luke tells us Jesus “touched” his ear. The word means “to hold and press.” Jesus likely reached down, took the piece that had been cut off, held it in its proper place, and pressed against it.

Peter was taking a stand for Jesus, but in the wrong way and in the wrong spirit and it brings hurt to another. Jesus has to heal the hurt. -How often we, as His disciples, take a stand for Jesus, but in the wrong way and with the wrong spirit and we cause hurt and pain to others and Jesus has to heal the hurt we have caused.

-Our tongues become like swords, saying cutting, ugly things. Sometimes our motives are like swords, destroying and not building. Sometimes our actions become like swords and we react rashly.

II. The Character of the Miracle

There are some interesting facts about this miracle that we don't find in the other miracles.

1.There was no request for the miracle to be done. Our Lord just did it,

273 But if Jesus had not healed him, the accusers at His trial could have said, “Thanks to one of His disciples, this servant of the high priest is missing part of his ear.” Our Lord gave His enemies no grounds to accuse Him, even indirectly.

2.The miracle was performed on an enemy, an unbeliever, one of the group who was there to arrest Him.

3.The miracle was done to correct a mistake, a harmful mistake done by one of His disciples.

By healing this man, Jesus clearly demonstrated that He would not retaliate against those who put Him to death. Not only did Jesus show mercy and grace, but forgiveness to those who were doing Him wrong.

III. The Consequences of the Miracle – 18:11

I can almost see Malchus at the cross; not earless, but whole! Someone asks him, “What do these three fellows on the cross mean to you?” He would say, “I saw that one in the middle last night in Gethsemane. I was one of the soldiers that seized Him. I saw Judas kiss Him. That was our sign to hold Him fast. As I did so, one of His disciples meant to kill me with his sword. I moved just in time; He only got a part of my ear. Then the man on the middle cross picked up my ear, put it back in place, and tenderly healed me. There was something special about that touch. He really healed me. I really believe He is the Son of God; not just because He healed me, but because of the change He made in my heart and life.”

He can and will do the same for you!