The Meaning of Malchus’ Ear

This morning I mentioned many of the monuments that the Romans left behind (The Colosseum, Hadrian’s Wall, Trajan’s column). They left these so that the world would know their victories and the rulers could boast at how great they and their kingdoms were. But something about the

Victor’s monument is lost if we don’t know or understand what it was built for.

In a small Georgia town there is a huge pile of rocks stacked neatly to a height of almost 8 feet. Located at the edge of the town limits, everyone knows that it was meant to be some type of monument. But no one knows to whom or what. It has stood there for over 150 years making a silent statement that has been lost over time.

Everyone knows about Stonehenge in England, another massive collection of rocks. 9 years ago I had the privilege of traveling to see this amazing, beautiful monument. But like the Georgia town’s unknown monument nobody really knows what it means. The last remaining 7 th wonder of the world, the pyramids of Egypt, and the many Indian burial mounds in North and South America are evidence of ancient societies and their mysteries that we may never uncover. The Bible has many mysteries, just like these unknown monuments. I have said many times to our youth that some of the most fascinating things we can learn from the Bible are things that we read or pass over almost in passing. Things we’ve heard literally hundreds of times, but never really noticed because they just didn’t sound that important. I think we have a great example of that in our text tonight. We have read many times the story of Jesus’ last night with His disciples and the coming of the soldiers to arrest

Him. But how many times have we stopped and focused our attention on the

Chief Priest’s servant, Malchus, and what happened to him that night?

The healing of Malchus’ ear is another of the Victor’s monuments that attests to the character and attributes of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unlike like those mysterious monuments listed above, this is a monument that can be understood and explained. Let’s take a look and examine what we can learn in the miracle of Malchus’ ear.

1.) Jesus had a spiritual purpose, not a secular one.

Peter seemed to always be on the wrong wavelength in

understanding Christ and his mission.

Matt. 16:21-22

Peter could not allow himself to believe that Christ must suffer

and die. The other disciples were also guilty of not completely understanding the mission. Another great example is when James and

John wanted to call down fire from Heaven to consume those who rejected Christ.

Peter knew the stakes, or so he thought, when the gang came to apprehend Jesus. He was ready. Ready to go to war, ready to kill, ready to defend His Lord against His enemies. But this was not a war to be fought with swords. This was a spiritual war. In Paul’s writings we are reminded that we are in a spiritual war, not a physical one.

2 Corinthians 10:3,4 – “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Ephesians 6:12 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

So many times today we need this reminder emphasized again.

We battle with our brothers and sister in Christ, we battle with denominations, we battle against our immoral society, but what is the real battle we are fighting? We must remember that our battle is a spiritual one. Malchus was the High Priest’s head servant. He was in charge of this mob, and was working on behalf of the High Priest himself. If Jesus ever had an enemy in the human sense, this was it.

He had every right to ignore Peter’s impetuous behavior, but he didn’t. Christ showed only love and compassion to the one who meant Him the greatest harm.

We must also be aware that the lost world does not understand this spiritual purpose.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Our unsaved family and friends question our commitment to the things of God. They accuse us of being a “fanatic” or “going overboard” as we devote our finances, our time, our worship, and ourselves to Christ. We know that our rewards will be in the hereafter. Our payoff is coming. As we see Christ healing Malchus’ ear, let us remember that our warfare is not fleshly, but spiritual.

2.) Jesus Never Left a Situation Undone

Throughout His life and ministry Jesus was always thorough and

complete in His dealings. When John the Baptist questioned Jesus about being baptized Jesus responded, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

I read a story about this man who was a great mechanic. He could repair car engines and bodies as well as anyone. Though not his profession, it was his passion and his hobby. He decided to buy wrecked cars, fix them, and sell them for a profit. His only problem was that he could never finish his repairs. He would get one almost fixed, then see a “bargain” vehicle that he had to purchase, buy it, and began work on another vehicle. Over time he accumulated so many wrecked cars in his yard that the county government zoned his property as a junkyard. He certainly didn’t start out to accumulate a junkyard, but because of his inability to finish a project, he became a laughingstock in the neighborhood.

How many of us live our Christian lives like that man? We start out to read the Bible through in a year, but quit after a few weeks. We decide to devote 15 minutes a day to prayer, but get so busy we forget. We take on a project at church on to give up while we are still needed. Jesus finished what He started and so should we. When Jesus bowed His head on the cross, His last words were,

“It is finished”. He had fulfilled Scripture, He had fulfilled His

purpose. Jesus left a legacy of finishing what He started. He

could have allowed Himself to be taken by the mob without

healing Malchus’ ear. But that was not His way.

3.) Jesus Revelaed His Omnipotence Even While Withholding It

The word miracle gets thrown around so much in our society today that it has lost some of its meaning. We talk about medical miracles, engineering miracles, technological miracles. A true miracle are those things that cannot be adequately explained by scientific law. True miracles are acts of God. The Christian can see the real miracles and the might power of God. We who believe can see the great omnipotence of God in the lines of the Gospel.

Matt. 26:51-54 – “And behold one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. The Jesus said to him, “Put your sword into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

Malchus’ ear being restored is only mentioned in the Gospel of

Luke. It is possible that Jesus did this great miracle so quickly, so matter-of-factly that many there missed it in the commotion. The world focuses on Christ’s suffering and death and wonders, “If He was God, couldn’t He have done something to stop it?” The Scripture

I just read to you answers that question. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

We as Christians need to realize the lesson Scripture teaches us here. There WILL be tough times; there WILL be heartaches, despair, and trouble in the Christian life. Sometimes it must happen that way.

Sometimes it happens that way for a reason.

Tom and Betty were moving into their brand new home. Tom had gotten a new job and was excited about getting up early the next morning to go to work. They had spent the day moving in: unpacking boxes, placing furniture, and getting to know their way around their new home. Late that evening, as Tom prepared to take a shower, and get ready for bed he discovered they had no hot water.

They called one of the only people they knew in the area, Dave, and

Dave invited them over to spend the night. While at Dave’s house a

TV bulletin informed them that a massive thunderstorm with tornadoes was heading directly for them. They took shelter in Dave’s basement and waited the storm out. An hour later, they came upstairs to survey the damage. There were trees and power lines down everywhere. Anxious to find out what had happened to their home,

Tom and Betty drove the three miles back to their new house. It was gone. Nothing was left but the cement foundation. Some people would cry out that God hadn’t taken care of them. That he had allowed their brand new home and all their possessions to be destroyed. But without a broken water heater, Tom and Betty might have still been in their new home.

4.) Jesus Has Compassion On Each One Individually.

As you study the Gospels and the life of Christ, you will find that

Jesus never turns away a person in need. When Jesus found

suffering, He relieved it. When he found sickness, He healed it.

When he found death, he occasionally brought the person back to

life. Luke 5:12-13 – While he was in one of the cities, behold, there

was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell

on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing,

You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and

touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And

immediately the leprosy left him.

He healed all manner of sick, He raised the dead, He blessed the

little children. And He did each miracle individually!

So when Peter cuts of Malchus’ ear, Jesus works one more

miracle. He simply picks up the severed ear and places it back on

Malchus’ head. The children song says, “Jesus loves ME, this I

know; For the Bible tells ME so”. The love of God is an

individual love, a personal love.

In the healing of Malchus’ ear, God is telling us that He love us,

every one of us, individually, even if we are his enemy.

5.) Jesus Gave the Crowd, and Us, One Last Glimpse of His

Glory

People today, especially in our society, have heard the name of

Jesus most of their lives. Many have heard sermons about Him.

There have been many movies made about Him, yet so few people really know Him. His disciples followed Him for around 3 ½ years and he still said to them, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me”. Jesus is God, but He was also a man. The disciples, like us today, had trouble understanding all that Jesus was and is.

As the head servant of the High Priest, Caiphas, Malcus knew the claims of Christ and he knew what the religious leaders, like his master thought of Jesus. They said that He was a fake, a false messiah, a troublemaker, and a blasphemer. Malchus was a servant and he was given a job to do. Take an army of men and bring in Jesus for the trial. It was just a job.

But the Bible does not record what Malchus thought of this so personal of a miracle. He saw a sword, probably ducked to keep his head from getting cut off, then felt a sharp pain on the side of his head. He, no doubt, felt the blood flow down this neck and onto his clothes. He probably heard a ringing sound deep in his head. But this Malchus, who had felt the healing hands of Jesus touch him, continued with his assignment. He brought Jesus bound to the home of his master. We don’t know much about Malchus, but what we do know is on that night he had a hand in Jesus’ death. He, like the others of the day, rejected Jesus, even in the face of the miracles and might works that He did. I just wonder, did he ever think about that night and what happened to his ear.

We can learn so much from the smallest things in the Bible.

Just by taking a brief look at Malchus’ encounter with Jesus we can learn that Jesus’ purpose was a spiritual one, not a secular one. We see that Jesus never left any situation undone, but always wanted things to be right and in order. We find out that even though Jesus is all powerful that he can reveal His power while still doing the Father’s will. We can also know that Jesus has compassion on each and every one of us individually. And finally, we can see that he loves his enemies - because even in the face of being arrested he gave Malchus, the high priest’s slave, and us, one last glimpse of His glory.

I wonder, did Malchus ever recount the events of that night in his head as he lay down to sleep? I wonder if he ever reached up to touch his ear to make sure that it was really there? I wonder what he though as Jesus was convicted and crucified. I wonder, how did Malchus respond when he was told just a few days later that Jesus, the same one who had healed his ear, had risen from the dead. Jesus had given him one last glimpse of His glory and deity before being put on that cross. He had personally shown

Malchus who He was. He was not the false prophet that Caiphas had talked about and worked against. He was the Son of God. He was the Messiah, the Christ. And Malchus got a chance to see it first hand, one last time.

We have a chance to see it too. His love and glory has been written down for us to share and that is why we meet here every first day of the week. Do you ever lie in bed at night and wonder, just like Malchus probably did, who this man really is? You can come to know Him, you can grow closer to Him, and it all starts be giving your life to Him.

If you have not been baptized, then why do you wait, there is no better time than right now. Or if you are a Christian and you having been living like you should, we are here for you too.

Please come as we stand and sing.