The Arrest 3 - Matt 26:51-54; Mark 14:47; Luke 22: 49-51; John 18:10--

All these guys in the Garden of Gethsemane is making for an incredibly tense situation. I would imagine that the officers who have fallen down have gotten back up and what they were there for was obvious. Just like the disciples probably didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening while Jesus was praying a couple of hours previous, it feels like they are still dealing with everything on a very telestial stage. People are coming to arrest Jesus, they outnumber us so we must fight instead of “Jesus can end this just by thinking about it, how does he want this situation to end?” Luke tells us, “When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.” John mentions that this servant’s name is Malchus.

One of the articles that I read about this incident noted that it is mostly an accurate description because after Jesus’ death, the Christian propaganda machine wanted to portray followers of Christ, especially the Apostles, as non-violent. So for this to be mentioned in all four gospels, it most likely happened just as recorded. Why Malchus? Was he the most offensive? Was he loud and angered Peter the most? It doesn’t say, but I have always imagined that Malchus was just the easiest target for Peter to reach.
While Peter’s intention was probably to save Jesus from the attackers, Jesus did not appreciate the effort. He tells Peter, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” This must be where we get the saying, “he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Jesus continues, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” After all that had happened, all that they had seen and heard and witnessed, this concept was still so foreign to them. The IM says, “The Savior’s statement that He could pray and summon ‘more than twelve legions of angels’ helps us appreciate His willing submission to His arrest and the abuse that followed. Taken literally, ‘twelve legions of angels’ would have been between 36,000 and 72,000 angels. His cursing of a fig tree a few days before had shown that He could destroy with a word. He had power to defend Himself but chose not to use it at this time.”
I often use this concept to describe the law of tithing. I ask my kids why we pay tithing, and they say things like “build churches” “so we can suffer,” etc. But I tell them, “look, if Jesus wanted to, he could turn all the rocks in the world into gold nuggets, he could make a deposit into the church’s bank account for $12 billion. He can do anything, he can send angels down to build his temples, he could keep the church’s lights on just by speaking it. He doesn’t need our money in order to run our church. He let’s us pay tithing so that he can bless us, not because he needs it but because we do.”
The IM further quotes Gerald N. Lund as saying, “Imagine the Being whose power, whose light, whose glory holds the universe in order, the Being who speaks and solar systems, galaxies, and stars come into existence- standing before wicked men and being judged by the as being of no worth or value! When we think of what he could have done to these men who took him to judgment, we have a new and different sense of his condescension. When Judas led the soldiers and the high priests to the Garden of Gethsemane and betrayed him with a kiss, Jesus could have spoken a single word and leveled the entire city of Jerusalem. When the servant of the high priest stepped forward and slapped his face, Jesus could have lifted a finger and sent that man back to his original elements. When another man stepped forward and pit in his face, Jesus had only to blink and our entire solar system could have been annihilated. But he stood there, he endured, he suffered, he condescended.”
Peter cuts off Malchus’ ear, and Jesus rebukes Peter, but that still leaves the matter of Malchus’ ear not being attached to his body. But even though they are here to arrest and murder Jesus, probably with blood pouring out of Malchus’ face, Jesus “touched his ear, and healed him.” It’s astounding really, to think that these men watch miracle after miracle, even this one right in front of them, and still could not stop to think for one second, “they that guy just put Malchus’ ear back together and told his followers not to fight against us. Maybe we should stop and reconsider what we’re doing.” I wonder if Malchus stopped to reconsider? I mean what other signs to they need? How blind with rage do you have to be to not even be impressed by something like that? The IM comments, “Jesus Christ’s response when Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant shows the compassion of the Son of God even toward those who wish to harm Him.”