It was Malchus whose ear Peter had cut off in a spirit of wild and reckless enthusiasm. Peter, always energetic, had used the sword in order to defend his Master from His foes. But the sword-the weapon of vengeance-was out of place in such a defense. The Lord was about to surrender Himself into the hands of sinful men for the fulfillment of His mission here below; and self-defense was therefore no part of His gracious plan. He abandoned it in order to accomplish the Scriptures. He had already, while His disciples slept, passed in spirit through the dread ordeal, and was now prepared for all that was to happen.
But such an act of surrender was in contrast with the rash and impulsive disciple. His sleep had ill prepared him for such a trial. He awoke unconscious of the nature of the temptation and of his own moral inability to face it. He, like Samson, was shorn of his locks, yet he flew to the sword; he appealed in his weakest moment to the weapon of natural strife. His intention was, no doubt, good, but his conduct was sadly at fault.
He strikes and cuts off the ear of Malchus. Now, who was Malchus? He was the servant of the high priest. Is this fact not remarkable? Was not the sound of his master's feet behind him? It was, though at some distance. The high priest could hardly, with the propriety becoming his dignified office, sally forth at night in the company of the bloodthirsty crowd that made its way with torches and weapons to dark Gethsemane. No, he remained behind in his palace, but he sent Malchus to fill his place; and he it was who suffered under the stroke of Peter's sword. Had the high priest gone in person, the blow received by his servant would have fallen on him. But as it was, the servant of the high priest and the disciple of Jesus met in conflict, and the former was wounded.
Thus Peter does exploits, but they are out of keeping with the times. David had his "mighty men," the records of whose prowess are placed on the page of history. They fought and won by the use of carnal means; but they acted in keeping with their times.
Jesus came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. His disciple did not understand.
How slow we are to learn grace, or to apprehend the unworldly, heavenly nature of Christianity! How slow to learn the differences that God has made in the dispensation of His ways! The law and the sword agreed well; but grace and the sword are absolutely incongruous. Nature understands the former and readily acts upon it, but the Christian should seek to know the latter and to act thereon. The disciple acted in law and used the sword; the blessed Master acted in grace and healed the ear of Malchus. How bright is the contrast!
For the rest of his days the servant of the high priest carried the healing touch of the Lord. How fully he might have described the difference between the hasty, rough disciple and the calm and gentle Master! Was his heart affected? Did he return to his master and declare the tender grace of Jesus to him? We are not informed. It is not Malchus, either wounded or healed, grateful or otherwise, who fills the eye at this crisis. It is the infinite grace of the blessed Lord whose forgiving and healing hand lays itself gently on the servant of His chief enemy. Such touches of His grace captivate the heart as they speak so unmistakably of who He was. Yes, the Scriptures present to us Jesus in His own perfection, not as compared to but as contrasted with men, and the best of men. Men come before us, indeed, in many different characters, but in the best estate are shown to be only "lighter than vanity"; whereas Jesus-Son of man, Son of God-holds His own peculiar place, "full of grace and truth," just in order that we might discover what that God is against whom we have sinned. For Jesus was, of a truth, God "manifest in the flesh"-a most wonderful fact and worthy of deep and reverent contemplation.
Think, dear reader, of God coming in flesh, of God assuming that condition (all sinless and perfect) in order that we who are in it, fallen and guilty and blinded by sin to all that God is, might get to know Him.
Creation with its innumerable wonders and beauties may tell of His power and skill, but it could not make Him known.
Jesus made Him known. "The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." He was God manifest in the flesh. And in the flesh, a perfect Man (tempted in all points as we are, sin apart and in perfect grace as well as in perfect truth) He heals Malchus in lovely keeping with all His ways from the manger onward. What winsome grace!
In contrast, Peter's hasty conduct bore fruit to his sorrow. That fruit did not end with the sword stroke. Following his Master, now captive, into the palace of the high priest, he takes his place beside the other servants, in which evil company his identity is soon established. He is charged with being a disciple of Jesus, but stoutly denies the charge. Yet one of the company said, "Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?" What a home thrust, and how deeply it must have cut! And by whom was it made? Strange to say, by "his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off" (v. 26). His kinsman had seen the blow given, and now recognized the man who gave it. Here we have an eyewitness to Peter's mistaken zeal and murderous conduct.
Malchus and his kinsman had apparently led the band that followed the traitor, Judas Iscariot, eager to carry out the wishes of their high-priestly master; and being at the front, they were the more readily exposed to any opposition that might arise.
Malchus suffered from, and his kinsman bore witness to, the foolhardiness of Peter. And Peter, at fault in the garden, is still more at fault in the palace. There he strikes a foe; here he denies his Lord.
But did the kinsman, while quickly incriminating Peter, as quickly relate the healing touch of Jesus? Did he tell how speedily and thoroughly and gently the fault of the disciple was more than rectified by the very Master whom Peter now so heartlessly denied? We are not informed.
Little injuries are remembered when large acts of kindness are forgotten; for such is human nature, tainted as it is by sin. Hence, this exquisite proof of the forgiving grace of the blessed Lord may have passed out of the mind as a thing of no account.
Thank God that it is written on the page of inspiration, "He touched his ear, and healed him." Luke 22:5151And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. (Luke 22:51). And so Malchus may have presented himself for years before his master, bearing the visible mark of the healing touch of Jesus-an ever-present witness to His love and pity-who "when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously." 1 Peter 2:2323Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: (1 Peter 2:23). Such exhibitions of His grace win the heart and endear Him to it.