Credit: Issac Ruiz
V9-10. Psalm 41:9 prophesied that not one would be lost. That was part of the reason that Jesus interceded for his followers in the garden. John makes sure we see Peter’s reaction. It was impulsive, determined and well intentioned but no match for the circumstances. The Finns call this sisu. You know you can’t succeed, but you try anyway.
Peter draws his sword and cuts off the ear of a slave named Malchus. Wow. We get to know for all time the name of a victim. A bystander in slavery, forced to go where he may not want to go because his life was under another’s command. In the control of the enemy army, Malchus becomes a victim of war, a skirmish of uncontrolled reaction. In most wars, he is collateral damage. Yet John is certain to tell us his name. While John does not tell any more than the rebuke Jesus gave to Peter, and both Mark and Matthew tell of the cut off ear, it was only Luke who bothered to tell us that Jesus healed Malchus’s ear. Imagine how this affected Malchus, slave no less to the High Priest. His name means ‘King’ or ‘kingdom’. Even within the enemy camp, God can do miracles of healing and take actions of love. Pray for His enemies. God can claim even the slave of the enemy for His kingdom.
Lord, as I look at the evil afoot in the world today, I think of those who have been taken captive under the command of evil and I pray that You shall set theses captives free with your truth. That You would reach into the very camps of the enemy soldiers and claim them for Jesus, for Your kingdom and Your glory!
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