"Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"[1]
Judas approached Jesus quickly. "Greetings, Rabbi!"[2]
"Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?[3]
The high priest's servant said: "That is the man. He is the one that the Judean kissed. That is Jesus, arrest him."
The garden filled quickly with hundreds of soldiers and men with swords, clubs, torches, and lanterns sent from the chief priests and the elders. Chaos began as the large entourage of soldiers moved into the garden to arrest the Rabbi. There was yelling, shouting, and an uproar as Jesus' disciples realized the situation and moved in to protect their Lord.
One in particular was very animated. Simon Peter said: "You are not going to take my Lord." And he drew his sword, swinging it widely. He quickly lopped off the right ear of the high priest's servant, known as Malchus, his maimed auricle dropping to the ground.
Malchus fell to the ground and was moaning in pain. "Oh, my ear, you sliced it off. Fool, look at the blood. I can't hear." Bedlam continued as soldiers struggled with the disciples. A quiet peace, however, surrounded the Messiah. The soldiers did not touch the Lord; they separated from him as he approached a writhing Malchus. Jesus knelt by the man's side. He whispered a few words and then touched the absent earbud. A quiet calm came over Malchus. He fell into a deep sleep. Past thoughts came to his tortured mind.
#
Caiaphas, the man with twisted and graying sidelocks, dressed in a black woolen robe with golden stitching, was addressing the religious group. He was in command, and he knew his collaborators. Their directions and paths were entirely under his domination. One by one, he focused his attention on each Pharisee. "Is he not a plague on our people and an affront to our God?"
The meeting concluded with a decision to arrest Jesus the Nazarene Thursday in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Caiaphas confronted his servant. "Malchus, I want you to be with the guards in the garden. I want you to be my ear. Bring any information you glean from the criminals and Jesus. "
"Caiaphas, I am your servant. I, too, am appalled by the Nazarene's repetitive blasphemies. He calls himself God. His healings are cheap tricks. I will return with all that I am able to hear and glean.”
The meeting broke up and left Malchus alone to think. He was a husky man with a close-cropped head of light brown hair, closely set intense brown eyes, with a small hoop earring in his right ear. He was a devout follower of his Master, the chief priest, Caiaphas. He was outraged that during this Passover time in Jerusalem, Jesus, this impostor, this hypocrite, would interrupt sacred activities with his criminal actions. The raising of Lazarus in Bethany was an especial affront to God. The Nazarene used trickery and sorcery to do so. Malchus' anger was evident to everyone who viewed or interviewed him.
#
"I am in pain. I cannot hear." Malchus slumped back down on the ground as he woke from his sleep. A quiet group was around him. They parted as Jesus comforted the man.
"Do not be afraid, Malchus. I am with you. My Father in Heaven has given me healing powers beyond simple cases like yours. Your ear will be restored. You will hear again. And with that, Jesus touched the stump of his ear, and promptly, the ear auricle was restored, and all bleeding stopped miraculously.
"I think that I can hear as before, Rabbi." Malchus felt the shape of his ear to be whole. "There is no bleeding, Master. My earring has even been returned."
"Your ear is whole, Malchus. Believe in the Son of God, and you will have a whole and abundant life that will be eternal. Do you believe that, sir?" But the soldiers grabbed Jesus rudely, lifting him up and off to captivity.
Malchus stood and followed Jesus for a distance. He was shocked by what happened to him. He looked over his right shoulder and saw the dense bloodstains on his garment. He felt to his ear that the ring was still in the earlobe. The swiftness of the crowd soon outpaced him. He then slumped down and sat on the ground.
The crowd soon cleared out, and Malchus was alone. He was disturbed, shocked, and wondering. After again checking the integrity of his ear, he began crying. Malchus described the feeling in Christ's presence. "He was peace in the middle of this chaos. Love surrounded that man. I have never felt such a presence."
Malchus remembered the chief priest. The Sanhedrin was angry as the crimes of the Nazarene were discussed. Jesus claimed to be God. He used blasphemous language to describe himself. But if he was God, was it blasphemy? Hundreds of miracles had been attributed to the man. Many had been dismissed as fake. Malchus' healing was not fake.
Jesus’ message seemed simple. "I am the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."[4]
Malchus stood up slowly. He turned and looked in the direction that Jesus had taken. He felt his ear once more. Amazing joy filled his heart. He slowly retraced Jesus' steps.
William Lynes
11/1/2023
Comments