“…And He touched his ear, and healed him.” Luke 22:51
Dear Ones:
The setting was the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. The soldiers had come to take Him to be tried, and eventually crucified. In a natural response to the antagonistic “crowd,” which was pressing upon Jesus, Peter takes a sword and cuts off the right ear of the high priest’s servant whose name was Malchus. Several things transpire at this moment. First, the Lord tells the disciples that He is resigned to His Father’s will, and that He does not need for them to strike with the sword to defend Him. Secondly, He will “undo” what Peter has done by touching Malchus’ ear, by healing him. Why is this story so very important, and how can it apply to us where we live?
There are times in our lives when we, by word of mouth or by action, “cut off the ear of a Malchus.” We do what appears to be “irreparable” damage to another person. Such was the case, in the life of Corrie Ten Boom, when after being in a concentration camp during World War II, and there losing her sister, that she was confronted several years later by two of her former guards. Miss Ten Boom was speaking at a certain evangelistic meeting. Two men approached her after the meeting, and she recognized them. They had since the war come to Christ, and wanted to speak to her. You can imagine her reaction. They had done terrible harm to her, and were part of the reason that she had suffered such great loss. The “ear of Malchus” had been cut off. How would it be healed?
There are times when going to see an “offended” person, or one that has been hurt, is a large part of the solution. But there are times also, when the hurt is so very deep that only an act of God can heal such a wound, or a hurt. Does God still heal today, as the Lord Jesus healed in the Garden? Another question is, “Is it time, a convenient time, to heal?” When Jesus healed Malchus, he was surrounded by a crowd, and soldiers, enemies who wanted His destruction. And yet, with not thought of Himself, He took the time to deliberately reach out to Malchus to heal him. Such is the Christ, and now is the time.
So, what do we do when we have spoken, or done something, that has resulted in an open wound? This question applies in our response for the believer and unbeliever alike. Remember that Job’s friends hurt him by what they said. They inadvertently afflicted pain on the Lord’s servant. It was then that the Lord told Job to pray for them. He did so, and the Lord healed, and blessed him. His friend’s sins were forgiven also. The first thing, and continuing thing, is to pray for those who wound, or have been wounded, that God would, as He did in the Garden, heal the ear of Malchus. Then, it will be done, for God will do it, and do it well.
Dear Father, in this fallen world, where faith is so often not exercised, we are left to our own “selves.” The result of this deviation from Thyself is that we say or do that which can hurt, wound, and discourage our neighbor, even those close to us. Give us to us an ever- increasing measure of grace to abide in Thee. And secondly, put Your hand upon our “Malchuses,” and bring healing which You alone can bring, to them and to us. Then we all will be blessed, and Thou shalt be honored, and well-pleased. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad