City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁶ So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant^{[Or bondservant]} of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

Luke 22:6, 47-53 (ESV)

 ⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant^{[Or bondservant]} of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Matthew 26:51 (ESV)

⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant^{[Or bondservant]} of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Mark 14:47 (ESV)

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant^{[Or bondservant]} and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

John 18:10

Reflection

First, I want to point out that today’s passage is included in all four gospels, which makes sense.  We are in the part of the story in which all four gospel writers are weighing in – because it is the Holy Week – and it is at the climax where Jesus is about to redeem all of mankind. 

So, we get the events of this week told by many.  As I understand it, Mark recorded these events first, based mostly on stories from Peter. Then Matthew wrote an account, probably after seeing Mark’s writings. And then Luke, after seeing these two accounts, went on a quest to record only things that he could verify based on the rules of evidence, mainly qualifying multiple eye-witnesses.  And then a couple decades later (around 70-80 A.D.), John wrote an account, mainly focused on Jesus’ final week, and in his account, he was seeking to clear up things that he believed were being confused amongst the believers.

So, today’s portion is the arrest of Jesus.  In verse 6, we see that Judas and the chief priests conspired to have Jesus arrested “…in the absence of a crowd.” Clearly this was done to prevent complications in the arrest.  Jesus’ arrest was supposed to happen quietly.  The fact that Jesus had a follower, who was a bit of a hot head, complicated things.  Having a follower of Jesus attack one of the arresting agents was not part of the plan.  Jesus reaching in and healing the servant was necessary to keep the plan on track.

It’s funny that in the middle of this most holy and sacred moment, we find a score being settled between the disciples.  Why is it that three of the gospel writers just say that it was “one of the disciples” who attacked the bond servant, but in John’s gospel, which was written decades later, it is revealed to have been Peter who did the attack? Did we really need to know that?  Is that important to better understand the trial that Peter is about to go through?  And why is it that people are only asking Peter if he was a follower of Jesus, when John, another follower of Jesus, is right there standing next to him?

John tells us that Peter attacked the bond servant, and that “the servant’s name was Malchus.”  And then later, we learn that John even knew the brother of this bond servant.  So, there is a level of familiarity between Malchus and John, and maybe even Peter.  Malchus, being a bond servant, was the servant of the high priest Caiaphas, by his own free will. 

What a journey to go from willing to kill for Christ to denying him in such a short time.  Don’t be too hard on Peter, most of us go straight to denying Christ, we don’t even have an ear to show for it.

Application

Come to the garden with reverence and a quiet heart. Let go of your rage and your judgements. Say to yourself, “woe is me” and “for whither thou goest, I will go” (Ruth 1:16), but only by your grace. It’s funny.  What Judas and the chief priests planned to happen “in the absence of a crowd” may be the most public thing to happen in history.  It’s documented by four contemporary reporters and translated into almost every language on Earth.  Perhaps those things that are done in darkness really do come to light one way or another. Fear not the light, for even if the deed be dark, God’s light will redeem it.

Prayer

Precious Lord, I come to the garden seeking to watch with You for a while.  I pray that my eyes do not tire.  Work in my heart, so that it might be open to Your call and to Your purposes.  Strengthen my soul for the night and encourage my spirit until morning comes.  Teach me Your ways in all things.  In Jesus name, amen.