“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the
high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was
Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not
drink the cup that the Father has given me?”” (John 18:10–11, ESV)
“And when those who were around him saw what would follow,
they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the
servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more
of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 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? 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 22:49–53, ESV)
Jesus’ response to those who came to arrest Him spoke very
loudly to me as I have been thinking about recent events. He said, “Have you
come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 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.” For so long in this country evil was done behind
closed doors or subversively so that it would not be noticed by the masses.
This was so because the masses had a standard of truth by which they lived.
They had a moral light founded in the Word of God that set the path for
society, and diverging from it came with consequences.
But gradually over time this moral standard has been eroded
and the light that guided our founders so many years ago to establish the laws
and standards of right and wrong which have guided this country, have been
dimmed such that our government and many people at large no longer see or
recognize that light. Voices have been silenced for other voices, and those
other voices operate in darkness and their own sense of what they believe is
right for man. It as if this country has suffered from the syndrome of the
proverbial frog in the pot of water who did not recognize the gradual, but
constant, turning up of the heat until it was too late and the frog was served
up on a plate.
This is the power of darkness. When there is no light on the
path people stumble. And when that light is purposely closed out man feels more
emboldened to do just as he pleases. In the book of Judges, which was a time
period after the death of their patriarchal leaders, man was left to his own
means to seek after God. Joshua before His death challenged the people to
follow after God, and they assured Him that they would. But surely enough after
he had died, man chased after his own desires, regularly got into trouble, was
periodically rescued by God and the deepening cycle continued until we read as
the last verse in the book, “In those days there was no king in Israel;
everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25, NASB95)
It is an interesting statement, there was no king in
Israel.” There was no one to set a course for them and to frame in their
actions. As we read in Scripture there was soon to be a time where there were
kings in Israel and most of those kings were no better than the people left to
their own means. This is so because those kings refused as well to follow after
God and observe His statutes. Even today we have a leadership in which some are
elected by popular or representative votes and others who are appointed by
those who are elected. Between the two, we have powers in place who represent
the views of those who put them there who may not even be in the majority, but
at least felt compelled enough to take action when many in the majority kept
silent.
The growth of evil results when man does not follow after
God and it is compounded when those who do keep silent. It is exasperated when
those who know God don’t know His word and even endorse that which God does not
approve. This is the way it was with Israel and it surely seems to be the way
it is with the countries of this world including our own.
So what are we to do? Peter had an answer to this. He stood
up and struck back on his own. And in striking out He went directly for the high
priest’s servant Malchus, cutting off his ear (probably expecting to do more damage).
It is interesting that John mentioned the name of the servant. We don’t know if
it was because Malchus was well-known and powerful in aggression toward the followers
of Christ or possibly because Malchus later trusted in Christ and became known
to them as a brother in Christ. What we do know is that Jesus knew why He had
come, and He even knew the heart of Malchus. He knew that He had to be taken
captive, and He knew that it was His task to preserve even those who were given
to Him such that none of them were lost. Had Peter’s act been left to stand
there is every likelihood that Peter would have also been arrested, but this
was not what God intended. Luke tells us (probably to protect Peter but also
not to hinder His arrest), “But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched
his ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:51, ESV) It was then that Jesus focused the attention
of His accusers on the reason for which they came and their choosing to come
after Him in darkness unseen when they had ample opportunity to do so in the
light and in the presence of others.
Peter’s answer was to act rashly on his own without
consulted Jesus in advance, and even today as we observe the attack on God’s
truth, our knee jerk reactions might be to lash out as well. Jesus responded to
Peter’s lashing out, “No more of this.” Jesus came to be the light of the
world, and because of Him coming we have been given new life and made His ambassadors
of light. Panicking and attacking was not the way of Jesus, and it is not to be
our way either. With bold assurance we are to trust God and speak His truth with
grace as ambassadors of light remembering that while we were yet sinners Christ
died for us. The world around us has suppressed the light in their lives and we
have been given the opportunity to be vessels of that light to reintroduce them
to that which they so desperately need to see. But we are not to take things
into our own hands. We are to trust God to work in and through us as we go to
Him, hide His Word in our hearts, and allow Him to direct out steps.
Jesus sent His disciples out to speak to the Jews, and in
sending them He gave them both instructions concerning what to do and about how
to respond when they are rejected. As we read the end of this passage we see
that this particular instruction even applies to the Jews in the end times and provides
direction for us in-between. ““Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the
midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men,
for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and
you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness
before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how
you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given
to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the
father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to
death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures
to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16–22, ESV)
His followers were not to go out wisely and
rightly. They were not to act rashly or incite warranted attack because of
those actions. Sure, they would be attacked, they would be turned over to the
courts, but even in this there were to bear witness before their accusers and
those who observed them. Jesus told them not to be anxious, but to rely on the
Spirit to direct their response. Even when families are divided over these
things, still they are to respond in trust. Even in the midst of hate and harsh
attacks, still there are to respond in peace knowing that it is Christ who they
serve. No matter how bad it gets or how long the struggle might last, salvation
is the certain hope for those who trust in God. It was true for them and it is
true for us today.
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