LUKE 22:49-51 ENEMY'S EAR HEALED

ENEMY’S EAR HEALED

LUKE 22:49-51

(See also Matthew 26:51-56,

Mark 14:47-49, and John 18:10-11)

Luke 22:49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

Susie: What did they see that made the disciples ask if they should defend their Master? John expounds on that:

John 18:3-9 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

Susan: Luke does not tell us all that had transpired when Judas came in the garden to betray Jesus with a kiss. He did not detail the officials and soldiers coming to arrest Jesus or Jesus’s questioning who they came for. John focused on this aspect and is the only one of the gospel writers who records the soldiers’ response to Jesus declaring He was whom they sought. They keeled over like dead men, knocked down by His words alone!

Susie: Jesus did not lay a hand on any of those who came to seize Him. He didn’t need to! However, the disciples, even though seeing this miracle, asked if they should fight with the two little swords they possessed.

Susan: Notice they (or at least impulsive Peter) did not wait for Jesus to answer.

Luke 22:50 And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

Susie: All four gospels record this event, but only John names the disciple wielding the sword and the servant whose ear was lopped off. I wonder if Peter was really trying to cut off his head?

John 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

Susan: Peter was a man of action with too much kinetic energy. On the mount of transfiguration, he wanted to build booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Here he wildly waves a sword.

Susie: By the way, my son played the role of Malchus in The Promise at Glenrose for a couple of seasons. Therefore, I never forget the name of that poor servant who just happened to be in Peter’s way.

Luke 22:51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear and healed him.

Susan: The King James Version “suffer ye thus far” is another one of those phrases we no longer use. The New King James Version translates it “permit even this.” What were they to permit? The disciples were to allow Jesus to be arrested and placed on trial.

Susie: In order to fulfill the purpose for which Jesus was born as the God-Man, He must suffer and die. He could not allow His disciples to interfere with the divine plan laid out by His Father.

Susan: Jesus’s actions supported His words of refraining from violence as He healed the servant’s ear, literally putting it back on. This was not the time for fighting and overthrowing. It was a time for submitting, trust, and peace.

Susie: Yes, Jesus submitted to those arresting Him rather than making them permanently “as dead men.” However, more importantly, He could submit in trust and with peace to His Father’s will. MacArthur’s commentary on this verse points out some other interesting points about the healing of the servant’s ear:

MacArthur Study Bible

touched his ear and healed him. This is the only instance in all of Scripture where Christ healed a flesh wound. The miracle is also unique in that Christ healed an enemy, unasked, and without any evidence of faith in the recipient. It is also remarkable that such a dramatic miracle had no effect whatsoever on the hearts of those men. Neither had the explosive power of Jesus’ words, which knocked them to the ground (John 18:6). They carried on with the arrest as if nothing peculiar had happened (v. 54).

John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

Susan: Had I been one of those soldiers sent to arrest Jesus and had felt the power of His words knock me to the ground in a dead faint, plus witnessed the miracle of the ear being reattached perfectly, I may have been persuaded to trust in Him rather than seize Him!

Susie: Yet, their eyes remained blinded to the truth that Jesus was the Son of God.

Susan: The Father was using them to fulfill His purpose.

Susie: And we cannot know this side of Heaven how their memories of that night might have been used to draw them at a later date.

Ponder this and apply it: Focus for a moment on the last part of verse 51. Even as His enemies were arresting Him, Jesus showed compassion by healing Malchus’s ear. He submitted to His Father’s will by allowing Himself to be taken and remained true to His nature of love, compassion, and forgiveness by using His touch to heal. The peace that comes from seeking and obeying God’s will enables us to act according to His nature, to exhibit Christlikeness. God is in the process of conforming us to be like His Son (Romans 8:29). That ongoing process sometimes involves trials during which we must lay aside our own will in favor of His perfect plan for us. We will continue to be shaped and molded until the day we are in His presence.