This sermon series will investigate some persons of interest in the death of Jesus Christ. Each sermon will ask if this person is guilty of the death of Jesus Christ. As we listen and hear the case against each player in the death of Christ, we also hear that the words are for us today. May the Lord bless us as we hear His Word.
This sermon, preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on April 2, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, focuses on John 18:10-11 and Luke 22:49-53. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this evening is from the Gospels of John and Luke, the eighteenth and twenty-second chapters:
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?”…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.”
Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
Tonight, our person of interest in the investigation of Jesus is a man whose name is little-known: Malchus. Malchus, the servant of the high priest, Caiaphas, is mentioned only once by name in the Gospels, but the incident in which he became famous is in each Gospel. This obviously was a major event in the life and story of Jesus, but why? And why was Malchus there in the story? And why is there nothing else known about him?
I mean, there are other little-known figures in the Scriptures that we have loads of information about from outside the Scriptures. Eusebius, the slave of Philemon, went on to become a bishop. Paul, the great Apostle, was beheaded in Rome. Thomas was said to do missionary work in India. Caiaphus’ coffin, his ossuary, was discovered in Israel, so we know more about his death, location, and life than others. The magi who visited Jesus as an infant likely returned to the Babylonian lands. We know plenty about them, but what about this Malchus? Perhaps his absence in the rest of history makes him a great candidate for being responsible in the death of Christ. We need to turn our attention to him and ask a few key questions.
First off, why was Malchus in the Garden when Jesus was betrayed? The high priest of Jerusalem was a major figure with many assistant priests, many assistants, secretaries, and the like. This particular high priest caused plenty of problems for Rome, telling on Pilate when he did something wrong. This high priest was a huge public figure. Where he went, it would be as Jesus walking around. He’d have crowds, people asking for favors, prayers, money even.
But, unlike, Jesus, the high priest had an image to protect. We’ll talk more about him next week. But this image made it necessary to send his servants out to do his dirty work. Thus, Malchus was sent to the Garden in order to see that the arrest of Jesus went off without a hitch, without the ability of Jesus to appeal for mistrial to Pilate on grounds of violence or maltreatment. Of course, we know this didn’t stop anyone from being violent toward Jesus later, but that was in private, out of the prying eyes of the Apostles.
After all, look what happened when the Apostles were there. Now, maybe this was Jesus’ fault. After all, earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples that because the time is coming to spread the Gospel, the forgiveness that will flow from the cross of Jesus, they should be prepared. Now, of course, we would think that this is because they should be prepared to give an answer for the hope that they have in Jesus Christ. And this is true. But surprisingly, Jesus tells them they need to take swords. They need to be prepared in this way. And why is this? It seems so out of character for Jesus.
One likely reason is because Jesus knew that they would encounter robbers and thieves and brigands along the way of their missionary journeys. The Gospel is too important to let it die on the lips of a man who is being robbed. Now, perhaps this is not quite what Jesus meant, there’s a lot of discussion on this topic, with a wide range of answers, but what’s clear is that the Apostles took it this way. When Jesus told them to get a sword, Peter grabbed two.
Enter Malchus. With Jesus’ words ringing in his ears, Peter believes that he is going to defend his Jesus. Now, of course, remember, we’ve already discussed Peter. He’s impetuous, he acts before he thinks. So, defending Jesus against the mob that comes to arrest Jesus in the Garden, Peter takes his sword and lops of Malchus’ ear. This is the Apostles’ response to the arrest of Jesus. No wonder the high priest had sent Malchus there, making sure that violence against Jesus didn’t get out of hand. But, poor Malchus was instead the victim of such violence.
Can you imagine Malchus’ response? Perhaps he thought he was dreaming. After all, weren’t Jesus and his crew pacifists? Well, no, but still. Malchus never heard of them doing violence before. Perhaps Malchus just stood there with no concept of what was happening. Perhaps he didn’t even notice. Perhaps he fell to the ground groaning in agony. We don’t know.
What we do know is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. We know that Jesus had great pity here on Malchus. Even though the other gospels don’t record the healing, Luke says that Jesus reached out, touched Malchus’ ear and healed him.
What’s the idea here, Jesus? You’ve got this guy, Malchus, who is representing the evil high priest, who’s there to lead your arrest, who’s there perhaps to assure the soldiers that IF anything DOES happen to Jesus, no one is going to do anything against them. You’ve got a guy who definitely complicit in the death of Jesus, bringing Him to the high priest and Pilate. And Jesus, all He does is heal this man. What’s the point?
Perhaps the point is our point. This Malchus, while we may not know much about him and his life, we know plenty about ours. If Malchus is evil, then we may also see the evil that resides in us. And if Malchus is an unwitting participant in the death of Jesus, then we, too, even know that for us, even though sin resides in us, we know that often our sins against Christ are unwitting, they are unconscious, yet they are sins. So, did Malchus sin here? Did he act against the Savior of all Mankind? Yes, yes he did. Malchus is working against God, even though Malchus’ actions would lead Jesus to the cross. Malchus is still betraying God by crucifying his Creator.
Yet, Jesus still cared about Malchus. Remember the swords? Jesus encouraged His disciples to carry the swords? Why? To protect against robbers and brigands, which Peter obviously thought this mob was. So, Peter did what Peter does, and he cut off Malchus’ ear.
Yet, Jesus, knowing things much better than Peter, knew that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ, and hearing is carried out by two instruments, your ears. Jesus, having compassion upon Malchus, desiring that Malchus would hear the Good News of the Gospel, the Good News that this Jesus who is being betrayed, who will be crucified, and who will rise from the dead for the forgiveness and justification of the world, Jesus healed this Malchus. Without the ability to hear, Malchus would have been deaf to the Good News, so Jesus restores his hearing. Jesus restores his ear.
You can almost hear Jesus’ common refrain from the parables, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.” Jesus would teach His people, yet it was not given to all to hear and understand the parable. Jesus desired Malchus to hear, and to have ears to hear. Jesus, in this way, restored Malchus. He restored Malchus. He literally gave Malchus an ear to hear.
But, I don’t know that Malchus ever did hear. You see, we’ve seen why Malchus was there, as a servant of the high priest. I think we’ve seen why this event surrounding Malchus is mentioned in each of the four Gospels; it’s because of Jesus’ compassion and showing a desire that all would heard the Word of God and turn from their wicked ways and follow Christ. I think that’s why it’s important. But we haven’t yet figured out why Malchus isn’t mentioned anywhere else throughout history.
This is speculation but it’s likely that Malchus’ healing is only mentioned in one gospel because Malchus never came to faith. You see, even though Jesus literally gave Malchus his ear to hear, I don’t know, but I really don’t think Malchus ever came to faith and trust in Jesus Christ unto life everlasting. Again, it’s only speculation.
But this is the reality for many who hear God’s Word. They may hear it, they may even be baptized, but they turn away from God’s Word. Some turn away from God’s Word and never come back, rejecting it unto death. Some hear it and turn away in their sin, but they desire yet to return to the sheepfold of Christ.
And this is us. We turn from God’s Word, we lop off our own ears like Van Gogh did, so that we don’t hear it when we sin. Yet, Christ continues to bring to us our ears to hear. We somehow find ourselves in His presence. We somehow find ourselves in a mob we thought was going to arrest Jesus and crucify Him, yet He heals us without our knowing it.
You see, we are Malchus, we are in this story of Malchus. We have been given ears to hear, and we may turn toward God in Christ’s work, or we may turn away. Which shall we be? I pray we turn always towards Christ so that we may be His own.
Yet, Malchus tonight, perhaps he did not. Perhaps he did not know what he was doing, yet Malchus was highly complicit in the death of Jesus. He is guilty. He is damnably guilty, for he lead the group to arrest this Jesus to have Him murdered. Yet, Christ doesn’t strike him with lightning. Even when a stupid man lops Malchus’ ear off, Christ still has compassion and love on the man. So, Malchus, our person of interest? Guilty, yet, his sentence, like all others, has been given over to Jesus. Jesus died for Malchus, Jesus died for Malchus’ healing, and we pray that Malchus turned toward faith, just as we have been turned toward faith in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness He brings to us through His cross. We are guilty, just as Malchus, yet our sentences, like Malchus’, even if he rejected it, have been completely given to Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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