A Final Act of Mercy

And one of them struck at the high priest's slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this." And he touched the man's ear and healed him. -Luke 22:50-51

Before His death and resurrection, the last miracle of Jesus was not something big and showy like raising someone from the dead or walking on water. It was something that very easily could have been missed.

As the scene was unfolding in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas had betrayed Jesus with a kiss as soldiers came to arrest Him. Peter, taking all of this in, was freaking out. No doubt he was thinking, What is going on here? They can't take Jesus! So Peter unsheathed his sword and began swinging away. Peter, however, was a fisherman, not a swordsman, so trouble inevitably followed. Malchus, a slave of the high priest who probably was leading the charge toward Jesus, had his ear sliced off.

But Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?" (John 18:11). In Matthew's Gospel, we also read that Jesus told him, "Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?" (Matthew 26:52-54).

Then Jesus touched the man's ear-an ear that had been severed-and healed him. Why would Jesus even do that? Malchus had it coming, after all. Yet Jesus cared about people, even His enemies. And it wasn't long after this that Jesus prayed from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Malchus deserved everything that happened to him. But Jesus, in one final act of mercy, healed him.

Summary sentence: Is there someone in need of your mercy today?

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.