“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priests servant, cutting off his right ear.” (John 18:10 NIV)
Don’t you love it when the Lord used a couple different people to get His point across? I received such a text early today. Some dear friends have offered to hold our feet to the fire in this season: the fire being the Holy Spirit, of course. And in their unconditional love for us and the Father, they often read my mail. This is the quote they passed on this morning:
“With the multiple demands and constant pressure of our lives, it can be difficult to pay attention to God’s voice. When we don’t, we easily go the way of Peter and pull out our swords when people appear to threaten what we love or the way we think things should be. Jesus, on the other hand, offers us another model – a love demonstrated through submission to the Father
and humility in our relationships.”
(Peter Scazzero)
When the text toned in, I had been sitting with Moses on the last mountain before the Promised Land. He was fixing to give closing remarks to his people and I was taken aback by his confidence about God’s word spokenthrough him.
“In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him concerning them.” (Deuteronomy 1:3 NIV)
I had literally just been praying that God would speak clearly so we could follow closely. I was still in that head space when I received this quote. It got my attention. I considered my own tendency to grab for the sword instead of listening in love and waiting for the Spirit’s whisper in the interim. Yep; the verdict came back ‘guilty’.
Isn’t this the state of our nation right now? Aren’t we all rising up with weapons in hand, ready to bloody the battlefield wherever we go?
I’m ever full of questions. Why did Peter have a sword to begin with? Who brings weaponry to the dinner table or blades to a prayer meeting? As usual, we can make accusations against Peter or we can recognize all the times we’ve made it ugly over holiday mealtimes and church gatherings. Fearful folks pack heat for self-preservation. Hurting people conceal and carry to guard against getting hurt again.
Peter reminds me; we aren’t here to bludgeon others into belief. We are here to till the ground with love and submission to the Father’s plan. It might be messy and a bit abasing, but His ways are higher than our ways.
It’s also notable that the servant had a name. The other three gospels disclude it, but John did his homework and named the man with the ear incident: Malchus. How did he know? Did John go back to get the rest of the story? Is this what he was up to in the high priests courtyard while Peter was busy denying Jesus? Was Malchus’ faith born in his emergency operation? We don’t know how or why, but Malchus’ identity was included in the gospel of John but we realize that every person we might raise a sword to has a name. A story. A soul. Malchus was created in God’s image and Malchus mattered in the grand scheme of things. Jesus would go to the cross the next morning and Malchus would still be on His mind. This is clear because in those moment of arrest, Jesus stopped to heal Malchus right there on the spot. I can just picture it, “Hey guys, I know you have a job to do and I’m gonna cooperate, but hang on a moment while I put this guy’s ear back on.”
Malchus mattered to Jesus and so Malchus matters to us. Every unnamed stranger in our story is a Malchus: someone dear to the heart of God and not yet known by us. Malchus is the person who will be egregiously affected by the rashness of our actions. Malchus is always in the room, reminding us that whatever we say or do has eternal implications.
So I’m still chewing on all this when I sign into my Upper Zoom meeting at 7am. We are a group of ladies who long to look more like Jesus and get together once a week with just such intention. Today, we each shared a scripture of recent encouragement. The good doctor offered up this one in Isaiah and I think you’ll see the connection.
“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4 NIV)
Of course, Isaiah’s prophecy is about the nation of Israel and specifically about the time to come when the Messiah reigns over the earth. Israel and the rest of the nations are still waiting on Christ’s return. In the meantime, as believers, the Messiah is meant to reign in us. We can cooperate with the message of Christ and the Sprit of God in transformation. He’s reforming our stuff necks and hard hearts from weapons used against others into tools employed in gospel sowing.
As a leader: at church, at home, in our classroom or workspace, God asks us to beat our swords into plowshares. He implores us to take that strong will that gets us in so much trouble and, instead, submit it to Him. We tend to wound and maim, but He invites us to till and tend because Malchus is always in the room.
This reforming will hurt. Have you ever watched a blacksmith at work? It is hot and bruising process; moving metal from one shape to another. Thankfully God is more patient than we are stubborn. He has a design in mind that will serve His purposes well. We can move from an instrument of destruction to an apparatus of cultivation. He can make all things new and He can begin with us while we wait on His kingdom to come.
Lord, let us be an instrument in the hands of a holy God. We don’t want to wield swords in our own strength any longer. All we do is mail and dismember. Turn up the heat and transform us instead. Soften our hearts and in stiffen our necks. Beat our swords into plowshares. Let us turn over the ground and sow seeds of the gospel. Let us live and love as You lead, ever aware of the Malchus in our midst. Use us to grow something good. Amen.