47 But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” 50 And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.
51 But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 53 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”
Read Luke 22:47-53 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During the chaos surrounding Jesus’ arrest, one detail is included in Luke’s gospel that surprises me. While I appreciate Luke including this, I am amazed that none of the other gospel writers include it.
All four gospel writers include Jesus’ arrest in the garden, and this is one of the few places where each one of the gospel writers includes something that the other three don’t include. In Luke’s case, we see a detail immediately following something that all the writers share: “When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, ‘Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!’ And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.” (v. 49-50)
John tells us in his gospel that the one who drew his sword was Simon Peter, the famous, outspoken disciple in the group. All the gospel writers include this and most of the gospel writers include a response that Jesus gives to Peter, but only Luke shares the concluding detail of this harmful act: “But Jesus said, ‘No more of this.’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (v. 51)
I am a little surprised that none of the other gospel writers include the detail that Jesus healed the slave’s ear, but in this detail that Luke includes, we see an amazing picture of God’s character. At the height of His ministry and in the middle of a key event leading to the cross, Jesus focuses in on an individual. When emotions were running wild, and Peter wants to defend their group with violence, Jesus is more focused on healing.
But what is really incredible is that Jesus chose to heal someone who came to cause Him harm. In this slave who Jesus healed, we see a picture of ourselves. All too often, we come after Jesus with evil intentions, and this is because we are all hurt in one way or another. Hurting people hurt people. But even when we come at Jesus with the intention of hurting Him, Jesus is more than willing to offer healing. When the ear of the slave is cut off, Jesus chooses to heal the hurting person, regardless of what the hurting person intended to do.
Jesus responded with love when all the mob brought Him was hate. This is an amazing picture of Jesus, and one that I am happy that Luke included in his gospel.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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