Permit even this

"When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, 'Lord, shall we strike with the sword?' And one of them stuck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, 'Permit even this.' And He touched his ear and healed him."

-- Luke 22:49-51

The world says, "seeing is believing."

Scripture says "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

For the disciples, this event in the Garden was the culmination of something Jesus had been telling them would happen for a long, long time.

Even in the hours leading up to this moment, he'd talked of how he'd be betrayed by one of His own. He spoke of how He'd be deserted. He told Peter that he would deny Him three times before that very night was over.

In the moment of truth, everything clicked for the disciples because it was happening right in front of their face. These are the types of times, when we think we see what is happening, that it is best to draw back and inquire of the Lord -- and wait on His reply. But's that's an entry for another day.

What happened next (both immediately and in the following hours) became a subtle object lesson in how God would have us present His son to the world.

It also begs the question in our daily lives of how much do we listen to what God is actually saying and how much do we hear what we want to hear?

Make no mistake -- it's no irony that it was the ear that a disciple (Peter) chopped off of the servant (Malchus) to the high priest.

If the disciples had been listening, they would have heard that these events were things that had to happen. Simply, this was why Jesus had come to the earth.

But instead they saw the events unfolding. They asked, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" but they did not wait to hear His answer. They just sprung into action and hacked someone's ear off.

Is this how we treat witnessing in our own lives? Do we suddenly get revelation into God's plan and charge ahead, swords drawn?

Earlier that same week, as the group headed up to Jerusalem, Jesus told His disciples that they were going there so that He would be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and teachers of the law. He said He would then be condemned to death and handed over to be mocked, flogged, spit on and killed. He also said He would rise three days later.

The disciples responded by asking who could sit at His right and left when He came into His glory.

As he dispensed communion, He again talked about one of the 12 betraying Him and gave an example what His entire time here was for -- to be a Servant King.

The disciples responded by arguing over who should be considered the greatest.

Then, as they made the trek into the Garden, He told them to pray. They responded by falling asleep.

And in the moment of betrayal, their actions were to quell the injustice, rather than allow for the onset of the Age of Grace.

Their hearts were in the right place, but they missed the bigger picture.

In attempting to defend Jesus, they hacked off the ear of one who served the high priest.

Do we do this? Do we use the Bible like a hacksaw on the ears of unbelievers? It's a fair question. Is that how we view the world?

Take a long look at Jesus' actions here.

In the moment of betrayal -- just minutes after His prayers had drawn beads of blood from His forehead as He implored His Father in Heaven for another way -- He restored the servant of the high priest.

If His disciples had waited for God's answer, they would have heard, "Permit even this."

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says further, "Shall I not drink from the cup that my Father has given me?"

He healed Malchus' ear so that he might be a witness to the events of the following days.

Scripture doesn't tell us the fate of Malchus. You have to believe, though, that to be touched by the very hand of God -- brought back from the threshold of death so that you might live (let's face it, no one is that accurate with a sword in the heat of battle so as to make a clean cut without missing that important piece of matter just inside the ear) -- you would take at least a passing interest what happened next. You have to believe that something in that man's heart changed.

Could it be he is referred to as a servant of the high priest because in that moment he became a servant of the eternal High Priest?

God is the one who opens ears to His gospel. It is our responsibility to dispense it, but it is God who heals the ears.

Look at those who simply witnessed the events of the crucifixion and were forever changed.

We read of the thief on the cross, who initially mocked Jesus. After watching the Son of God permitting what was happening, he cried, "We are punished justly, for we are getting what we deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

We read of the centurion, who had attended to Jesus' death. Seeing everything unfold, as the earth shook and the sky grew dark, the centurion proclaimed, "Surely, this is the Son of God."

These are the same confessions that we, as sinners, make today when we ask Jesus into our hearts.

It is what Jesus did on the cross that changes hearts. That's what saves us. In proclaiming that good news, we have to always be careful how we are presenting it.

Are we swinging a sword in defense of our Savior? Or are we nudging them toward the One who can heal them?

###

What I'm reading: Revelation, Numbers, Luke, Proverbs, Psalms