on the real Maundy Thursday, right after spending a solemn dinner with his closest friends and followers, Jesus was arrested. the evening was dimming to night, and they had gathered to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, an ancient garden of olive trees. when a crowd led by Judas the betrayer arrived, Peter panicked, pulled out his sword, and chopped off one of the arresters' ears. the guy now missing his ear and in excruciating pain was Malchus, a servant of the high priest.
as the Roman soldiers tried to figure out which guy was Jesus in the midst of all the din and rustle, and as Malchus stood there probably screaming in pain and trying to get someone to come to his defense, Jesus didn't run off into the trees, as i would have wanted to do. instead, Jesus calmly rebuked his disciples for being so rash, approached Malchus, and touched his' bleeding head, healing his ear! (Luke 22:47-51)
why did Jesus do this? and why was it included in the Bible?
it strikes me as amazing that it was the ear that was cut off. and that Jesus took the time in the midst of His own arrest to heal that ear. it brings to my mind the times when Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear!" Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:11, 29; Matthew 13:9 - reiterated in Mark 4:9 & Luke 8:8. He would say it after a parable or after instruction, and He meant more than just physically hearing with your ears. He meant UNDERSTANDING.
God wants so badly for everyone to understand and accept His message!
He pleads with us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." Psalm 95:7-8 and Hebrews 3:7
we humans, on the other hand, want to keep doing what we're doing, disregarding God, and pushing Him away. in Acts 28:27, reminding us of the Israelites in the Old Testament, He describes how we humans choose our own way, closing our minds to God:
"For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them."
we refuse to hear because we want to do what WE want to do. we don't want to be under authority, even if it means HEALING!! In 2 Timothy 4:3, we see a prophecy that is coming true right NOW:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
doesn't that sound eerily familiar??
notice these things in that passage:
1) it is by CHOICE that we turn from truth. when we use the phrase 'i won't put up with that,' we usually think we're turning away from something that is bad, but in this case we are rejecting sound doctrine, the thing that is RIGHT!
2) we pick and choose who we listen to, according to what we want to hear.
3) we gather 'teachers' who say what we want to hear - this means people in authority who supposedly "know what they're talking about." but they're telling total lies! (Americans, for one, like to think they are listening to 'authorities on the subject,' but BEWARE, some of these 'authorities' are telling lies! just because a 'scientist' says the earth is millions of years old doesn't mean he has any science to back it up. just because a newscaster makes pro-lifers sound unreasonable doesn't mean abortion is ok. just because a teacher in school says you can't speak the truth that homosexuality is a sin doesn't mean you shouldn't. just because a pastor ignores or belittles uncomfortable topics like immodesty and sex before marriage doesn't mean those things aren't wrong.
4) we are turning aside to myths. you know what a myth is, right? it's a phony story that needs to be debunked. are you falling for the myths that make you feel comfortable living the lifestyle you live?
i wonder if Jesus healed that man's ear to communicate to Malchus how 'deaf' he was, and how Jesus wanted him to be on His side that night, instead of with Judas.
which side are you on today? as we start thinking about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified, where are you standing? are you with Judas - betraying and rejecting Jesus? or are you on Jesus' side, purified and listening to the truth?
do you want to really hear God and know His voice? you must belong to Him.
Jesus said, "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47
turn away from the myths. turn away from false teachers and scientists and politicians who teach what they teach for their own selfish gain. turn to the truth, which is God's truth.
Jesus wants YOU!
as the Roman soldiers tried to figure out which guy was Jesus in the midst of all the din and rustle, and as Malchus stood there probably screaming in pain and trying to get someone to come to his defense, Jesus didn't run off into the trees, as i would have wanted to do. instead, Jesus calmly rebuked his disciples for being so rash, approached Malchus, and touched his' bleeding head, healing his ear! (Luke 22:47-51)
why did Jesus do this? and why was it included in the Bible?
it strikes me as amazing that it was the ear that was cut off. and that Jesus took the time in the midst of His own arrest to heal that ear. it brings to my mind the times when Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear!" Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:11, 29; Matthew 13:9 - reiterated in Mark 4:9 & Luke 8:8. He would say it after a parable or after instruction, and He meant more than just physically hearing with your ears. He meant UNDERSTANDING.
God wants so badly for everyone to understand and accept His message!
He pleads with us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." Psalm 95:7-8 and Hebrews 3:7
we humans, on the other hand, want to keep doing what we're doing, disregarding God, and pushing Him away. in Acts 28:27, reminding us of the Israelites in the Old Testament, He describes how we humans choose our own way, closing our minds to God:
"For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them."
we refuse to hear because we want to do what WE want to do. we don't want to be under authority, even if it means HEALING!! In 2 Timothy 4:3, we see a prophecy that is coming true right NOW:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
doesn't that sound eerily familiar??
notice these things in that passage:
1) it is by CHOICE that we turn from truth. when we use the phrase 'i won't put up with that,' we usually think we're turning away from something that is bad, but in this case we are rejecting sound doctrine, the thing that is RIGHT!
2) we pick and choose who we listen to, according to what we want to hear.
3) we gather 'teachers' who say what we want to hear - this means people in authority who supposedly "know what they're talking about." but they're telling total lies! (Americans, for one, like to think they are listening to 'authorities on the subject,' but BEWARE, some of these 'authorities' are telling lies! just because a 'scientist' says the earth is millions of years old doesn't mean he has any science to back it up. just because a newscaster makes pro-lifers sound unreasonable doesn't mean abortion is ok. just because a teacher in school says you can't speak the truth that homosexuality is a sin doesn't mean you shouldn't. just because a pastor ignores or belittles uncomfortable topics like immodesty and sex before marriage doesn't mean those things aren't wrong.
4) we are turning aside to myths. you know what a myth is, right? it's a phony story that needs to be debunked. are you falling for the myths that make you feel comfortable living the lifestyle you live?
i wonder if Jesus healed that man's ear to communicate to Malchus how 'deaf' he was, and how Jesus wanted him to be on His side that night, instead of with Judas.
which side are you on today? as we start thinking about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified, where are you standing? are you with Judas - betraying and rejecting Jesus? or are you on Jesus' side, purified and listening to the truth?
do you want to really hear God and know His voice? you must belong to Him.
Jesus said, "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47
turn away from the myths. turn away from false teachers and scientists and politicians who teach what they teach for their own selfish gain. turn to the truth, which is God's truth.
Jesus wants YOU!
"My sheep listen to My voice;
I know them, and they follow Me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand."
John 10:28
don't you want to belong to the Good Shepherd?
I started writing some comments but since they grew so long, I decided to put them into my blog, at http://bit.ly/XJ9fRS. My conclusion, though, is "In view of all this, another interpretation of the healed ear might be that we really do need two ears to hear, one that listens to all the things that we like to hear because they agree with us, and one to hear the (unwanted) words of correction that might steer us closer to the truth, if we're willing to hear them."
ReplyDeletei like that thought too, uncle mike. good point. thanks.
Deletealso, thanks for the blog post in response. i think you make some really good points there. and i know this post, along with pretty much every other post i write, is directed at me too, as i have the same ability to be wrong and the same need to hear truth from God and put that over my own opinions.
Deletei do believe the Bible to be ultimate truth, so there are many things i take as absolutely right or wrong based solely on what the Bible says.