By Fr. Victor Feltes
Judas Iscariot came to the Garden of Gethsemane with soldiers and guards who carried swords and clubs, lanterns and torches. Jesus’ disciples realized what was about to happen and asked, “Lord, shall we strike with a sword?” When one struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his right ear, Jesus shouted, “Stop, no more of this!” Jesus then touched the man’s ear and healed him. All four gospels record the event but only St. John reveals it was St. Peter who had wielded the sword. Perhaps there was no longer a need to conceal his role in this violent episode once Peter had been martyred. St. John also tells us the wounded man was named Malchus.
Why did Peter strike at Malchus? It’s hard to imagine Peter attacking him if Malchus were unarmed and posed no immediate threat. That Peter slashed at him suggests Malchus was one of the most aggressive among those threatening to capture Jesus dead or alive. Why do all four gospels note that Malchus’ wound was his ear? Perhaps this is highlighting the truth that it’s harder for people to hear the Good News when the use of violence deafens them. Christ converts through loving persuasion, not force.
Given the apparent zealousness with which this slave served his master, risking life and limb to achieve Jesus’ quick arrest, Malchus may have been the kind of slave described in Deuteronomy 15. A Hebrew could sell himself into slavery but it was not automatically for life. The Old Covenant said: “If your kin, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself or herself to you, he or she is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall release him or her as a free person. However, if your slave says to you, ‘I do not wish to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, you shall take an awl and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever.” An awl resembles an icepick, a small pointed tool typically used to pierce holes through leather or wood. A Hebrew slave whose devotion was such that he wished to permanently serve the same household would get his ear pierced in this way. The hole in the servant’s ear and the matching imprint and blood stain on the house’s wooden door would be visible signs of the servant’s permanent commitment.
To whom did Malchus belong? Whether his ear had been awl-pierced or not, Malchus was enslaved to the high priest. “Malchus” comes from the Hebrew word for “King,” with sources saying the name means “My King.” His name providentially pointed to whom he truly belonged. Like everyone, Malchus rightfully belongs to Christ our King. Perhaps Jesus restored the ear of Malchus renewed, healed unpierced as a sign, since Christ through his Passion was setting him free. Jesus Christ is the Suffering Servant foretold of by Isaiah the Prophet. Jesus, because he loves you and your household, freely chose to dedicate himself to us forever. His body still bears the marks where we pierced him. And the wood of his Cross, which bears puncture holes and Christ’s blood stains, is our doorway to salvation—to living together with him forever.
