John 18:10–11
[10] Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) [11] So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (ESV)
Luke 22:49–51
[49] And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” [50] And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. [51] But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. (ESV)
Jesus in all of his love, grace, and mercy healed him.
Why?
To be a nice guy? Sure! But I believe it goes even deeper.
As you read earlier Malchus was a servant of the high priest. It was a capital crime to harm a servant of the high priest in any form! Let alone lobbing an ear off. Peter would have been executed by law. However, when Jesus restored his ear He erased all evidence that Peter had ever transgressed. So if Malchus would have went before the council and accused Peter of the crime there was absolutely no evidence that Peter ever committed the crime.
That’s what Jesus did for us. Ultimately we chose to sin against Him, to rebel against Him, to disobey Him, to in a sense substitute ourselves as god, attempting the de-goding of God, living our life by our own standards, and bringing ourselves glory instead of Him. Because we’ve done that, we’ve willingly separated ourselves from God, not wanting to relate to God, but to be god ourselves. In doing that, we’ve put ourselves under the judgment of God instead of the grace and mercy of God.
Even though we’ve done all of this, that God lovingly came into human history as the man Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin, without the affects of generational sin, and lived a life without sin, even though He was tempted in every way you and I are. Even though Jesus lived a sinless life, He willingly went to the cross to die a sinners death, and in doing so substituted Himself for us, the sinless One for the sinful ones. Our first parents in the garden substituted themselves for God, just as we would have, and do, and at the cross Jesus reversed that substitution and substituted Himself for sinners. So when Jesus went to the cross He willingly took upon Him the sin of those who would come to trust in Him. That means that Jesus Christ, God who was a man, died in our place for our sins, satisfying the justice of God toward sin and securing the grace and mercy of God for those who believe in Him. Jesus dead body was then put in a tomb, and for three days He was buried. But on the third day Jesus rose from the grave, proving His authority over sin, death, hell, Satan and demons. When we believe and are reborn in Jesus Christ we are washed clean by His blood. Jesus sacrifice takes away all evidence that we ever transgressed. And it doesn’t matter who accuses or what evidence they say they have. When we stand before a Holy Judge who’s a Holy God and He looks at us He will see Jesus whose blood we have been cleansed by.
Jesus lived a life we could not live (a sinless life), He died a death we should have died (a sinner’s death), He rose to give us a life we could never have otherwise (resurrected life), and He alone is the way, the truth and the life – the only way to God.
John 8:10–11
[10] Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” [11] She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (ESV)
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