It had never occurred to me that I was reading about the last physical, healing miracle of Jesus when He was on earth. It was the ear healing in Gethsemane during Jesus’ arrest. (He did many spiritual miracles.)
John spends lots of time describing the first miracle of Jesus when He turned the water into wine in John 2, when the disciples were first jolted into the reality that they were in the presence of Someone supernatural. After three years with Jesus, the miraculous had become commonplace. Seeing a new ear formed was not so shocking by then and was assigned only about two verses.
I had assumed that Jesus reattached the severed ear, but Dr. Luke simply tells us that Jesus “touched his ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:51 NKJV) Perhaps Jesus did a creative miracle and created a new ear, just as He did for Adam. After all, He created the universe and could easily make a new ear.
And in Gethsemane, who got to witness this marvelous sight? Two groups were there: (1) the disciples and (2) the hostile crowd.
The hostile group was not only grassroots people from the streets but also some big shots from the culture. (Luke 22:52) In the mob that night there were chief priests, leading officers from the temple, and elders of the Jews.
But suddenly, a sword began to thrash/slash through the crowd. One of the disciples aimed it at the head of one in the crowd, and he severed an ear and saw it lying on the ground. Jesus gave the command to halt resistance. Everyone paused. The sword-swinging disciple turned out to be Peter. Three gospel writers don’t disclose his identity (Luke 22:51; Matthew 26: 51; and Mark 14:47). But John tells us all in his account and even gives us the name of the victim. The disciple was Peter (he says), and his victim was Malchus, a servant of the high priest. (John 18:10) John was probably known to members of the high priest household. (John 18:15)
Everyone paused. Peter put up his sword. The leaders and the mob stopped in their tracks too. An injured man needed Jesus. Surely such an act of kindness would change the thinking of the mob and its leaders! But NO. It made no difference. They were bloodthirsty. The healing of a blind man and others had had no effect previously on the leaders. Many of them didn’t seem to care to know the true God, just to preserve their power over the people and their favor with the Roman rulers.
God knew the human heart so well that He could predict the outcome of His Son’s ministry. Even the mob played into His hands, His scheme to save us. Later the disciples in the early church prayed, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus…[leaders] and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.”
The best plan is to determine God’s will and get on His side.