^MkThe men seized Jesus and arrested him. ^LkWhen Jesus’ followers say what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ^JnThen Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) ^Mt“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” ^LkBut Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.   

- Matthew 26:50b-54, Mark 14:46- 47, Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10-11 (as presented in The Daily Bible in Chronological Order)

 Malchus.  The name made my day. I love the thrill of hidden treasure that comes from finding something new in a familiar passage of scripture. 

 Malchus.  I knew Peter cut the ear off. I knew Jesus healed the ear. But I never realized we knew the name of the servant.

 Malchus.  It’s not a name taught in Sunday school. It’s not a name we recognize but can’t place. It’s a name we don’t notice and easily forget.

 Malchus.  A man come to seize Jesus, at the forefront of soldiers armed with torches and weapons. A man seeking the Messiah, his piercing eyes fixed on Jesus.

 Malchus.  As he stands in confrontation against the troubling man from Nazareth, Peter’s sword is drawn against him and in one slash, his ear is hanging.

 Malchus.  Is he stunned? Angered? Doubled-over in pain? Filled with rage and ready to attack?

 Malchus.  The declared enemy of Jesus. Set to destroy Him. Prepared to end Him.

 Malchus.  A man on a mission to destroy.

 Jesus.  The God on a mission to save.

 Jesus.  Calming the situation with only His words (the Word of God is powerful stuff).

 Jesus.  Looking full-on the humanity set to destroy Him with calm. Facing His weapon-rich crowd of enemies without fear.

 Jesus.  Heals the enemy. Graces him with His powerful touch. Makes whole what has been broken.

 Jesus.  Searching eyes will find Him. Angry souls need Him. Broken lives are healed by Him.

 Jesus.  A no name encounters THE Name and nothing is ever the same.

 Jesus.  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

“… for I am the Lord, who heals you.” – Exodus 15:26

 I was reading a fictional book on the treadmill this morning about a young boy struck with leprosy and cast out of Jerusalem. As he was walked through the city on his way to exile, he was required to call out, “leper, unclean,” every ten feet. Twelve years old. Innocent. Scared. He can’t get his voice to work.

And his father runs to him, sweeps him up in his arms, and calls out for him, “unclean, leper,” taking on the punishment of his son’s disease as his own, making his son’s exile his own.

 This brought me to tears. I sat on the edge of my treadmill and sobbed. My tears rose from the deep hurt and pain in my own heart that mixed with the encompassing comfort of knowing that I, like this little scared boy, have a strong Father to gather me in His arms and carry me through the pain in life – a Father who will make Himself exiled and unclean so that I can be loved and cleansed.

How does your heart hurt today? Where does your soul ache? Do you long for someone to come along and carry you?

We all have hurt and pain in our lives. We’ve all been cast out and exiled in some way. We’ve all been scared and lonely. But just as this little boy, we all have a Father, a Savior, who will not only swoop us into His arms and carry us, but who also has the power to heal our broken hearts, to bind up our wounds, and to set us free.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn, but to save. He came not to exile us, but to lead us to the Father who heals our broken hearts. One of the Hebrew names for God is “The Lord Who Heals.” The word used for “heals” means “to mend by stitching.” Picture God holding the pains of your broken heart in His hands while He patiently and lovingly stitching the pieces back together.

The sad truth is that we sometimes prefer to hold on to our hurts instead of being healed. Are you holding on to the pain in your life, or are you letting the Lord carry you and heal you? Do you need to forgive someone and move on?

No matter what the source of the pain might be, Jesus is the source of the healing.

O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. – Psalm 30:2