The location is the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus is about to be arrested. Peter decides that if Jesus wonât defend himself heâll have to do it for him. Being a fisherman and not a swordsman he swings at the wrong person (a mere servant) tries to take his head off (and misses) but does manage to cut off his ear. Somehow a full scale riot doesnât break out and Jesus reattaches poor Malchusâ ear. He also reprimands Peter. Cutting off heads or even lopping off ears in Jesusâ Name isnât acceptable behavior.
Peter should have known this. Heâs seen that âpower playsâ arenât Jesusâ way. Itâs his enemies, the religious leaders, who wrap themselves up in their robes of righteousness and then say and do anything for the sake of God. As weâll see later on this same night, they arenât above lying or even manipulating murder âfor the Lord.â
As for Jesus, he practices what he preaches. Even as heâs nailed to a cruel cross thereâs no âsword languageâ from him. He could have called âtwelve legions of angelsâ but instead he prays for those who have it all wrong and are putting him to death.
Later on, the infant Church takes the teachings of Jesus to heart. For them, becoming a follower of Jesus is to start down the road to martyrdom. A part of converting to Christianity is to prepare for a violent death in the Roman Coliseum. Clearly, these arenât a people of the sword.
It would be nice if we could say that followers of Jesus have always obeyed his âno swordsâ policy but we know itâs not true. At times Christians have reverted to force, not only in âtaking the gospelâ to the world, but also in how they deal with one another. Sometimes, those who wouldnât toe some ecclesiastical line have paid dearly for their willingness to hold to their convictions. It wasnât the âsinnersâ who burned them at the stake; it was the âChristians.â
To this day there are those who, for the sake of Jesus, take out the sword and start swinging. Happily, in this day itâs not the âblood lettingâ kind of sword. Rather they use the sword of the tongue or pen. Wrapping themselves in robes of righteousness they swing wildly at those with whom they disagree. In righteousness indignation they do all they can to draw some blood in Jesusâ Name.
Maybe things would be different if theyâd pay attention to the command of the Jesus they think theyâre defending. As he says to Peter, âPut your sword back in its place.â