Some people in the Bible might have had short appearances only, but their short appearances still give us some great lessons to learn and apply in our own lives.
One such short appearance is that of a man named Malchus. He is not a disciple of Christ, and neither did he do something good that we should emulate him.
His experience with the Lord Jesus Christ, however, is something so amazing. We should study it and learn from it.
Who is Malchus and what can we learn from his experience with Christ?
Let's take a look at that.
The high priest's servant
Malchus' story is found in all four Gospels. Though he is specifically named only in John 18:10-11, he is also found in Mark 14:45-49, Matthew 26:50-54, and in Luke 22:49-53 as the "servant of the high priest."
Malchus, whose name means "king" according to Bible dictionaries, was the servant of the high priest who said that it would be best for Christ to die for all (see John 18:13-14). It is likely that the high priest sent him, along with soldiers and Judas Iscariot, to capture Jesus (see Matthew 26:1-4, 14-16, 47-49).
Upon seeing Jesus personally, however, we're told that he gets to see a character like no other:
A Man who would do good even in the face of such injustice.
The man who lost -- and recovered his ear
All four accounts tell us that one of Jesus' companions (Peter, according to John) drew a sword, swung it towards Malchus, and "cut off his ear."
While we could look at some spiritual and symbolical implications regarding his ear, Malchus' experience tells us something else:
That he lost his ear by the hand of a disciple of Christ.
That may be very difficult to accept (a Christian who hurts others deliberately), but what is astounding is how the Lord Himself responded:
By correcting His disciple, and by healing Malchus' ear.
Matthew 26:51-52 tells us,
"And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."
Luke 22:49-51, on the other hand, tells us,
"When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him."
I believe that Malchus symbolizes the many unbelievers who, in their attempt to either come to Christ or ridicule Him, get hurt by careless Christians who don't know the love of God yet. Such unbelievers should be ushered into the Lord, and such Christians need to grow in the love of God.
The very loving and gracious Savior of the world
Malchus' experience shows us that Christ loves all men. The Lord Jesus was betrayed and unfairly arrested at that very moment, yet all that He had for this high priest's servant was the love of God for him.
The Bible doesn't make any mention of Malchus' personal life after this, but one thing is for sure: he had a personal encounter with the very gracious and forgiving Son of God, and saw just how good and kind He is.
Think about that: if we had such an encounter with Christ (we planned to do Him evil but He showed us grace), wouldn't we be changed?
