God’s Word for You
Mark 14:47 The Battle of the Garden
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, February 4, 2024
47 But one of those who stood by him drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest. He cut off his ear.
In the face of a crowd armed with swords and clubs, one of the disciples drew his sword and swung wildly. John tells us a few names: the disciple was Peter, and the man his sword connected with was Malchus (John 18:10). In the dark, in the heat of the moment, with fear and many other emotions at play, there is no chance at all that Peter was swinging specifically to sever this man’s ear from his head. More than that, there is no swing possible that would have cut an ear from the head apart from an attempt to split the man’s skull in two.
Jesus must have stepped in at once to stop the fight that would surely have erupted at that moment. We know from all the accounts that this was the only blood spilled in the Garden, and we will comment on the miracle soon enough. But the Battle of the Garden amounted to nothing more than a single swing of a single sword. Did other blades ring a little, nearly but not entirely pulled from their sheathes? The inevitable and pitiful cries of the wounded man are contrasted with the awesome presence of the Lord here. No one else could have halted the battle more quickly that Jesus. His commanding presence, his powerful voice, his certain authority are contrasted at this moment with his restraint. He who would do nothing at all to stop his own arrest, trial and execution, was surely not meek in any sense when it came to this servant of the high priest and everyone there. No one else would suffer on his account. No one else’s blood would run on this day. There would be no collateral damage to his arrest.
To be sure, many thousands, many tens and hundreds of thousands of Christians have died on account of their faith in Christ. Some because they were too rash, some because there was no hope, or no choice, or no way out. In some places, Christians are persecuted and killed by Muslim mania or the paranoia of a dictator. In other places, organized crime is responsible for many Christin deaths. Many of Christ’s followers have died because Satan hates Christ, and he moves irrational and wicked men to kill Christians.
The wrong way to defend Christ or Christian doctrine is the way that Peter chose here in the Garden. We do not truly defend our Savior with blood and violence, and we can never make a single convert to the Gospel with a threat. In the same way, we cannot force people to become Christians by forcing them to act “more Christian” with laws and rules or by bullying them. Only the Gospel changes human hearts. The wars that God commanded Joshua and the judges to undertake were not to convert pagans, but to annihilate them in order to spare his people from idolatry. That time has passed. That is no longer God’s way with anyone. Christ came to fulfill the Laws of Moses and to proclaim forgiveness. Luther said, “It is one of the most foolish things, agreeable to Satan, to defend the gospel with the sword.” And David said, “My companion attacks… war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords” (Psalm 55:20-21).
It has been said that the earlier Gospels, Matthew and Mark, do not mention Peter’s name to spare the Apostle from disgrace in this error of his (John, we are convinced, wrote his Gospel after Peter died). This is possible. But the ancient believer was not wrong when he said that if you have drawn your sword “even against a friend, do not despair, for a renewal of friendship is possible.” There is forgiveness for mistakes just as there is atonement for sins. Peter’s slip here was rash and did not involve much if any thought. He shouldn’t have brought the sword in the first place. What blood would have been spilled if there had been gunpowder and muskets?!
What a blessing is peace! This is a blessing we often ignore in our peaceful towns and sleepy villages. “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you, alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). And Paul commands us: “Live in peace with each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:13), which we can do only through Christ. Yet we must also remember the words of Clement, that early pastor, who said to the Corinthians: “Let us join with those who practice peace with godliness and not with those who desire peace with hypocrisy… for with their mouths they bless but in their hearts they curse” (1 Clement 15:1,3; quoting Psalm 62:4).
Thank God and praise him for the blessing of peace. May the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. Remember the word of James: “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18). Make no threats for the sake of God. Make only friends, and let invitation, blessing, comfort, consolation, and the gospel of Jesus be your speech with everyone.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.