Malchus
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Malchus (/ˈmælkəs/; Koine Greek: Μάλχος, romanized: Málkhos, pronounced [ˈmal.kʰos]) was the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas who participated in the arrest of Jesus as written in the four gospels. According to the Bible, one of the disciples, Simon Peter, being armed with a sword, cut off the servant's ear in an attempt to prevent the arrest of Jesus.
Biblical accounts
That a disciple cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest is related in all four canonical gospels, in Matthew 26:51, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:50–51, and John 18:10–11, but Simon Peter and Malchus are named only in the Gospel of John. Also, Luke is the only gospel that says Jesus healed the servant. This was Jesus' last recorded miracle prior to his resurrection.
The relevant passages in the Gospels of John and Luke, KJV, read:
10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
50 And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
James F. McGrath suggests that this account reflects an event that did happen, in that early Christians would hardly have invented a story portraying themselves as violent.[1]
Later in Chapter 18, John records that a relative of Malchus witnessed Peter's assault in the Garden of Gethsemane, and identified Peter as a follower of Christ. Peter denied this.
Other accounts
4th century church father Jerome cites a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to Malchus, quoting a passage from the lost "gospel according to the Hebrews." "And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, he went to James and appeared to him."[2][3]
Literature and arts
Thornton Wilder wrote a short play entitled, "The Servant's Name Was Malchus"; it appears in the collection The Angel That Troubled the Waters and Other Plays.
The Fire Gospel, a 2008 novel by Michel Faber, centers on the discovery of the fictional lost gospel of Malchus.
Malchus is portrayed by Paul Brightwell in the 2013 TV miniseries The Bible.
In the 2004 Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ, Malchus is represented as an armed member of the temple guard. In this depiction, Jesus heals Malchus' wounded ear, leaving the latter to stay behind sitting dumbfounded in a state of disbelief, suggesting a possible conversion to Christianity.
Isak Dinesen in The Deluge at Norderney (the first of Seven Gothic Tales) relates a story about Simon Peter wherein he uses the memory of cutting off Malchus' ear "to control his temper".
The book Touch by John Ferguson portrays Malchus as a Roman soldier sent by Pilate to spy on the Sanhedrin. Malchus is then sent by Caiaphas to spy on Jesus and his followers.
See also
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Malchus ((Málchos)).
Greek form of Malluch (i.e. counsellor), a name common in the Semitic languages and of special interest as being that borne by the Jewish servant whose ear was struck off by St. Peter.
The incident is described by all the Evangelists (Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50; John 18:10), though St. John alone furnishes us the names of the servant and the disciple, and only St. Luke mentions the miraculous healing of the injury. According to the Fourth Gospel, Judas, accompanied by a band of soldiers and servants sent out by the high-priests and Pharisees, set out from the city to apprehend Jesus. After the meeting, when the soldiers were about to seize Jesus, St. Peter drew his sword and cut off the right ear of a servant of the high-priest. We may conclude that Malchus was in the van of the hostile party and showing particular zeal, for St. Peter would hardly have singled him out without reason. Christ at once healed the wound and took occasion to teach His followers a lesson of peace.
Later in the evening a servant, related to Malchus, wrung the second denial from St. Peter (John 18:26-7). Since St. John alone gives the name of the servant, we may conclude that he himself was the disciple known to the high priest (John 18:15). The silence of the other sacred writers with regard to Peter's identity may be ascribed to a motive of prudence, for at the time they wrote the Jews might have punished the disciple, had they known his name.
References
- Back to citation McGrath, James F. (September 20, 2014). "The Case of the Severed Ear". Patheos. Patheos.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- Back to citation Jerome, De viris inlustribus 2, in The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts, ed. Ron Cameron, Westminster John Knox Press, 1982.
- Back to citation "Gospel of the Hebrews". earlychristianwritings.com.
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Malchus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.