Matthew 26:51 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

NIV: With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

NASB: And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

CSB: At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.

NLT: But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

KJV: And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

NKJV: 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.

A crowd of soldiers and temple police have been sent by the chief priests and elders to arrest Jesus (Matthew 26:48–50). One of His own disciples, Judas, has led them here and has identified Jesus with a kiss (Matthew 26:14–16). Jesus is not resisting or attempting to run.

One of the disciples, though, resists with violence. John tells us that disciple is Peter (John 18:10), which is not a surprise. It's possible Peter was still stinging from Jesus' declaration that he would deny the Lord three times before morning (Matthew 26:30–35). Peter had insisted that he would not abandon Jesus and would certainly die with Him. He was clearly ready to take his stand with Jesus against an entire crowd of armed men.

Of course, Peter is no soldier. In that era, it was assumed that all people wielded a sword in their right hand. For Peter to hit his target's right side (Luke 22:50) suggests a strange incident. Either Peter swung overhand, or missed at first and took another swipe, or the target was facing away from him at that moment. Some commentors suggest that Peter was taking a wild swing at Judas and simply missed, striking a man nearby. For whatever reason, and in whatever way, Peter succeeds in cutting off Malchus' right ear (John 18:10).

Jesus makes it clear in the following verse that Peter was missing the point. He was using the wrong method, at the wrong time, on the wrong person (Matthew 26:52).

Matthew 26:47–56 paints the scene of Jesus' betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrives leading an armed crowd of soldiers, temple guards, and others. Judas identifies Jesus to the arresting crowd using a friend's kiss. Peter (John 18:10) wildly swings a sword and cuts a man's ear off in a misguided effort to defend Jesus. Jesus tells him to put the sword away. If He wanted saving, He could ask the Father and 12 legions of angels would arrive. He will not resist. The Scriptures of the prophets must be fulfilled. This passage parallels Mark 14:43–50, Luke 22:47–53, and John 18:1–11.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.