John 18:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

NIV: Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

NASB: Then Simon Peter, since he had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.

CSB: Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

NLT: Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

When Jesus made reference to how He would be facing these events alone (John 13:36), Peter responded with a brave claim (John 13:37). Since the disciples are armed (Luke 22:38), Peter apparently thinks this is the moment to prove his sincerity. As Paul will point out later (Romans 10:2), passion is not the same as perspective. Literally everything about Peter's approach here is wrong: his method, his goals, his target, and even the results are the opposite of Christ's intent.

It's important to remember that Peter is a fisherman, not a soldier. The weapon he's holding is described as a machairan in Greek, a term referring to a short sword. This is the same term used in Hebrews 4:12 referring to Scripture's ability to "separate" things. Most likely, this is an oversized fisherman's blade.

The effect of Peter's swing brings up interesting possibilities. In that era, being right-handed was more than a preference, it was practically mandatory. For Peter to swing a blade right-handed and hit another man on the right ear is awkward. Perhaps he swung overhand, nearly missing on the way down. He might have tried to draw and slash outward in a single motion. Less likely is that the man as facing away from Peter, possibly having turned to run. However, Peter would have had no reason to target a servant. A more intriguing possibility is that Peter was clumsily swinging at someone else, and missed. Given that Judas is standing close by (Luke 22:47–48), it's not unreasonable to wonder if Peter was trying to kill the traitor (John 18:2–3). Scripture gives no such explanation, however, so all we can do is wonder.

Here, again, it's clear John is leaving known details to the other Gospels. This verse, and the next, are matter-of-fact and brief. John's intent here seems only to add the name of the servant who was struck, making no mention of Malchus being healed by Christ (Luke 22:50–51). John's inside knowledge of the high priest (John 18:15) meant he may have known Malchus, personally.

John 18:1–11 occurs after Jesus' High Priestly Prayer (John 17). The garden setting evokes both the beginning and end of human history (Genesis 2:8; Revelation 22:1–5). Christ's obedience contrasts with the disobedience of Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45; Philippians 2:8; Genesis 3:12). Writing after the other Gospels were in circulation, John skips over Jesus' prayers in the garden (Matthew 26:36–46). Judas arrives to identify Jesus so He can be arrested. Christ provides a last demonstration of power before submitting to His enemies. Peter's maiming of a servant is mentioned, along with Jesus' rebuke of Peter, but not the healing of the servant's ear (Luke 22:50–51), or the disciples retreat (Matthew 26:56). David, also, experienced betrayal by a close ally while crossing Kidron on the way to the Mount of Olives (2 Samuel 15:23–31).

Jesus is secretly, quietly arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and taken to a series of sham trials before Jewish leadership. This leads to His encounter with the local Roman governor. Jesus accepts being described as "King" but denies that His current purpose is earthly rule. A mob assembled by Jesus' enemies reject Pilate's attempt to free Jesus. In the meantime, Peter fulfills Christ's prophecy about a three-fold denial.

John's Gospel was written well after the other three, so he frequently chooses to present different details. Chapter 17 detailed Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, just before He entered the garden of Gethsemane. This chapter describes Jesus' arrest, sham trials before Jewish leadership, and the beginning of His trial before the Roman governor. In the following chapter, Jesus will be unfairly condemned, executed, and buried.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.