Slice! Whack! No more ear. The violence in this text is quick but still disturbing.
Jesus quickly reorients our attention to the fullness of what is happening: Put your sword away. Legions of angels could be sent. But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled?
In Matthew’s Gospel, this is a central theme: Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures. He is both Son of Abraham and Son of David and fulfills all the covenant promises to Israel in the Old Testament: the Abrahamic covenant, the Sinai covenant and the Davidic covenant. As the disciple puts his sword away, we hear echoes of this fulfillment, as if all the Old Testament witnesses are whispering: “It is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”
Join us Wednesday as we hear from Malchus, the “ear guy.”