Sometimes a piece of artwork, an action depicted in a book, or an event portrayed in a movie can illustrate an important lesson in such a way that you never forget it. Such was the effect on me of a vivid portrayal of a man being stopped in the tracks of evil intent by a stunning act of love.
It was in Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ. Christ Jesus’ betrayer, Judas Iscariot, had come at night with a group of men and officers to where Jesus was, and they were now engaged in taking Jesus by brute force with the intent of having him put to death. Jesus’ disciple Peter reacted by drawing his sword and cutting off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. But Jesus responded by commanding Peter to put his sword in its sheath, while he touched and healed Malchus’ ear. What happened next is what moved me most: As Malchus touched his healed ear, his face reflected a quiet sense of utter wonderment, and he paid no attention to those who urged him to rejoin them in their vengeance toward Jesus.
I had often read the biblical accounts of this incident in the Gospels of Luke (see 22:47–51) and John (see 18:3–12), and I knew that Jesus’ act was characteristic of his healing mission to humanity. But when I read that account again this past Easter, I remembered the change reflected in Malchus’ face in that movie, and I saw something I had not seen so clearly before: Right in the midst of that extremely challenging and painful time, Jesus was conquering evil, while Peter had unwittingly succumbed to it. Let me explain.
