John 18:10b
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Who was Malchus?
That’s an easy question to overlook amid the drama of Jesus’ encounter with those who have come out to arrest him.
But I think it’s also an important question. Because while we don’t know with any certainty who exactly Malchus was – we have no records within or outside of the Bible other than John’s testimony – we nevertheless know he was a person, a person who had a name and, likely, a family and friends and community.
Actually, we might imagine that he was somehow known, and perhaps even connected, to John’s community. Why else, one might wonder, mention him?
Might Malchus, whom John reports was the servant to the high priest, have become a disciple of Jesus after these events? Might he have been a leader in the community for whom John eventually writes? Might his testimony and faith have shaped John’s presentation of the Gospel?
All of this, truth be told, we can’t answer. But we can remember that John wrote about actual people and that he wrote to actual people. And that helps us remember that the Gospels – and most especially this narrative about the passion of our Lord – was not written as a dispassionate or objective account of “just the facts.” Nor was it written in a vacuum. It was written as a personal confession of faith about not just what happened, but about why what happened still matters. Why it mattered to someone like Malchus…and why it matters to someone like you.
Prayer: Dear God, as we read Scripture let us remember that it was written by real people and for real people so that we might hear your living Word addressed this very day to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: Fresco by Fra Angelico, San Marco, Florence, 1437–1446
Recent Comments