“I got a phone call from a friend back in our old town last night,” Stan commented one morning. “It was the first time I had ever talked with him on the phone.”
“First time ever?” I asked. “Even though he’s a friend?”
“That’s right,” Stan replied. “He was always bothered by a severe hearing loss that kept him from being able to make phone calls. He simply couldn’t understand what the other person was saying, so he gave up even trying to talk on the phone.”
“But you said he called you last night,” I commented. “What was that all about?”
“He recently had a cochlear implant that made a vast difference in his ability to hear and understand,” Stan said, “particularly on the telephone.”
“I don’t know much about cochlear implants,” I replied, “but I’ve read that they can really help certain people.”
“I don’t know much about them either,” Stan said, “but my friend described the implant as a ‘miracle of technology’ that has changed his life!”
“In fact,” Stan continued, “my friend is so excited about what has happened, he jokingly refers to himself as ‘Malchus’.”
“Malchus?” I said. “Why Malchus?”
“That’s the name of a person in the Bible,” Stan replied, “who had his own kind of miraculous ear fix.”
“Miraculous ear fix?” I repeated. “How so?”
“It was in the Garden of Gethesame the night Jesus was betrayed on His way to the Cross,” Stan said. “When Judas came into the garden with a bunch of soldiers and Jewish leaders, there was a fellow by the name of Malchus who there along with the high priest who was his boss.”
Continuing, he added, “When the disciples who were with Jesus realized what was going on, that Jesus was going to be arrested, one of the disciples pulled out a sword and hit Malchus, cutting off one of his ears.”
“Wow,” I said “Who did that?”
“Guess who?” Stan replied. “The one disciple and apostle who had a history of doing impetuous things. Peter.”
“That must have really hurt that Malchus fellow to have his ear cut off like that,” I said. “But where does the miracle come in that relates to your friend referring to himself as Malchus.”
“That came next,” Stan replied. “Jesus told Peter to ‘Stop,’ and then Jesus touched Malchus and healed him.”
“Healed Malchus and his ear by just touching him?” I asked.
“That’s what it says,” Stan said.
I thought about that for a few seconds and then commented, “I wonder if he was healed spiritually as well as physically.”
“I don’t know,” Stan replied. “It doesn’t say. But I have to imagine that Malchus walked out of the garden a changed man. How could he not be changed? He just had his ear cut off by a disciple of Jesus, the man they were to there to arrest. But Jesus showed Malchus His amazing compassion by touching and healing him.”
“Just as,” I added, “Jesus has healed for eternity every single person who is willing to accept by faith what He accomplished on the cross.”
“You got it, my friend.” Stan replied. “Malchus could have gone on with his life with only one ear, but I suspect he entered heaven with both ears when it was time because he encountered Jesus, became the miracle ear guy, and accepted all that God had available for him.”
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Bible verses to consider:
And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:50, 51.
Simon Peter therefore having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. John 18:10.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending your Son into the world so I could encounter Him and have everything changed. My eternal destination is to be with you forever when my time here is completed. And my life on this side of eternity has been changed for all of the time I have remaining here. All because you allowed me to encounter Jesus with a heart open to see Him and accept all He did for me. I pray for each person to encounter Jesus in the same way, to truly see, accept, and embrace Him for who He is, your only begotten Son, Savior, and Lord. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in His name. Amen.
Think on this: An encounter with Jesus can change everything, including eternal destination and life on this side of eternity. Have you had that sort of encounter? If so, what was it like? What happened because of that encounter? If you have not encountered Jesus, would you like to do so? Why or why not? If you want to encounter Jesus, do you know how to do that? If you don’t know, do you know who to ask?
Waiting for the Train 