Of Good Intentions
By Susan Klein
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s
servant, cutting off his right ear.”
John 18:10a (NIV)
Having recently
celebrated Easter, many of us spent time reading the Gospel account of Jesus’
final week on earth. One person in this story always leaves me questioning:
Malchus. He was the servant in the above verse. This is the only mention of
Malchus in all of Scripture. I wonder what became of him.
Being a Jew, and a
member of the group who came to arrest the Lord, he conceivably opposed Jesus’
claims of being the Messiah. So, what went through Malchus’s mind when Jesus
healed his ear? Did he question his own beliefs? Might this have been a
life-altering incident? Did he ever share with anyone what had happened? Nobody
would have noticed anything different in his appearance since Jesus completely and
miraculously healed him. Was he grateful? Did he consider that, had Jesus not
healed him, his whole life would have changed drastically? Being maimed, it’s
likely he’d be considered no longer clean or purified, thus, unworthy to
fulfill his temple duties. Scripture offers no answers to these questions.
But, we do know
about Simon Peter. Peter, who knew and loved the Lord, and said he’d lay down
his life for Jesus. Peter, who tried to be the hero with a sword. Jesus rebuked
him, not for his zealous “good intentions,” but for his hasty and misguided actions.
Jesus had forewarned the disciples that He must suffer these things.
Apparently, it slipped Peter’s mind as his good intentions took over. His
actions also betrayed his intentions when he “followed at a distance” as they
led Jesus away to Caiaphas, and when he denied even knowing Him three times.
Fortunately, Peter eventually learned from his mistakes.
Truth be told, aren’t
we all a bit like Peter at times? We run ahead of God, trying to “do the right
thing,” which may not even be in His plan. Like Peter, our zealous good
intentions lead us to do what we deem is right in the heat of the moment.
Sometimes our good
intentions can lead to no action
rather than wrong action. Haven’t we all told someone we’d pray for them, or
call them, or help them with something, only to have it slip our mind amidst our
own busy-ness?
None of us wants to
be remembered as “the queen of good intentions.” Let’s commit to seek God in
all we do, and to follow through on what we promise.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Do you struggle more with running
ahead or with following through?
2. How
will you make your actions match your intentions?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan is married to Mark, and
has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing, and
tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of the Peace Team at
Oakwood, and also periodically co-leads a Wednesday Night Community small group.
