The Servant's Monologue

Note: A few years ago it occurred to me that the servant whose ear was removed in the Garden of Gethsemane is never mentioned again in the Bible. I wondered what would have become of someone who experienced such trauma followed by miraculous healing in the next instant. What follows is where my imagination took me. I pray the Holy Spirit was directing my imagination and that this might have some similarity to what actually happened to that fellow. As noted in The Upper Room Daily Devotional of this date (March 23, 2010), we all are presented with the opportunity to thank Him for our healings, or to just move on with life as though nothing happened. That devotional prompted me to revive this writing and put it here.


And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51 (NIV)

“Such a long day and night!! In all my years I have never experienced such a time! I know, I know! I say that all the time, but this day really was different, and in a way I’ll never forget!” PAUSE.

“Just wait a minute and I’ll tell you. Sit down, this may take a while.
Where do I begin?! The day began fairly routinely—if you can call any of the recent days routine. Ever since that fellow, Jesus, came on the scene “routine” has taken on a new meaning. Before that things ran pretty smoothly, given that we all operate with Caesar’s iron hand within reach of our throats. But, Rome IS a long way off, and most of the local regiment leaves us alone if we don’t do anything to draw their attention. Until Jesus came along, the people just lived life—well, they lived in some fear—afraid that Caesar might crush them and afraid the Priests might toss them out of the Temple—I guess they lived life, but, like me, they had a hard time seeing the point of it all.

"I mean, our country, the so-called chosen people of God are mostly chosen to be under some dictator’s thumb. For centuries we have existed without so much as a word from God—He used to speak—sometimes out loud, like to Moses—sometimes through the prophets—but at least He spoke. That’s been quite a while ago. Our parents and their parents and any number of generations before them have heard the same stories we have, but none of us have heard anything from God. Well, at least, not unless you believe what this fellow, Jesus, says about himself. He says he is God, or God’s son, at least. I’ve seen his momma—nice lady, but not who I would picture as God’s wife—sorry, a little digression there. He says he is a king—not a good thing to say when Caesar already is king and when Caesar considers himself to be God, too.

"I’ve told you before that the boss, to keep things stable, was willing to ignore Caesar’s claims—as he says, ‘Let the heathen Romans do what they want so long as they leave us alone.’ After all, the boss and all the rest of the priests have it pretty good. So do we, by the way. They tell the people when to jump and how high, and if the people don’t obey, watch out! Caesar might kill you but the boss can make you wish you were dead. I mean, dead is dead and that can only happen once—but living and being treated like you’re not even there because you broke one of the rules—that’s seems worse than death. PAUSE.

"Yeah, you’re right, being on the inside has its perks—he expects a lot from us, but he knows us and cuts us a little slack on some of the stuff—after all, he cuts himself a lot of slack, too, when no one but he and I are around.

"But—stability—that’s his favorite word—and it was going pretty well until Jesus showed up. Once people saw what he could do they began to listen to him and things haven’t been the same since.

"Wouldn’t you be tempted to listen? I was. By the way, have you listened to him? I have. I mean, the guy, right before hundreds of witnesses, tells this paralytic to get up and walk and the guy does it!! A hoax you say? Not a chance. I’ve known that cripple for twenty years. He’s never so much as wiggled a toe. And Jesus says “get up,” and off he goes! That was an unfortunate incident for Jesus, by the way—bad choice of words at first. He said, “Your sins are forgiven” right before he told him to walk. The boss’s men went crazy! They called him on his choice of words, so he looked at them calmly—stared a hole right through them, like he could see their souls, and said, “Take your mat and walk,” as if one phrase was as good as the other.

"At any rate, the fellow walked. Pretty much left all those Pharisees and priests speechless—they had never seen anything like that, and they had sure never done anything like that. And maybe if he had only done it once you could say—ah, coincidence—but he’s been doing that kind of thing for years now. And then he talks—and they listen—I mean, can you blame them? Would you rather listen to someone who can perform miracles whenever he wants, or to this dried up bag of bones and his father-in-law?

"You can see why the boss is threatened. Rome is a little sensitive about people claiming to be king. And that parade last week didn’t help any. After all, it wasn’t Caesar or Caiaphas they were cheering—it was Jesus. Those kinds of things get back to Rome—even that dote, Herod, has to have heard about it by now. And this Roman governor, Pilate, is scared of his own shadow when it comes to Caesar. Ah, if Jesus had just stayed up in Galilee; if he had just healed folks and let it be. But, he seems hell-bent on getting himself killed—or if not, he surely isn’t approaching things quietly anymore. Twice now he has disrupted business as usual at the Temple—it was really funny to watch, though I couldn’t let Caiaphas see me snickering. Jesus chased those cheats and all their paraphernalia right out of the place. I think he was right, too. I may be a little thick-skinned about all that, but that IS the house of God and they WERE thieves.

"And what about Lazarus—no one trying to keep a low profile calls a dead man back from the grave and then sits to have dinner with him while the whole community of mourners is standing by. That was the last straw—the parade and the Temple scene were really ticking off the boss, but when Jesus brought Lazarus back, there was no more looking the other way. PAUSE.

"You know, now that you mention it, I don’t understand why it bothers him so much, either. Seems like he would be better off just ignoring it all, but he and his father-in-law are really threatened by this fellow. I can’t decide if it’s just self-preservation or if Jesus is stepping on their pride a bit, too. And for sure he’s putting some dents in all the rules, and rules equal control, and Caiaphas is BIG on control. I think he’s afraid if the common folks realize that there’s another way of life out there that doesn’t involve living under his rules, his priesthood is useless. I used to think he was deep-down motivated by his desire to serve God, but I don’t believe that any more. He is just trying to maintain the status quo. PAUSE.

"Okay, okay, I’ll get on with the story. Anyway, Jesus would probably have died sooner or later, but one of his own must have decided to hurry the process. Just when Caiaphas and Annanias were trying to figure out a way to get rid of him, this guy, Judas, a local, who is one of Jesus’ followers, offers to serve him up for a little bounty. The boss and the old guy jumped on the offer and the next thing you know we’re all traipsing out into the countryside to find Jesus. It wasn’t like we hadn’t seen him almost everyday recently. But the boss decided this was the time. It’s ironic—we end up arresting him right before Passover. If they kill him now it’ll be like he is dying at the exact time he would have picked if he had planned it all along—a Passover lamb, that’s what he will be! PAUSE.

"The blood on my shirt? Wow, I got so busy talking about Jesus that I forgot to tell you what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane—you won’t believe it even after I tell you, but it’s the truth. We go out to the Garden to find him—someone had seen them heading that way earlier in the night. This fellow, Judas, is to kiss Jesus so we are sure we get the right person—that seems silly, but you know how all Galileans look alike sometimes. We come up to their group and Judas pecks Jesus on the cheek. The head of the guard detail asks him if he is Jesus and he says, “I am.” The next thing you know we are all picking ourselves off the ground without even knowing what hit us. Must have been an earthquake or something. Anyway, he could have run, but he just stood there, looking calmer than I could have under the circumstances.

"Then one of his men—I think his name is Peter—some fisherman that has followed him around for years, whips out his sword and takes a wild swing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He slices my ear right off the side of my head—blood is going everywhere and I’m so stunned I can’t even speak! I’m bending over, holding my right ear, but somehow I could still hear Jesus say something to the fellow with the sword, as if he was angry at him. Then I feel a hand on the side of my head, right where the pain is and instantly the pain is gone and the bleeding is stopped. I instinctively put my hand up to where my ear used to be and it was totally normal, back in place like nothing had ever happened. PAUSE.

"No, dear, I haven’t been out drinking. I haven’t had a drop tonight, though there was a point that I would have had one if it had been available. I’m telling you, when that fellow swung the sword, my ear hit the ground—I saw it, and I felt where it had been for the last 50 years, and it wasn’t there. The side of my face was on fire. And when Jesus touched me, the pain was gone, and the ear was as good as new—in fact, my gimpy knee quit hurting and my back pain that I’ve had for 15 years is gone, too. From the instant he touched me, my body felt like it was new!! PAUSE.

"You know, I had been so stunned by all that went on, I never really stopped to think about it—you’re right—it was a miracle. Jesus performed a miracle on me, one of the people who had come to arrest him. And there was a kindness in his eyes that I have never seen. All of this has made me think:

"I have spent my whole life around religion—my father served Annanias and I serve Caiaphas. I have heard all the rules and followed them, mostly, but I’ve never known why. What is the purpose in all this? The boss says we are to remain pure as the chosen ones—that from our people the Messiah will come and make our nation powerful again. I guess that would be better than being at the mercy of Caesar or worse yet, Herod and his homicidal whims. But it would still be politics—one guy using his leverage to control the rest. I just don’t see much purpose for me or any other little man in all that. Only one guy can be king and only a few get the rewards that go with that. For the rest of us its business as usual—same song, different verse.
Why can’t there be real peace? This fellow, Jesus, for all the trouble he has created, has not lifted a finger to hurt anyone. All he has done is heal people and spend time talking to the common folks—and to the Pharisees who think for themselves. He says his kingdom is not of this earth—what does that mean? What other kingdoms are there? PAUSE.

"What do you mean—heaven? You think he’s talking about heaven? Life after life? Well, now that you bring that up, it fits. He really doesn’t seem to care about political power—he doesn’t seek it, nor does he pay much attention to what power surrounds him. He IS focused on something else, for sure. And you know, he does do things that we thought only God can do—even if God hasn’t done them in a long time—he heals, he raises people from the dead, he treats the Temple like it was his own place—even called it his father’s house—what did he mean by that?

"Maybe I’ve been wrong about him all along. He’s not a troublemaker. And he’s not trying to get himself killed. He’s just right and he knows it and he’s not going to change to please the boss. He’ll probably die today for being right, but I know what he did for me and I won’t forget him. What if he is God’s son…..?"

A week later………..

"Praise God. Praise Him forever and forever. God is Holy. He IS a God of love, and he has been there all along; we just did not see clearly. We did not understand. PAUSE.

"No, I’m not out of my mind—I’m excited—just give me a chance to explain and you will be, too. Remember how I talked about Jesus and how he healed my ear, and how his touch had a power I had never known? And then the same day they crucified him along with two thieves. He even died so quickly that the soldiers did not even bother to break his legs to finish him off. So he’s dead, right? Wrong!! Today I saw him—he spoke to me, put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me. PAUSE.

"I know it was him—his hands still had the scars from the crucifixion nails, that’s one way—but the real reason was the eyes—ever since that day when he healed the cripple, I have remembered the eyes. He looks at you and in you and through you all at once. I was almost too stunned to hear, but what he said was as clear as could be: “Your sins are forgiven. Tell others about what I have done for you.” When I started to ask him, “Why me? Why did you heal me?”, he was gone. No one with me saw it—they think I’m crazy, that the blow to my head last week is still affecting me. But his touch, then and now, were not in my imagination. One cannot conjure up the healing of an ear or the incredible joy that flowed into me today. I may serve in the house of the high priest, and I will do my job even better than ever, but my King is not Caesar, my high priest is not Caiaphas and my salvation is not in my hands, but the hands of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah—yes, IS, not was! He died for me—he IS the Passover lamb—and God raised him from the dead; he raised His son from the dead. Please believe me—my life will never be the same. Ask God for His healing, for his forgiveness and your life will never be the same either. I love you, and I want you to know Him, too.

Jesus Has Been There Before

Had a few bad days; a whole string of 'em to be exact. Decided to examine Hebrews 4:15. Did Jesus really know, first hand, what I was going through? Think about it as you read; if you think of other, better examples, comment and I will edit this to include them. Its been a healing exercise for me. I pray you receive something of benefit from it, also. KJP

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Have you ever been hungry with no food available? Thirsty with no water at hand?

And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (Matthew 4:2)

Have your good intentions been misinterpreted, causing those around you to be angry when you meant well?

Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:16-17)

Has your family ever asked you for help when you were not prepared?

When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:3-5)

Has a friend ever betrayed your trust, causing you deep emotional pain?

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." (Luke 22:61)

Has anyone ever threatened your physical well-being without justification?

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. (Matthew 26:59)

Has anyone spoken poorly of you and tried to discredit you simply out of vengeance?

In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. (Matthew 27:41-42)

Have those you have been most generous to been ungrateful, even spiteful, taking advantage of you and then showing no gratitude?

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. (Matthew 26:14)

Has anyone ever stolen from you, struck you, tried to murder you?

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. (John 19:23a)

Has your family and friends ever doubted your abilities?

Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

Have loved ones ever abandoned you, or at least did that possibility seem utterly real?

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34)

Have those you hold most dear not been there when you needed them most?

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: "I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.' (Mark 14:27)

Have you ever lost a close friend?

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; (Matthew 14:13a)

Have you ever had a day you dreaded?

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:44)

Have you ever asked God to change your circumstances, even though you knew you were where he needed you?

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39)

Jesus has been there before, and He knows your pain. Put your pain in His hands, and trust Him.