Give Us Ears To Hear

Give Us Ears To Hear

One of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51

One reason I love the Bible so much is because the stories in it are so rich and layered.

Take, for example, the scene described in today’s verses. Jesus is about to be taken away by the Roman army and sentenced to die on the cross. Peter tries to stop this from happening by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. When I read that the man’s ear was slashed off, I can only think of how close the sword was to the man’s vital organs. His brain, eyes, and carotid artery were just a slip of the sword away from where Peter slashed him.

Had Peter’s sword killed the slave, I’m sure Jesus would have raised the man from the dead and healed his mortal wounds. Perhaps some people would have believed in him as a result.

To me, though, it seems fitting that the blood spilled that night was from a lopped-off ear. It is symbolic of a world that had stopped listening. Jesus was the Word, and the people were no longer hearing him. The world was as deaf to Jesus as the man whose ear filled with blood. They could no longer hear what the Savior had to say.

It was also symbolic that Jesus’ last act of healing was to heal the wounds of an enemy who had come to capture and kill him. After Jesus’ touch, the blood stopped running, the ear was restored, and the man could once again hear clearly. To me, this act represents the redemption that was coming to the world after Jesus’ blood flowed from his crucified body. When he died, he healed us all.

TODAY’S RX

Don’t let the words of our Lord fall on deaf ears. Declare them to restore a lost world.

Lord, open my ears to hear your voice today. Help me to be still and listen for all you have to say.