38 · Words and actions of Jesus

Jesus Heals His Enemy's Ear

Luke 22:47–53

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Jesus touches the injured right ear of the high priest's adult servant while disciples and men who came to arrest Jesus stand around them.

During Jesus' arrest, a follower injures a man, and Jesus heals him.

Why heal a man who came to arrest him?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: What does healing someone who came to arrest him reveal about Jesus?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A follows the concrete movement of the narrative. One of Jesus' own followers causes the injury, Jesus stops the violence, and then personally repairs the harm his follower has caused. C captures the identity of the person who is healed. The man belongs to the opposing side present at Jesus' arrest. Amid betrayal, threat, and violence, Jesus directs a healing act toward him.

38 · Luke 22:47–53

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Text & context

Full translation

47 While he was still speaking, a crowd arrived, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When those around Jesus saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, “Let it be! No more of this!” And he touched the ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, officers of the temple guard, and elders who had come against him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber? 53 Day after day I was with you in the temple, and you did not seize me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus is about to be arrested. Judas arrives with a crowd and approaches Jesus to identify him with a kiss. The disciples see what is about to happen and ask Jesus whether they should use swords. But before any answer from Jesus is reported, one of them strikes the high priest's servant and cuts off his right ear. Jesus stops the situation with the words “Let it be! No more of this!” and then does something Luke alone among the Gospel writers explicitly reports: he touches the injured man's ear and heals him. Jesus then confronts those who have come to arrest him, but he does not allow his own followers to respond to the arrest by harming them.
Notice this

The disciples ask: “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” But one of them does not wait for any reported answer. He strikes first. Jesus then stops the violence, but he does more: He repairs the harm caused by his own follower. Luke narrates many healings during Jesus' ministry. The final explicit healing before the crucifixion is directed toward a person on the side present when Jesus is arrested. Compare this with Card 33. There the disciples want to call down fire on people who reject Jesus. Here a disciple uses a sword when Jesus is arrested. In both stories Jesus corrects the violent impulse of his own followers.

Language & translation

From the Greek

εἰ πατάξομεν ἐν μαχαίρῃ – ei pataxomen en machairē

shall we strike with the sword? The disciples ask Jesus whether they should use violence, but the story immediately proceeds to one of them striking.

ἐπάταξεν ... τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ τὸ δεξιόν – epataxen ... to ous autou to dexion

he struck ... his right ear Luke explicitly specifies that the servant's right ear is injured.

ἐᾶτε ἕως τούτου – eate heōs toutou

let it be / no more of this The expression is compact and its precise nuance is debated. In context it functions as a halt to what is happening.

ἁψάμενος τοῦ ὠτίου – hapsamenos tou ōtiou

having touched the ear From haptomai, to touch. The same verb family is important in the story of the woman with bleeding in Mark 5.

ἰάσατο αὐτόν – iasato auton

he healed him From iaomai, to heal. Luke explicitly states that Jesus heals the man.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Luke 22:47–53 together with Matthew 26:47–56, Mark 14:43–50, and John 18:1–11. Pay particular attention to:

  • whom each Gospel identifies or leaves unnamed
  • the right ear
  • machaira – sword
  • haptomai – touch
  • iaomai – heal
  • the healing being explicitly narrated only by Luke

John names Peter and the servant Malchus. Matthew records Jesus' saying that those who take the sword will perish by the sword. These details are important for comparison but should not automatically be inserted into Luke's own account.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. What does it suggest about the disciples that they ask Jesus but one of them strikes before any answer is reported?
  2. Why do you think Luke chooses to tell us that Jesus actually heals the injured man?
  3. What does it mean that Jesus not only stops his follower but also repairs the harm?
  4. How does this story connect with Jesus' earlier teaching about enemies?
Parallel passages
  • Matthew 26:47–56
  • Mark 14:43–50
  • John 18:1–11
  • Luke 6:27–36
  • Luke 9:51–56
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Luke 22:47–53
  • Matthew 26:47–56
  • Mark 14:43–50
  • John 18:1–11
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for patassō, machaira, eaō, haptomai, and iaomai