As I was writing my book Hoping in the LORD (based upon the Gospels), I reached the story of the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I wrote:

“The agonizing wait in the Garden of Gethsemane was over. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, identifying him as the one who should be arrested. ‘[T]he men [with Judas] stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him’ (Matthew 26:50). Along with the ‘large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests’ (Matthew 26:47) there was ‘a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees . . . carrying torches, lanterns and weapons’ (John 18:3).”

“Peter did his best to help Jesus. As they arrested Jesus, ‘Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus)’ (John 18:10).”

“When I was summarizing this story from the Bible, my first impulse was to leave out the name of the person whose ear was cut off. Why clutter the narrative with this detail?”

“But then I realized that it is always easier to use violence against someone if they are a faceless person without a name. Therefore, it is always important and worth remembering that each person who is hurt by violence has a name.”

“That is a major reason why the Vietnam Memorial on the Mall in Washington is so moving. It is ‘nothing’ but a long black wall inscribed with the names of the over 50,000 people who died serving the United States in Vietnam. But it is almost impossible not to cry as you touch a name and realize that it is the name of a person who loved life as much as we all do.”

“In a similar way, the Holocaust Museum in Washington brings home the mind-numbing horror of the Holocaust. How can we ever grasp an evil so terrifying and cruel that it slaughtered millions of people? By giving each visitor the name of a person who endured the Holocaust. By letting that visitor follow the story and the ‘crucifixion’ of an innocent person with a name.”

“Jesus understood the cost of violence. Jesus understood that each person hurt by violence has a name. And Jesus understood that violence is not the way to usher in God’s kingdom. Therefore, Jesus ‘commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! . . .”’ (John 18:11).”

“One reason that Jesus ordered Peter to put his sword away was Jesus’ understanding that violence causes more violence. As Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back in its place . . . for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.’ (Matthew 26:52).”

In recent years, we’ve seen violence sparked by nationalism, racism and bigotry. We need to remember the name of each victim—the name of each person who loved life as much as we all do.

George Floyd murdered by racist police.

Brian Sicknick, a Capitol policeman, murdered defending democracy from a mob of nationalists, racists and bigots.

All of us who follow the Way of Jesus must follow his teaching: “Put your sword away. For all those who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

Violence is NOT the way to usher in God’s kingdom!

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To read my original account of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (some of which is quoted in this blog), please read the chapters “The Garden of Gethsemane” and “Jesus Allows Himself To Be Arrested Without a Fight” in my book Hoping in the LORD, at pages 251-266.

To read more about ending violence, wielding force wisely, and establishing peace, please read my blogs “Keeping the Powers of Money, Religion and Kingdoms Separate”, “Establishing Peace Without Limit”, “Doing For Others”, “Nationalism Is Patriotism Gone Astray”, “Building Houses on Rock: Mission Impossible?”, “Building Houses on Rock: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, “Building Houses on Rock: Mercy and Forgiveness”, and “Building Houses on Sand: Specks and Planks”.