Matthew 26:51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

We know from the gospel of John, chapter 18 that this was Peter who cut off the ear of the servant, Malchus. Peter, as we’ve seen was rather impetuous, sometimes answering questions that were never asked and offering his opinion when it wasn’t appropriate. No doubt – Peter was zealous about defending His Lord, Jesus, but he was a fisherman and not a swordsman. Those who are unfamiliar with Peter might read this scripture and admire his tenacity; he was willing to take on these 600 soldiers while the other disciples just fled. But Peter wasn’t brave so much as he had something to prove. You see, just a few verses earlier, Peter had declared:

Matthew 26:35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

You know, sometimes we can be like Peter. We can go into a witnessing situation as if it’s a fight – as if we’ve got something to prove. We start swinging the sword of God’s Word around wildly because we’ve got something to prove … and it’s usually not our Lord we are defending, it’s our pride. Sometimes, in the desire to convince others we are right, we use the Bible violently, and end up distracting people from, rather than directing people’s eyes to Jesus.

Someone once said, “Convincing yourself doesn’t win an argument.” Arguments rarely convince but often distract from the truth. In The Importance of Being Ernest, Oscar Wilde wrote: “Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.” Convincing of what? Arguments usually convince those who are observing that the participants don’t have the bloodiest idea of what they are talking about.

If someone is drowning in the ocean do you throw them a lifesaver or do you beat them over the head with it to take them out of their misery? Don’t use the Bible as a bludgeon. The Bible is a life saver, not a life taker. God made the gospel simple. Don’t try to complicate it with opinions.

1 John 2:24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.