John alone of the Gospel writers provides the name of the servant who’s ear Peter hacked off with a sword.
Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. (John 18:10)
Why do we care what the person’s name was. Numerous people chalk it up to simply an eyewitness detail that John wants to record. I can certainly think of other eyewitness details that seem more important than the name of this man – what Jesus looked like is big one. A slave’s name is not. I wouldn’t have thought to ask this question until I looked up what the name means. It means Kingdom. Here’s why it matters.
