New novel describes New Testament life: pain, healing and betrayal

Malchus, a moving novel by W.G. Griffiths, released by RiverOak Publishers (Paperback/ $14.99), is garnering acclaim from book reviewers and booksellers nationwide. It tells the story of a slave and the compassionate midnight healing Jesus performs during a heated confrontation in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Malchus is in a very unique place at a very trying time, a place where he had always dreamed of being. He sat at the right hand of one of the most powerful men in Jerusalem, Caiphus, the High Priest. The task before him should have been a simple, routine arrest. He was to accompany the Roman soldiers and the traitor to a secret location of the Blasphemer. Then he would bring him back to Caiphus for trial and, undoubtedly, execution.

None of the soldiers in the company saw the disciple’s hand inch into his tunic until the sword blazed toward Malchus’s head. He ducked but was not quick enough. Excruciating pain assaulted his senses and blood began to flow from the gaping wound where his left ear had been severed.

Then something incredulous happened. The man to be arrested quickly retrieved the mangled flesh that was once his ear. While the soldiers stood frozen, this man reached toward him and touched his wound. Was it a dream? A miracle? All Malchus knew in that moment is that the pain had ceased and the blood had stopped flowing. He was restored.