Devotional Reflection Based on the Incident of Peter Cutting Off Malchus's Ear: “Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.” ( Mark 14:47, Today's Korean Version ) 1. Identifying the People Involved: The person who stood beside Jesus and drew the sword was Simon Peter . The servant of the high priest was named Malchus . “Then Simon 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 ) 2. Jesus' Response to Peter's Action: (a) Jesus said: “Permit even this.” ( Luke 22:51, KJV: “Suffer ye thus far”; RSV: “No more of this” ) The Greek words clarify this: “ἕως τούτου” (“heōs toutou”) = “up to this point” or “even this” “ἐᾶτε” (“eate”) = “allow it,” “let it be,” “leave it alone” Therefore, Jesus is essentially saying: “Let them do what they are doing. Do not resist any further.” “If ...
Gethsemane Prayer (2)
[Luke 22:39-46]
Matthew
26:36-38 says, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and
said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons
of Zebedee and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply
grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’” Here, the conjunction “Then” (v. 36) is a link
that connects with the preceding word, and Jesus went out (Lk.22:39) after
praying to God as the high priest (Jn. 17).
The conjunction “Then”
(Mt.26:36) is a link that connects the preceding words, Matthew 26:31-35, with
the words that follow. Jesus said, “This
very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘'I will
strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’” (v.
31). Here, the words “it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’” is Jesus quoting the prophecy of
Zechariah 13:7 – “’Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My
Associate,’ Declares the LORD of hosts ‘Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may
be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.’” Here, the meaning of what Jesus said, “it is
written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered”
(Mt. 26:31) means that Jesus prophesized that God the Father (“I”) will strike the
good “shepherd” Jesus, the Son of God (Jn. 10:11, 14) so that Jesus’ disciples
(11 disciples excluding Judas Iscariot), the sheep of the flock, would be
scattered. Hearing this word of Jesus'
prophecy, Peter said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will”
(Mt.26:33). Jesus said to Peter, ‘I tell
you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me
three times” (v. 34). At that time,
Peter assured, ‘Even if I die with you, I will not deny you’ (v. 35). And all the other disciples said the same (v.
35).
After this, Jesus followed his
custom and went to the Garden of Gethsemane in the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39)
with his 11 disciples, excluding Judas Iscariot, who had gone out to sell him [(Mt.
26:36) “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane …”]. And Jesus placed 8 disciples at the entrance
of the Garden of Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there
and pray” (Mt. 26:36). And He took Peter
and Zebedee’s two sons (v. 37), James and John (Mk. 14:33), and went into the
Garden of Gethsemane (Mt. 26:36-37). Jesus,
who was about to leave, was troubled and grieved (v. 37), and said to Peter,
James, and John, “My heart is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Stay here and stay awake with me” (v. 38). And Jesus left the 3 disciples and went as
far as a stone's throw (about 10 meters), got down on His knees, and prayed (Lk.
22:41). Here, Jesus said to Peter,
James, and John, “Watch with me” (v. 38), which meant that Jesus said that the 3
disciples, together with Jesus, watch and pray so that you do not fall into
temptation (v. 41). Here, Jesus did not tell the 3 disciples to watch and pray
for Himself, who was troubled and grieved (v. 37) and was deeply troubled in
heart (v. 38) [because Jesus did not come into this world to be served and to
be helped, but rather to serve and help others (20:28)]]. Just as Jesus quoted the prophecy of the
prophet Zechariah and said, “It is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the
flock will be scattered” (v. 31), when Heavenly Father strikes Jesus, the
shepherd, all of Jesus' disciples will abandon Him and scatter (v. 31). Also, in the case of Peter, he would deny
Jesus as Jesus said, “Before the rooster crows tonight, you will deny me three
times” (v. 34), Jesus told the disciples to ‘watch and pray so that you do not
fall into temptation’ with Jesus for their own sake (v. 41). However, Jesus' disciples were willing in
spirit, but their bodies were weak (v. 41), so they could not stay awake and
pray with Jesus and fell asleep due to sorrow (Lk. 22:45; Mk. 14:40).
Jesus, with the death on the cross the next day in front of Him,
prayed fervently (Lk. 22:44) in Gethsemane, so that He could drink the cup of
suffering (v. 42) according to the will of Heavenly Father (v.42) for us and
won. However, Jesus' disciples listened
to Jesus' words, “remain here and keep watch with Me” (Mt. 26:38), that is, “Keep
watching and praying” (v. 41) together with Jesus so that they would not fall
into temptation. But because of this
weakness (v. 41), they fell asleep without being able to stay awake and pray
with Jesus (Lk. 22:45; Mk. 14:40), and eventually fell into temptation and
committed a sin. We are no different from the
disciples of Jesus. We, too, are sinning
against God because we do not watch and pray with Jesus so that we do not fall
into temptation. Our hearts want not to commit sins by watching and praying
with Jesus, but our flesh is weak and we are committing unwanted sins against
God because we do not watch and pray with Jesus. What should we do?
First, we must hold on to Romans 8:26-27 and 34 by faith: “In
the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray
as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep
for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. … who
is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was
raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
Second, the Holy Spirit helps our weakness (Rom. 8:2) and strengthening
us (Cf.: Lk. 22:43) so that we do not fall into temptation (Mt. 26:41). According to God's guidance, we must watch and
pray (Mt. 26:41) together with Jesus, the Son of God (Mt. 26:38; Rom. 8:34).
Third, we must continue to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, which
is the seed of God (1 Jn. 3:9) that dwells within us, that is, the incorruptible
seed and the gospel of God, which is the eternally living word of God (1 Pet
1:23-25), and the power of God that gives salvation to those who believe (Rom.
1:16) and overcome by faith in Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 5:4-5).
We must
overcome the temptation of wanting to forsake the Lord, the temptation of
wanting to deny the Lord, or the temptation of wanting to leave the Lord by
faith. Even
if we are in tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or
sword (death), in all these things we are more than conquerors because of Him
who loves us (Rom. 8:35, 37). I hope and pray that all of us can overcome the temptation by
imitating Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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