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 ...
‘Before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord’ [Acts 2:14-21] How should we interpret the frequent large-scale natural disasters that have occurred in the 21st century? Environmentalists attribute them to human exploitation and devastation of nature. In contrast, Christian fundamentalists say that this world is drawing near to the end prophesied in the Bible. Regarding this, we, as Gospel believers standing in the Reformed tradition, should understand that these two perspectives are not contradictory but should rather hear God's voice, which He intends to show to humanity through natural disasters, within the providence of God's nature and history, connecting them with each other. God's warning through natural disasters can be categorized into three points: (1) It is a warning regarding personal sin. God, through natural disasters, warns us that we should live rig...