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 ...
Moses (1) [Acts 7:17-29] In 2004, during the 9th Spiritual Retreat of the Pastors' Council for Church Renewal (PCCR), Pastor Han-heum Ok, who was the chairman of the PCCR, stated: ‘In the 1910s to 1930s, the Korean church experienced a tremendous revival, with the congregation growing from a few thousand to 300,000. The focus of that revival was repentance. People heard the word of God, repented, and their lives were transformed. Then, from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the congregation, which was only around 300,000, suddenly reached 10 million. The theme of this revival was blessing. It was prosperous. However, it was mentioned that the allure of prosperity and blessing led to the revival of millions, but ultimately played a role in making the church more secularized and corrupt, pointing out the causes of the current crisis in the Korean church’ (Internet). Pastor Ok e...