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 ...
Revival of the Word (I) [Nehemiah 8:1-5] Do you know the difference between bewilderment, sadness and shock? Bewilderment - when you go through the Old Testament, thinking that the sermon text the book of Hebrews is from the Old Testament, Sadness - when you can't find the text of the Bible and wander around, but the pastor told me to read it first, Shocking - when you open the Bible to read the text, but it's a Chinese Bible (Internet). In this age we live in, we are facing the phenomenon of a drought in which we do not listen to God's word. Look at Amos 8:11 – “’The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Words of the LORD.’” This era we live in is an era that denies the existence of absolute truth, an era in which emotional arousal through psychological manipulation draws more attention than ...