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 ...
God will surely help us “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (2 Chronicles 32:8). Do we surely believe in God's help? If so, we must cut off everything we depend on beside God. If we don’t cut off them, that mean we don’t fully believe in God's help. We should not be mistaken. Hezekiah, king of Judah, did right in the sight of God, according to all that his father David had done (2 Chron. 29:2). He consecrated the Levites and the house of the Lord (v. 5). He cleansed the house of the Lord by removing every unclean thing in it (vv. 15-17). Also after he destroyed all the idols (31:1) he made the priests and the Levites not only to minister, to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord (v. 2) but also he made them to devote themselves...