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 ...
‘Arise … Go … Cry’ "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me" (Jonah 1:2). I summarize the word of God that came to Jonah in three words: The first word is "Arise". God commanded the prophet Jonah to "Arise" (v. 2). According to this command, the prophet Jonah “rose up” (v. 3). But he did not go to Nineveh, but ran away to Tarshish. He ‘went down’ to Joppa, 'went down' into the ship (v. 3), ‘went down’ into the hold of the ship, “lain down and fallen sound asleep” (v. 5). To Jonah who fell into a deep sleep, the Gentile captain of the ship went to him and said: "How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish" (v. 6). God used the captain to remind the disobedient Jonah his command “Arise” (v. 2). In other words, the captain’s word "Get up" (v. 6) was an echo of God's "...