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 ...
Why should we suffer? “but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it” (Matthew 14:24). Why do we Christians suffer? How should we understand our suffering? What is God's will? Why does God make us or allow us to suffer? What is the purpose of suffering? Our God has a profound knowledge that our human being cannot fathom (Ps. 92:5; Eccle. 3:11). We cannot fathom the things that He does (Job 5: 9; Ps. 145: 3). We cannot understand His will fully. We don’t know why God allowed Job to suffer (Job 1:13-19; 2:7-8), why He threw the great wind on the sea so that the ship that Jonah was aboard was about to break up because of the great storm (Jonah 1:3-4). Who could understand the will of God fully who gave suffering to Job and to Jonah? So this is what Apostle Paul said in Romans 11:33-34...