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 (II) [Nehemiah 8:6-9a] It is a morally lax world. We hear a lot about moral hazard these days. Originally, this meant that people were not careful when they bought insurance. If we buy car insurance, we don't worry too much about traffic accidents. And if we buy life insurance, we don't pay much attention to our health. As if the sense function of the remote control has been exhausted, it means that the conscience has become dull. It refers to the loss of judgment about right and wrong. This kind of moral hazard phenomenon is not a thing yesterday or today, but you can see that there is no standard (Internet). What is our standard? It is the Bible. The Bible is called the canon. Its original meaning is sleep. Borrowing the words from Amos 7:7-8, it is “a plumb line”. A plumb line is a tool used on construction sites. It ser...