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 ...
‘The word of faith we are proclaiming’ [Romans 10:1-15 ] We have already considered two things under the title of “The stumbling stone” centered on Romans 9:30-33. Those two things mean that Jesus Christ became the stumbling stone (vv. 32, 33) to the Israelites who followed the law of righteousness (v. 31), while He became the steppingstone to the Gentiles who followed the law of faith (3:27). In other words, we learned that Jesus Christ became the stumbling stone to the Israelites who relied on works and the steppingstone to the Gentiles who relied on faith (9:32). We learned that the Israelites, for whom Jesus Christ was the stumbling stone, would be put to shame, and the Gentiles, for whom Jesus Christ was the steppingstone, would never be put to shame (v. 33). After that, we were encouraged to live a steppings...