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 ...
“Accept one another” [Romans 15:7-13 ] Through meditating on the words of Romans 15:1-6, we received the prayer title, “May we be of the same mind.” The reason we offer this prayer is to keep our unity in Jesus Christ. Therefore, as we prayed to God to keep the unity of the church, we learned that there are three responsibilities we must strive for: (1) All members of our Victory Presbyterian Church should please each other rather than please ourselves, (2) We must have hope with the endurance and comfort of the Scriptures, and (3) We must glorify God with one heart and one mouth. In today's text, Romans 15:7, Paul exhorts the Roman church saints and all of us to ‘accept one another.’ Look at verse 7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Why is he telling both the Jewish and the Gentiles saints of t...