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 ...
Past, present, and future blessing [Romans 8:1-2, 14-18] Among the blessings that God has given to us Christians in Jesus Christ, I heard the word through our church retired pastor last Wednesday prayer meeting that the three blessings shown in Romans 8:1-2 and 14-18. The three blessings are past blessing, present blessing, and future blessing. I want to meditate on these three blessings again. First, what is the past blessing? It is that there is now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. Look at Romans 8:1 – “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The Scripture says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean? In order to understand this word, we need to know the meaning of the word “condemnation.” The original Greek word for the word, “κατάκριμα,” is a court term and refers to conv...