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 ...
“My heart is steadfast, O God” [Psalms 57] This Monday morning, I was at home with my youngest daughter Karis, and we watched a cartoon called “Cailou”. While watching the cartoon, we saw a child named Cailou planted a tree with his father and worried about the tree because the wind was blowing. At that time, Cailou's father came to help Cailou by bringing a still and tied it with the tree so that the planted tree wouldn’t be shaken. That scene came into my mind during the Mother’s Day morning prayer meeting. As I thought about the scene, I thought of becoming the stick that was tied together next to the tree to my children at home. In other words, I prayed to God that I should be strong support for my children like that stick so that they will not be shaken. After reading the book ‘Who is the Father?’(by Jong Yoon Kim), there were these two writings among th...