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 ...
A debtor (1) [Romans 8:12-17] What do you think of when you hear the word “debtor”? When we think of a “debtor,” we can usually think of a person who has borrowed money and is in a position to pay it back. As an example, we can take Matthew 18:24. When a king was accounting with his servants, one “debtor” of ten thousand talents (v. 24) had nothing to pay (v. 25), so he fell on his knees and bowed before the king and said, ‘Be patient with me and I will pay you back everything’ (v. 26). Then the master of the servant had compassion on him and let him go and forgave the debt (v. 27). But the servant whose debt of ten thousand talents was forgiven met another servant who owed him a hundred denarius and grabbed him and began to choke him and said “Pay back what you own me! (v. 28). His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and...