THE TWO SWORDS
By Matt Leasher
And He said to them, “When
I sent you without
money bag, knapsack,
and sandals, did you
lack anything?” So
they said,
“Nothing.” Then He
said to them, “But
now, he who has a
money bag, let him
take it, and
likewise a knapsack;
and he who has no
sword, let him sell
his garment and buy
one.
For I say to
you that this which
is written must
still be
accomplished in Me:
‘And He was numbered
with the
transgressors.’ For
the things
concerning Me have
an end.”
So they said,
“Lord, look, here
are two swords.” And
He said to them, “It
is enough.”
(Luke 22:35-38) NKJV
Lately there has
been a large
uprising in violent
and threatening
protests against our
government and their
officials from
anti-government
groups.
One of the
biggest being from a
Christian militia
group called
“Hutaree”.
According to
their website they
use the verse from
Luke 22:36-38 as
their call to arms.
Claiming that
this verse is proof
that Jesus Christ
commands us to
defend ourselves
with “the sword” in
His name.
This is a
prime example of a
verse being taken
out of context and
used to propel man’s
desire to war
against his enemies.
First lets observe
what is
really going on in this verse. Given
everything Jesus
says throughout His
ministry about
loving enemies,
doing good to them,
turning the other
cheek, and so on,
it’s clear that,
whatever Jesus was
up to in telling his
followers to buy
swords, he clearly
didn’t intend for
them to use them. A
close look at the
passage reveals
Jesus’ purpose.
Immediately after
telling them to buy
a sword (Lk 22:36)
Jesus says, “It is
written:
‘And He was numbered
with the
transgressors’;
and I tell you that
this must be
fulfilled in Me.
Yes, what is
written about me is
reaching its
fulfillment.”(vs.
37).
Jesus was
quoting the words of
Isaiah from Isaiah
53:12 concerning
Himself. To fulfill
prophecy, Jesus had
to be viewed as a
transgressor. He had
to at least
appear to be a
political
revolutionary to the
Jewish authorities
for them to feel
justified in
arresting him. This
is why, in the next
verse, when the
disciples say they
have two swords,
Jesus says “That is
enough.” (vs. 38).
Obviously, if Jesus
ever intended for
the disciples to
use the swords,
two wouldn’t be
nearly enough. But
it’s enough to
fulfill the prophecy
of Isaiah by making
Jesus
look like a
transgressor.
Shortly after when
Jesus was being
arrested in the
garden Peter used
the sword to cut off
one of the guard’s
ear, Jesus rebuked
him and then
demonstrated the
kind of power the Kingdom of God uses to advance its cause by healing
the guards ear.
Jesus was showing an
act of love directly
to one of those that
were against Him and
in the process of
taking Him away to
be beaten and
crucified.
The gospel
doesn’t tell us, but
we have to wonder
what must have went
through the mind of
this person, who was
a servant of the
high priest, after
Jesus healed his
ear.
Jesus then told
Peter,
“Put your sword in
its place, for all
who take the sword
will perish by the
sword. Or do you
think that I cannot
now pray to My
Father, and He will
provide Me with more
than twelve legions
of angels?” It
is quite clear that
Jesus did not need
to arm His disciples
with swords for His
protection or His
cause.
Later when Jesus
appeared before
Pilate and was asked
if He was the King
of the Jews, Jesus
responded that His
kingdom is not of
this world, and he
points to the fact
that his followers
are
not fighting as proof of
this fact (John
18:36).
So, a
distinguishing
characteristic that
a person belongs to
Jesus’ Kingdom is
that they refuse to
fight against their
enemies. They rather
pray for their
healing and share
with them the gospel
of Christ.
My friends, nowhere
throughout the
gospels does Jesus
condone the use of
the sword or even
the use of violence
for that matter.
The use of
violence against our
adversaries does not
advance the Kingdom of God.
If anything
it does more to
advance the system
of Satan. Jesus told
us we are to love
our enemies and we
do that by giving
them the gospel.
The gospel
has more power to it
than any violent
threat or protest
does.
If our Lord
does not wish to see
any of His children
perish then we
shouldn’t either.
There are
many lost souls out
there that just
haven’t heard or
don’t know the
message of the
gospel and it is up
to us Christians, as
ambassadors of
Christ, to relay it
to them.
Granted,
there are some who
have heard it but
reject it.
We are not to
judge them but pray
for them and leave
judgment in God’s
hands.
As
ambassadors of
Christ we are
therefore
representatives of
Him.
An armed
militia, with intent
to kill and claiming
to be Christians are
not representatives
of Christ!
The only
sword that we should
be taking up is the
Word of God as
Ephesians 6:17
describes that as
being part of our
Godly armor.
Let the Word
be your sword!
I’ll admit that the
course that our
government is
directing our
country is not in
God’s favor and the
more and more this
administration turns
their backs on
Israel the sooner we
are going to lose
God’s blessings, but
we must find peace
in knowing that the
Lord is still on the
throne and always in
control and that we
who are in Christ
are a nation of our
own no matter where
we are, (1 Peter
2:9), and our Lord
Jesus Christ is
coming for us soon!