{"id":1658882,"date":"2022-09-26T17:04:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T21:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1658882"},"modified":"2022-09-26T17:06:59","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T21:06:59","slug":"did-jesus-really-tell-his-disciples-to-take-up-swords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-jesus-really-tell-his-disciples-to-take-up-swords\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Jesus Really Tell His Disciples To Take Up Swords?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdid-jesus-really-tell-his-disciples-to-take-up-swords%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1658882&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Is it true that shortly before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told his disciples to buy swords? Was He warning them to be ready to defend themselves or preparing them for an armed assault against Rome? There may be another way to interpret this command found in Luke\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n<p>In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/59\/LUK.22.ESV\">reminded His disciples<\/a> that, in the past, when He sent them out on missions without any provisions, all their needs were supplied. \u201cBut now,\u201d He said, \u201clet the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I believe Jesus was alluding to a well-known prophecy found in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/12\/ISA.53.ASV\">Isaiah 53<\/a>, which states that He, the Messiah, would be \u201cnumbered with the transgressors,\u201d meaning counted among the criminals. Since it was illegal for a Jew to carry a sword under Roman rule, if Jesus was caught with sword-bearing disciples, the prophecy would be fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>In response, His disciples said, \u201cLook, Lord, here are two swords.\u201d He replied, \u201cIt is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What, exactly, did He mean?<\/p>\n<p>First, there is nothing in the Bible forbidding self-defense, and, so, it could be argued here that Jesus was simply being practical. Dark days were ahead, and things were going to become increasingly difficult. Best to have some protection!<\/p>\n<p>The problem with this interpretation in this specific context is that it\u2019s contrary to everything else Jesus has been saying. He\u2019s been telling His disciples that they will suffer for their faith. He has repeated to them that they will be treated just as He was treated. He has even told some of them that they will die as He did. Why, then, would they need swords?<\/p>\n<p>Not only so, but in the Book of Acts, which records what happened in the decades following the Lord\u2019s death and resurrection, the disciples are documented as having suffered intense persecution. They were arrested. They were whipped. Some were beheaded. They had to flee to other locations. Nowhere, though, does it say that they took up swords against their persecutors. Nowhere did they form militias to fight back.<\/p>\n<p>Again, this does not address the general question of self-defense, such as fighting off a kidnapper who attempts to take your child. As stated, this is not prohibited in the Bible, and a good parent would be expected to fight off that attacker. (For the real meaning of \u201cturn the other cheek,\u201d see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/the-real-meaning-of-turn-the-other-cheek\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>But that is far different from taking up swords against our persecutors. In fact, in this very chapter, when Peter fought back against the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus, using his sword to cut off a man\u2019s ear, Jesus rebuked him strongly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/59\/LUK.22.ESV\">saying<\/a>, \u201cNo more of this!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, Jesus did not tell His disciples to prepare swords, only to rebuke Peter for using the sword.<\/p>\n<p>As for the idea that Jesus was preparing His followers for an armed revolt against Rome, that notion is completely contrary to everything the Gospels say \u2013 and the exact opposite of His mission. He came to die for our sins, not to lead a bloody revolt, and He made abundantly clear that, if desired, He could ask His Father to send <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/59\/mat.26.53\">thousands of angels<\/a> to fight for Him at that very moment \u2013 but that was not His intent.<\/p>\n<p>And does anyone imagine Jesus thought 11 men with two swords could start a rebellion against the armies of Rome? Is this what He meant when He said two swords were \u201cenough\u201d? The very idea is laughable.<\/p>\n<p>What, then, was going on here? The Message Bible paraphrase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/97\/LUK.22.MSG\">captures<\/a> the probable meaning, namely, that the Lord was making an ironic point. In other words, since the Scriptures prophesied He would be numbered with criminals, they had better look the part.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPawn your coat and get a sword,\u201d He said to them, \u201cWhat was written in Scripture, \u2018He was lumped in with the criminals,\u2019 gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But they failed to grasp His irony, replying, \u201cLook, Master, two swords!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He answered, \u201cEnough of that; no more sword talk!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They took Him literally, thinking He was giving them practical advice, as if to say, \u201cBoys, the old way of living by faith will no longer work. You better get some weaponry!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When He saw how they responded, He said, \u201cThat is enough,\u201d meaning, \u201cEnough talking about swords. You\u2019re missing my point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other way of reading the text is that He was saying, \u201cSince I\u2019m going to be counted among the criminals, if you have two swords on hand, that\u2019s enough. This will make us look like the bad guys, the sinners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What is clear is that He didn\u2019t mean, \u201cTwo swords are enough to keep you safe in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And it is beyond ludicrous to think He<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is it true that shortly before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told his disciples to buy swords? Was He warning them to be ready to defend themselves or preparing them for an armed assault against Rome? There may be another way to interpret this command found in Luke\u2019s Gospel. In the Gospel &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1658884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1658882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1658882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1658884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1658882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1658882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1658882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}