We feel like she is a kindred spirit in this regard. November 12, Share this post:. Related Reading. Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence. What did Jesus mean when he said he came not to bring peace, but a sword Mt ? It forces you to think through the ways we uncritically accept the violence of some… Tags: Bible , Friday Lights , Violence.
January 8, Jesus and Military People Some soldiers responded to the preaching of John the Baptist by asking him what they should do. Consider now if He was speaking spiritually of the Word as meaning a sword? Why then would He instruct them to sell their cloak to purchase what was already freely given them at supper? One must purchase in the world, but the kingdom is freedom. Luke The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords.
In this scripture they answer in the affirmative as to possessing two physical objects that Jesus could see, and I humbly submit they are indeed metal swords. Also note there are only two swords among the eleven, meaning only some need to carry a sword to protect the larger group "That is enough" he replied. Luke And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. Shield in left and sword in right which was the custom Luke Peter disowns Jesus at the fire because likely the servants relatives were seated among them wanting to exact revenge for their poor relative with the new ear problem, which was the custom.
Bottom line I submit the Lord knew the season had changed between the first disciple send off and the current one and He was equipping His friends to meet the coming challenges and dangers of this new season. Luke The first training mission build their faith and the second would build their administrative discipline in the correct deployment and usage of weapons for defending themselves and spreading the Gospel message. Psalms ; Psalms Firearms and weapons do not limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, they limit only the actions of those who would choose to do so by force.
Psalms If you chose this civilized path of conduct, it is your moral and legal responsibility to obtain all the correct and proper training of their usage in very stressful situations. Point One: Christ's reference to their prior missionary journeys indicates that the need to be armed is directly related to their future missionary journeys.
Effectively, Jesus said, "Your last journey was easy See Luke ff - but, in the future you will need to be prepared. You will not have the support of most people. Robbers and bandits were very common Paul mentions this in 2 Cor and it was common for travelers to carry arms to protect themselves In short, the most logical reason - the one the fits the context best - is that the disciples needed to be able to defend themselves.
Point Two: The original Greek word machaira means any edged weapon or tool of any length. While the context of most NT passages containing this word indicate that an edged weapon is in view, in many cases we cannot, in most cases, know how long the blade was. Looking at other Greek documents is very instructive. It would likely be used for everything from cleaning fish to cutting cordage to cutting and eating food.
It is certain that each disciple would have carried some kind of knife for daily use. Point Three: The best interpretation of the disciples response is that each disciple possessed both a short and a long blade.
Let's examine the disciples response in Luke 'The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords. We can rule out the first possibility as being impossible, because, as we have previously mentioned, at a minimum each disciple would need to have some kind of blade while traveling. Moving on to the second possibility, this also does not fit. On their first journey, Jesus sent them out in groups of two.
Both tradition and the New Testament especially the Book of Acts indicate that the disciples also traveled in groups of two to three. It therefore makes no sense for Jesus to approve of only two edged weapons, as this number would have many of the disciples defenseless. The most logical interpretation is that when Jesus gave his command, the disciples each simply opened their garment and displayed both their every day blade and a longer blade - such as a long knife or a short sword.
At the same time, they would have said, "See, I already have two blades. Conclusion: Jesus did tell his disciples to arm themselves in order to be able to defend themselves on the road in coming years.
Please note that this analysis is limited to this passage. The Bible has a great deal to say about how and when it is necessary and morally justified to use force, including deadly force. There are many good articles on the net that address this subject. I urge you to carefully read some of them. Or was he shrewdly exposing and targeting the issue that was keeping this man from discipleship, and forcing him to make a choice?
Jesus is warning his followers—in his characteristically attention-riveting manner—that in the coming days they will need to be prepared for a spiritual battle like they have never before experienced, and it will require a radically different mindset and approach. This, of course, is in keeping with the portrayal of the disciples throughout the Synoptic Gospels, and is the most important take-away from this discussion.
We can only guess as to why two of the disciples had swords, but we can be certain that Jesus prohibited their use, even in self-defense. Discipleship is a process and a journey. The disciples in Gethsemane were still in process, and still at the beginning of their journey toward Christ-likeness. We read of these men being persecuted, abused, beaten, imprisoned, and killed Acts ; ; ; ; , but we read nothing of physical resistance, violence, or swords.
Their primary opponent, however, is not the scholarly consensus, but Jesus himself. Hubbard's area of specialty is the Pauline epistles and the Greco-Roman context of the New Testament. I copied some of the verses here and sent them to loved ones and people I thought could use these words of Wisdom. I sure could have. Thank you this was helpful. I came here because I am a Christian 25 year old man and I would carry my pocket knife for protection and anything else you would need one for. Just to have it as the disciples had theirs.
Thanks again for the help clearing this up for me. Sometimes I need help interpreting scripture still, thanks again. Do these turn the other cheek? Rev Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
Rev And if any one would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. I am in agreement with Jeff Fenske above posts. I also add the following that I have found and modified from others:. Consequently, Christians have looked to the Second Amendment for their authority to keep and bear arms.
The question regarding firearms is one of self-defense:. If the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account.
But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account…. Exodus , NASB. The crime described in this passage is not theft, but burglary. A person who defends his family, home, or possessions by killing a thief in the dark of the night is not to be held accountable for murder. Under such conditions, you cannot quickly ascertain whether the intruder is an unarmed thief or someone with a more malicious intent.
Although self-defense is not the primary focus of the following two statements, Jesus would have never used them as examples if He did not endorse self-defense:. Matthew , NASB. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed. Luke , NASB. The better armed we are, the less likely someone will steal from us or harm us and our families. Jesus commanded His disciples to purchase weapons:. Then said he unto them … he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
Luke Jesus never told His disciples to register their swords with the government. Fredrick Bastiat described self-defense as a natural right:. Each of us has a natural right — from God — to defend his person, his liberty, and his property.
These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties?
What Bastiat depicted as a natural right, the Apostle Paul described as a God-required responsibility:. Food, clothing, and shelter are of little benefit if you are unprepared or unwilling to defend your family against thieves, rapists, and murderers.
It is not unchristian to practice self-defense — it is unchristian if you do not. Defense of Others Abraham and Moses provide Biblical precedents for taking the law into your own hands to thwart a crime in process.
In Genesis 14, Abraham intervened to rescue his nephew Lot and in the process killed some of his kidnappers. In Exodus 2, Moses slew an Egyptian taskmaster who was assaulting a fellow Israelite. Vigilantism is Biblically required when defending or rescuing another person or to prevent or stop any other crime from occurring:.
Deut And if he is not near you, or if you do not know him, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. Thus, this principle of responsibility appears in Deuteronomy A woman assaulted in a city is presumed to have given consent if she does not raise a cry, the origin of the hue and cry common law.
At her cry, every man within sound of her voice has a duty to render immediate aid…. An eyewitness to a crime has an obligation to the victim and to society to intervene and stop the perpetrator. How many crimes would be averted if thieves, rapists, and murderers knew every able Christian man would do whatever necessary to stop them?
How much more so, if every law-abiding man also carried a firearm, as per Psalm and Luke 22, for his own protection and the protection of his family and neighbors? Armed citizens are much more likely to intervene and arrest lawbreakers than are those who are unarmed.
Psa Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, Psa to wreak vengeance on the nations and chastisement on the peoples, Psa to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, Psa to execute on them the judgment written!
This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD! And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. In cities such as Kennesaw, Georgia, where every household is required by law to possess a firearm, the need for police protection is all but eliminated. Unless an officer happens to be at the right place at the right time, the police are ineffective at stopping or preventing crime.
A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone. In Castle Rock v. Gonzales, U. And yet, the United States federal and state governments have practically stripped their citizens of their inherent God-given responsibility for self-protection and intervention, with the exception of those who jump through government hoops to secure a concealed weapons permit.
But the vast majority of gun owners are not criminals and have no intentions of assaulting anyone. They do not own assault weapons; instead, they are armed with defense weapons. Regardless of the attempts by the government, the media, and even certain preachers to vilify self-defense, every Christian man is commissioned by Jesus and by the law of God to defend his family, his possessions, his fellow man, and himself.
Every Christian woman without a man to protect her should likewise arm herself. The effort to deprive us of our means of protection has been with us from nearly the beginning of time. It is imperative we understand the authority to arm ourselves comes from God. Nearly all gun enthusiasts point to the Second Amendment as their authority for possessing firearms, which means their authority to keep and bear arms can be traced back to Where did the men living in America prior to get their authority to be armed?
Do you suppose they might have gotten it from Exodus ; Deuteronomy ; Psalm ; Luke , , ; and 1 Timothy If your authority to keep and bear arms is derived from the Second Amendment — from the god WE THE PEOPLE — it is unlikely you will react any differently from the British and Australians who surrendered their weapons when required to do so by their respective governments. Romans 13 speaks about government being used by God to punish wrong doers and that government does not bear the sword in vain.
America is totally unique from all other nations, throughout all history. It presents a most interesting situation for the following reason s :. There was always this idea of the divine right of kings, such that people believed that authority was from God to the king, and then from the king to the people, in that hierarchy direction. God entrusted us with the highest form of government that a people could be entrusted with.
If our nation had to go to war, as it did in WW2, and Christians were part of the armed forces enlisting and drafted and did fight with a clear conscience against evil i. Hitler, or any other evil , how is it any different today?
So 2 halves of a country are going to have a civil war. The moral half recognizes the lawlessness and evil of the other half, and are under moral duty to stop the wicked from the tyranny the immoral embrace. The immoral half will help usher in the antichrist. The moral half wants to remain under the US Constitution and have righteous men in power.
The immoral half want abortion, legalized theft high taxes , stealing of money to give to others who do not work, are immoral in every sense of the word welfare for females who have children out of wedlock and a zillion other crimes, and those crimes not being prosecuted. Thus, in America, government of the people makes it incumbent on the people to war against the wicked.
If not, choose your noun communism, fascism, dictatorship, pure evil will thrive. Similar to not putting out a match that a wicked person tosses into a dry woods next to a subdivision of homes.
The thug leader of communist China, Xi, tortures and murders millions of people for wicked reasons. Every sane person in the world wants to see Xi and his communist leadership dead.
We all think it. Unless he repents, and even then he should still suffer the fate of the death sentence, to allow his entrance into heaven.
Be merciful to them, Oh Jesus. Love thy enemy is a social construct. Like the white glove in the face from the aristocracy of the old days in Europe. When a person is struck in the face, that can be endured.
If you are forced to go 1 mile, go with the person 2 miles. Same thing. Jesus is not outlining insidious examples of villainy, or horror flicks in His examples.
His examples are of a nature where the offender has to look the offended in the eye and think about his actions when he is settling down for the night. And if Jesus is our example to follow, and He does not want the wicked to be stopped by violence…..
Why the change at the close of the age to judge the unrighteous and the devil and false prophet get thrown into the lake of fire? Jesus tells us…. Peter must have been quite puzzled! But Jesus, my goodness……. What else is a sword for? So, obviously, the swords were not for fighting with those who were coming to arrest him. Sword One…. If we are forgiven, there is nothing to accuse and Satan has no power over us.
Sword Two….. Forgiveness frees you from the ownership which Satan claims he has on you. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account.
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Follow this blog! Email Address: Follow. Blog: Holy Spirit Activism Topics:. Follow my blog. So here it is, re-entering the Internet: Luke is often cited to challenge the Christian pacifist perspective. Here are the Apostles in their own words: Romans Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. James The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Like this: Like Loading January 19, at am. Micael Grenholm says:. Jeff Fenske says:. January 19, at pm. September 13, at pm.
October 7, at am. Ryan says:. October 7, at pm. Dani Gravelle says:.
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