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Writer's pictureAndrew Fouts
Sep 139 min read

Swords: a commentary on Luke 22

“Then He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.” - Luke 22:36


We talk a lot in the Misfits universe about the misuse and abuse of verses, and especially the weaponization of verses for American political purposes. One verse in particular that comes up often when there is any conversation surrounding weapons is Luke 22:36. We get this verse in our inbox regularly in response to some of our other discussions, whether on our discussion about the Second Amendment from season 2, our deep dive into peace from the Fruit of the Spirit series, or any of the times on air or online when we have discussed what Jesus’ call is for the church in the face of resistance and evil, Luke 22:36 shows up as the verse to destroy our arguments, and to show that Jesus is pro-gun and pro-violence.


Now taken in isolation, this verse appears to be approval from Jesus Himself for the ownership of weapons, and the use of those weapons for defensive purposes. However, that only works when this verse is taken in isolation from the rest of Luke 22 and from the overall narrative of the events taking place throughout all four gospel accounts. Once we place verse 36 back into the context of the message Jesus was delivering, we can see not only is this verse not a call to arms, but that claiming that it is is counter to the actual message Jesus was presenting.


LUKE 22


This chapter opens with Luke’s account of the plot to kill Jesus, the fall of Judas, and the Passover meal between Jesus and His disciples, where Jesus institutes the New Covenant and the Eucharist. Immediately following this, in verse 23, we see that the Disciples already had missed the point of what Jesus was doing. They immediately began to worry over who the betrayer was, and this leads to 3 connected sections of dialogue: Who is the Greatest, Peter’s Faith, and God’s Faithfulness.


  1. Who is greater?


In Luke’s account, we see Jesus at the end of the meal identifying that one of the disciples would be the one to betray Him. The disciples were distressed at this and Luke says that they all began to point fingers at each other, which then descended into a dispute over who was the best of Jesus followers. Jesus then rebukes this idea and redirects them to a better way, a way that Jesus Himself had modeled for them that very night in John 13.


25b “The kings of the Gentiles dominate them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’26 But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and whoever leads, like the one serving.” 


Jesus not only reminds them that the Kingdom of God is upside down, but He does so while also contrasting His role as King, with the kings of earth. Jesus is a King who serves those around Him, while the Gentile Kings went out to conquer those around them. The call here was about humility, but they still weren’t getting it.


2. Peter’s Faith


Immediately following this reminder of the ways of the Kingdom and the call to humility, Peter becomes the focus of Jesus’ attention. Jesus warns him of the coming trial of faith, and the reality that Peter was not as brave as Peter thought he was. We hear this part of the story often during the Passion week retellings, but we miss something important from verses 31 and 32, that again are crucial to the overall narrative of this chapter in Luke. 


31 “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”


Remember what led up to this point. It began with the disciples arguing and defending themselves against the idea that they might be the betrayer. Now we have Jesus making it clear to Peter here, that Satan is coming for him and that while Peter would appear to fail the test, his faith would not fail. He would return and he would encourage others. The word Jesus uses for this return is ἐπιστρέφω which often time we also will sometimes translate to convert. Jesus here in Luke 22, is telling Peter that he would have to have a heart and mind change and that it was going to come from a moment of vulnerability and perceived failure of faith. But Peter, still missing the point and feeling like he must defend his faith, rejects this idea all together. And so Jesus responds, first telling Peter the exact way this was about to go down, but then returning focus to the rest of the room, Jesus approaches the whole thing a different way.


3. God’s Faithfulness


Jesus responds with a reminder of their first assignments that we see in Luke 10 & Matthew 10. The disciples were sent out into communities across Palestine with absolutely no provisions. They were instructed instead to rely solely on the provisions that would be provided by the villages they entered. So Jesus asks them if during that time if they ever lacked anything? The disciples all respond “Not a thing.” God had been faithful to them, providing for their needs. Now, after all of these previous conversations, Jesus gives us the verse we started with, Luke 22:36.  


36 Then He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.”


How is this connected to everything else that has been going on? Jesus just talked about faithfulness and renewal in the midst of humility, as being the values of His kingdom, and now here he is telling them to go and buy weapons.  It doesn’t make sense, in context, that Jesus is now establishing the use of weapons for His kingdom. It must be something else.


Jesus actually  very quickly identifies what He meant in Luke 22:37 by citing Isaiah 53:12 as His reasoning. 


37 For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted among the outlaws Yes, what is written about Me is coming to its fulfillment.”


“He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels”


The swords were for appearances and to justify the arrest, not for actual use. Isaiah had already prophesied what must take place. The Messiah who would die for rebels from God must be considered a rebel on earth. The disciples then let Jesus know they had two swords on hand, and Jesus said that it was good enough. After this, they leave to pray in the garden, which we see here in Luke 22, and the other gospel accounts as well. Specifically, though, I want us to take a moment and look at Matthew’s account, because the point that Jesus was making and the irony of trying to make it about weapons, is not quite done. Because when we take verse 26 in isolation, it does look like the focus is on weapons. But once the context of the entire narrative is brought in, it becomes clear that this verse has nothing to do with the weapon itself, but has everything to do with the mindset behind needing one and the events about to take place. 


MATTHEW 26


After Jesus had finished praying, Judas Iscariot and a mob of people, armed with swords and clubs, arrived to arrest Jesus. Peter, the one who argued that his faith was the greatest and that he would never desert Jesus, pulls out one of the two swords and slices off the ear of a slave. Jesus immediately responds with rebuke of Peter again, but his time it is not just the lack of faith Jesus targets, but specifically it is for the use of the sword itself. 


52 Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword.”


Peter had missed the point of everything Jesus had told him earlier that night. Jesus had just established a new covenant of sacrificial love with them. He laid it out plainly that this covenant was one of Sacrifice & Love & Humility, amid prideful bickering. He tells Peter that he prayed for Him regarding this. That He prayed Peter would accept the trials with humility & that he would be strengthened by them. He reminded all of them that God had been faithful in their weaknesses and in their time of poverty & service. He reminded them of what His mission is, to be counted among the rebels that seek power, but that His doing so was an act of humbling Himself for sacrifice instead. But Peter still took the sword, to show he was the greatest.


This is the irony of those who try and pull Luke 22 out in the weapon and violence debates. They are making the same mistake Peter did here in Matthew 26. They are arguing for the same status that the disciples were in Luke 22. They mock peace as cowardice just as Peter did. They miss what Jesus’ mission is, as He highlighted in Luke 22. That the Messiah was going to bring about the Kingdom of God through humble sacrifice & love for those who would seek to have Him killed. 


Jesus is not done yet though, he continues to highlight the fact that His kingdom is different in the way he addresses the mob in verse 55. 


55b “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture Me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple complex, and you didn’t arrest Me. 56 But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures would be fulfilled.”


This is very similar to what we read in Luke 22 as well. The only place in Luke 22 dealing with weapons, is when they are used by those opposed to the mission. The tools of the Gentile Kings in verse 25 and the tools of those seeking to destroy those kings in verse 36. Now with the mob, He again points out that those tasked with protecting authority needed weapons to maintain their power. But it was not the weapons that allowed for the arrest, but it was the willingness of Jesus to humble Himself, just as the Scriptures said. He again points out that all of this was about the fulfillment of prophecy. A prophecy that highlighted the reality that the mission Jesus was on and the mission that we are called to model, comes from humility and submission, rather than dominance and authority. From trusting in the power and faithfulness of God, rather than the security and protection of weapons. From renewed minds and renewed hearts, rather than stubborn will and defensive postures. 


Luke 22:36, is not about weapons and violence but is one verse in the middle of a narrative that contrasts the realities of the world that we live in, and the Kingdom that we long for. This verse and its continued platforming in search of a justification for violence continue to highlight the need for us to recognize what Peter did. What Jesus was saying the night of Luke 22, was that our faith is greatest when we humbly submit in service to Jesus, rather than looking for ways to show how strong we think are. Jesus had told Peter, that when he allowed himself to be renewed and returned, he would strengthen others, rather than himself. He does this, and we see it clearly in I Peter 2.


“11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.13 Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 16 As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor."


Peter now echoes the words of Jesus, for us to allow ourselves to be strengthened by trials. To resist our fleshly desires for dominance, greatness, strength, and authority, but to know clothe ourselves with humility. To submit and serve everyone, even those who seek our harm. Because when we do this, those around us will see the Kingdom Jesus established in Luke 22, rather than the kingdoms we try and build for ourselves. Now is the time to ask ourselves which Peter we will be in this discussion. The Peter that jumps to defend ourselves, claiming to love others while seeking their downfall, or the Peter that is humbled and renewed and seeking out how we could truly love others, through service and true love.


 




Written on Jesus mission of piece: https://ministrymisfits.com/post/swords-or-plows…

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