This week in the Daily Audio Bible reading, God gave me a “surprise blessing” of something I had never seen before. (I love it when that happens!)
When it comes to the account of Jesus’s betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, I have always found it somewhat strange and incongruent that Peter was armed with a weapon … and that his immediate “blink” reaction was violence.
All four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) record in detail the life and ministry of Jesus. In all four Gospels there is absolutely no mention or even the slightest hint of violence, of any sort, in Jesus’s ministry. There is no mention at all of any weapons in Jesus’s ministry.
Jesus’s ministry was all about healing … Jesus’s ministry was about helping people.
Jesus’s ministry was about teaching the people. In His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his followers that “Blessed are the peacemakers” … and to “turn the other cheek” … and to “go the extra mile.”
Nowhere in Jesus’s ministry do we see weapons, combative action, or violence … of any kind!
And yet, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden, His closest disciple was armed and immediately resorted to violence. It seems incongruent … since Jesus’s entire ministry was one of healing and peace … and all He ever taught His followers was the way of peace.
Here is the passage from my daily Bible reading. See if you can pick up on what God showed me.
Luke 22:31-39
“’Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.’ Peter said, ‘Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.’
“Then Jesus asked them, ‘When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?’ ‘No,’ they replied. ‘But now,’ he said, ‘take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: “He was counted among the rebels.” Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.’ ‘Look, Lord,’ they replied, ‘we have two swords among us.’ ‘That’s enough,’ he said. Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. …
Luke 22:47-51
“ … a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, ‘Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’ When the other disciples saw what was about to happen they exclaimed, ‘Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!’ And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this.’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
Did you see what God showed me?
Jesus had just told Peter that Satan had asked to sift Peter like wheat, and that Peter was going to deny even knowing Jesus. (a blow to Peter’s ego!) Peter was adamant that he was willing to die for Jesus!
Jesus then told the disciples that going forward they would need to take precautions for self-protection. Hence the sword.
And hence, why when Jesus was arrested, Peter’s immediate response was to pull out a sword and resort to violence!
He had just adamantly stated that he would go with Jesus to the death … and Jesus had told them all to take precautions for self-protection … so Peter was doing exactly what he thought Jesus had just instructed them to do. He wasn’t about to deny Jesus! He was going to go to the death with Jesus!
That’s why the sword.
I had never seen that before.
Jesus didn’t want Peter to go to the death with Him. Jesus needed Peter to be alive … so that Peter, and the other disciples, could spread the Good News about Jesus’s salvation for everyone!
Neither did Jesus want Peter to use the sword to prevent His arrest. The whole purpose and reason that Jesus came was to die … in order to provide salvation from sin for everyone!
My pastor, Pastor Mark, has made the statement: “As Christians, we don’t pick a fight. But if the fight comes to us, we need to be able to defend ourselves.”
That was why Jesus warned the disciples to take precautions for self-protection, shortly before His arrest. Not so that they could prevent His arrest, but so that they could defend themselves after the fact … as they went out to spread the Good News.
That’s why the sword.
