Jesus Christ & Swords

Some Christian pacifists would have you believe that Jesus the Christ was of their limp wristed

nature and against all violence. They forget His whipping the money changers out of the Temple. They rely on his “turning the other cheek” instructions, a quote taken well out of historical and social context. At his time (As was the case through out history and, in many places, still is) a blow to the face was a “deadly” insult, which many cultures required or now still require either instant and abject apology or a blood price in return. Jesus was correct in maintaining that an insult was not cause to kill or injure another person.

Some of those irrational persons also rely on Jesus' instructions, just before he was taken into custody, to “put up your sword” as some sort of pacifistic guideline. That is not the case as Jesus was protecting his followers whose one sword would only provoke the armed mob which came to take him prisoner. It is also the case that Jesus' arrest, torture, death and resurrection was necessary for the salvation of all humanity.

I do not recall any statement of the Christ requiring his followers to accept death or great bodily injury for his cause.

In fact, Jesus' general instructions to his followers, before sending them out on a mission, are contained in Luke, Chapter-22, Verses 35 through 38, TO WIT:

“And He said to them, “WHEN I SENT YOU WITH NO PURSE OR BAG OR
SANDALS, DID YOU LACK ANYTHING?” They said “nothing”. “BUT NOW,
HE WHO HAS A PURSE TAKE IT AND LIKEWISE A BAG, AND LET HIM
WHO HAS NO SWORD SELL HIS CLOAK AND BUY ONE. FOR I TELL
YOU THAT THIS SCRIPTURE MUST BE FUFILLED IN ME “AND HE
WAS RECKONED WITH TRANSGRESSORE”; FOR WHAT IS WRITTEN
ABOUAT ME HAS ITS FULFILLMENT.” And, they said, here are two
swords.” And He said unto them, “THEY ARE SUFFICIENT.””

[The quote from Luke's Gospel is from the Peshitta New Testament, a new Aramaic-to-English
translation; Aramaic being the common language of the Holy Land in Jesus' time.]

What then, was the meaning and value of swords in Christ's time? They were, in fact, the ultimate in personal weapons. They required much more of that then semi-precious metal steel than did daggers, or maces or spear heads or axes. They required very, very, much more skill in construction than those other weapons of that time. They were the AK-47s or AR-15s of that time. If you are one of those persons who prefer a Bible using modern terminology, just substitute “AK-47(s) for the term “sword(s)” in the above verses.

The Christ knew that there were bandits and other hateful people who might attempt to injure or kill his followers and He did not fail to advise them to be prepared to protect themselves. Perhaps, we should now take his advise as there are people who would and do injure or kill the followers of Jesus.