Luke 22:35-38

Luke 22:35-38 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” he replied.

Isaiah 53:1-9 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Jesus reminds his disciples that they were under divine protection when He sent them out as sheep among wolves to preach the gospel. Now, He tells them they will need a purse, bag or sandals and they'll need swords. These items will be necessary for them to live their lives without him. When they were identified with Jesus, others provided for them. Now, Jesus would not be with them. Notice, He says two swords will be enough. Two swords would never be enough to protect them from an unruly, hostile crowd. Jesus knew that, but He says two swords are enough. Enough for what is the question? Enough to fulfill God's plan for them. Isaiah 53 denotes Jesus is not a man of violence. He had done no violence; his destiny and ours lay in the Father's hands. Two swords revealed Jesus as a man of peace, who willingly gave his all for mankind. If they would not have had swords with them, Peter would not have had one to cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant. But immediately Jesus tells Peter, Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. (Matthew 26:52) Jesus indicates that his kingdom is not one of violence, of killing and maiming; it is one of peace, love, and restoration.

Even today, many Christians think the kingdom of God is won with violence. They believe they will win a victory for Christ by hurting or defeating others. This is not the spirit of the kingdom, but the world. Violence in the home, on the streets, or between nations is not the nature of the kingdom of God. If we Christians are not careful, our sinful nature will hurt the message of Christ. We do not win people to Christ by wrestling them to the ground and making them submit to our message. We do not win people to Christ by killing them. If we are the body of Christ, we should not be act like the world, using violence to corral human behavior. But, many of us still do. We still have a lot of Cain in us. Even with our loved ones, we sometimes disappoint them, strike out, and hurt them. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to deliver us from this fleshly nature by giving us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control: the fruit of the Spirit. These are not attributes of violence. Christians should love people, not use the sword against our enemies. We are to display the kindness of God, not the judgment of God. God bears the responsibility of bringing people to give an account. When we teach hatred, revenge, and violence, we teach the opposite of the Spirit of God. These spirits come from the pit of hell, not God's heart. Therefore, we should repent quickly when bitterness, anger, hostility, and the like invade our hearts, for they will destroy us.

In the New Testament, we do not see the early church holding out in Jerusalem with drawn swords and military schemes. We do not see them fighting the Romans in the streets, rebelling against their rulers. However, we do see them chased from city to city, spreading the "good news" as they went. The good news was Jesus came to save sinners, to bring eternal life with God to all who would believe. As they fled, they championed the cause of the kingdom of God. They reveled in the fact that a Savior came from the very throne of God. Jesus did not come to save Jerusalem and Israel from the yoke of the Romans. No, two swords would never have won that victory. Through his sacrifice and love, Jesus brought peace, deliverance from sin and death to all mankind. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:13-14) Jesus came to make peace with the Creator God and to promote divine love. The war between man and God and batt;e between man and man was ended. No, two swords would have accomplished that feat.

Sometimes, Christians champion weaponry and mighty arsenals to save this nation. Sadly, Israel did the same thing in the Old Testament. They thought themselves invincible, but God allowed their destruction in their arrogance. God inhabits people, not nations and lands. We are his habitation, his dwelling place. Jesus protected his own when they went out to minister. If we trust in the hands of men, in our weaponry, in our "Christian" nation, we are greatly deceived. God protects his loved ones, even if they are martyrs. He makes sure we make it home. Our hope is not in this world or in the things of this world, for it is not our home. Yes, we will fulfill our duties to our country, we will protect it, pray for our leaders, and GLADLY pay our taxes; but this nation, this world, is not our home, our place of rest. We are a "peculiar people," bought by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus was a man of peace. As his body, we should be people of peace. Therefore, as children of God, members of his family, kingdom dwellers, we should be ambassadors of his divine nature to the world.