Then He said to them, “But now, whoever has a moneybag 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 HCSB

In this Scripture passage, Jesus and His disciples are at the last Passover meal they would eat together. Jesus is trying to explain the things that are about to take place. He knows He is about to be falsely accused and arrested, and he warns that the same thing could happen to them. God has provided for them, and now Jesus warns that they must be prepared to use normal means to support themselves and also be prepared to defend themselves.

Jesus is speaking figuratively, but they take him literally. This is evidenced by Peter drawing his sword and cutting the ear off of one of the soldiers when they arrest Jesus. When Jesus spoke of the money bag, the traveling bag or knapsack, and sword, he was speaking of them being prepared for protection, not aggression. If you read on, however, they reply that they have two swords. These swords were more like daggers or long knives. It was not unusual for people to carry them with them for many things, not just violence against another person. When Jesus says, “Enough!” He means enough of that talk because he realizes here that they are taking him literally,

It is interesting that in Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul warns Christians to always be prepared for battle. He speaks of the armor we need to walk through this world as followers of Christ. He talks about our sword, but He tells us in Ephesians 10:17 to take the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

Many of us are walking around with so much hurt, abuse, and rejection that we are always on the defensive. We are ready to strike. This is not what Jesus instructs us to do. We are to trust Him to handle any situations, especially those where vengeance is necessary (Romans 12:19). He clearly tells us this is His job.

But I can’t find any Scripture that tells us to be a doormat for sinners or evil people. We are told in 1 Peter 5:8 to be sober and alert. Here He is warning His disciples that hard times are coming, and they must be prepared to defend themselves. He is not telling them to go out into the street and attack those who persecute Him. He is merely telling them to be prepared to defend themselves.

We live in such a divided society today. It’s us against them. We can’t all just get along, and we can’t all just unify. We must be Christians first and foremost. We are not put here to be a militia; we are put here to win others to Christ. We are not put here to beat them over the head with our Bibles.

In 1 Peter 2:23, we are told that when He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when he was suffering, He did not threaten but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. Jesus suffered for our sake. Can we let go of our pride for His sake? Can we trust in Him to right the wrongs that are done to us? When the going gets tough, will we curse and leave no doubt for others that we have conformed to this world? Or will we handle it as God instructs us to do in His Holy Word? Will we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? Will we grab one sword and be prepared to defend ourselves and others, or will we grab two swords and just go around swinging? As Christians, we have a choice to make.

We can honor and glorify God in all we do, especially during difficult times. Or we can choose to listen to the devil and allow Him to destroy our witness.

There is a time to defend ourselves and a time to put our swords down. We must pray for wisdom and discernment to know the difference.

Have a great day!