“Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”

Luke 22:35-53 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” ³⁸ They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

³⁹ And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰ Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you do not come into temptation.” ⁴¹ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” ⁴³ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground]. ⁴⁵ When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you do not come into temptation.”

⁴⁷ While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading the way for them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus responded and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² And Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁵³ While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

In today’s text it says:  He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”  We should not take this passage as a call for us to take up arms. Rather we should see it as an acknowledgement that we too will be counted with wrong doers if we stand with and for Christ. The two swords would not have been enough to fend off the Roman soldiers sent to arrest Jesus. In Matthew’s account of Jesus arrest, in Matthew 26:51-54 it says:  Behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”  The only sure way to resist and overcome the evils of the world is with the power and the weapons of heaven. There is a saying, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.”  2 Corinthians 10:4-6 says: The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.  Ephesians 6:10-17 says:  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  The sword we should depend on is not a sword of iron or steel, but rather the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

One of the basic principles of warfare is that it is always advantageous to have the higher ground in a battle with an enemy. What higher ground could there be than to call on the power of heaven through prayer?   The text says: He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you do not come into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you do not come into temptation.”  Jesus resorted to prayer when He faced His darkest hour. He prayed so fervently that: His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.  For us, we should neither fight with the carnal weapons of the world, nor should we slumber. We should fight with the mighty weapons of heaven. John’s account of Jesus prayer in the garden informs us of why Jesus agonized so much that He sweat blood. John 17:13-26 says: “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  Jesus shed His blood for us in the greatest act of intercession known to man. He also shed His blood in His spiritual intercession for us. May we walk in and fight with the power of the blood of Christ.

The final verse of a familiar hymn says:  Would you do service for Jesus your King? There's power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There's wonderful power in the blood.  Amen