Q and A Moment of the Day

Christ Jesus is the King of Peace yet He tells His disciples “the person who has no sword let that one sell their garment and buy one.” (Luke 22) This does not make sense-why buy a sword? Also when they told Him “here are two swords He replied “it is enough.” (Luke 22).

Christ Jesus does not mean the sword in the literal sense.

Remember later that night Peter cut of the ear of Malchus with a sword (John 18).

Then Jesus says “for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ” (Matt. 26:51-52).

If the Lord is asking them to use the sword literally Peter would have been encouraged to continue!

However, the symbolic meaning of the sword is the spiritual struggle.

And, just before His arrest and crucifixion Christ Jesus says:  “Let him/her sell garments and procure a

sword” then right after that He said ‘for I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me”, “and He was numbered with the transgressors”(Luke 22:). What is going on?

Christ Jesus is telling them, while with you I was the ‘sword’ that protected you and but now I will give Myself up to be crucified so you will need to take care of yourselves and struggle through-fight the spiritual fight. You will need a sword for this.

St. Paul speaks about “the sword of the spirit” in his epistle to the Ephesians and about: “the whole armour of God, the breast plate of righteousness, and the shield of faith” (Eph. 6:11-17). This is what Christ Jesus means by “procure a sword’ so we might be able to be steadfast in face of the wiles of the evil one in spiritual warfare.

The disciples don’t understand this spiritual symbol at that time, so they answered in the literal sense: here are two swords so He replies that “It is enough“… meaning it is enough discussion in this subject since time was short for Him. He didn’t mean the swords they show Him because He says “It is enough” otherwise He would say they are enough…

We must distinguish between what Christ Jesus means for us to understood symbolically or literally.

The flow of the conversation/situation usually reveals this.

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