Did Christ Say to Carry a Weapon?

Did Christ Carry a sword? Should We?

Obviously, these are controversial questions. For the purpose of this article, let’s see what the Bible actually says about the subject of weapons, and self-defense. For those that have not studied it, a sword is a weapon of war, strong’s G6132. The only reason people carried swords was because guns had not yet been invented, they are the exact same thing in function. Let’s also examine the arguments used to say that Christians cannot or should not bear arms. A lot of these arguments are compelling, many cite scripture, but I think you will find they are lacking in foundation. I would imagine that I of all people, will be considered to have a bias, and that’s understandable; however, there is a reason for my position. After all, you don’t have to agree with me, my goal, in all my writing is for YOU to ask and answer the question yourself.

Let’s start by establishing some of the arguments Against a Christian bearing arms.

1. Christ said to Peter, “Put away your sword, for all who live by the sword must die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52)
2. Christ said to the disciples, “turn the other cheek” (Luke 6:29)
3. Christ told Peter that carrying a sword was against the law (i.e. made you a transgressor) (Luke 22:26)
4. God is our protector (Psalm 91:2)
5. Do NOT Avenge yourselves...Vengeance is MINE says the Lord (Romans 12:19)
6. Thou Shalt not Kill (Exodus:20)
7. Carrying a weapon is the same as avenging yourself

Some of these will take much more to answer than others, so let’s start with the easy ones.

1. Thou Shalt Not WHAT?

Let’s look at Arguments 7,6,5,2 and part of 3 first.
Many people who have learned the shortened commandments would say thou shalt not KILL. However, that is NOT what it says, in fact God told the Israelites to “kill” people on a regular basis. What the Commandment says (which was given, by the way right before He told them to kill entire cities) is "Thou Shalt not MURDER". God defines murder for us in Deuteronomy 19:5 in contrast to manslaughter, “Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, if he has accidentally killed another without hating him at the time of the accident.”.
He also gives a complimentary definition in Exodus 21:13 where He says, “lie in wait” which is sometimes translated “premeditated”. Murder by man’s definition is 'the premeditated killing of another person', by God’s definition murder is 'hating someone and deciding or planning to kill them'.
A very important thing to remember, is that Christ is literally the one who gave the original law. We pay lip service to that notion all the time, but we act out a different reality. We say Christ is the God of the old testament who said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (which is about proportional punishment, not cutting off hands), but we prefer to remember Him when He, the same person who never changes, says “turn the other cheek”. If we find that the penal code in Exodus 21 and Deuteronomy 19 is at odds with Luke 6:29, then we don’t know our own Lord. In Matthew 5:38 Christ quotes Himself and BUILDS on what He earlier said; however, He does NOT change His words. (Hebrews 13:8)
What about the “turn the other cheek” principle, what does it mean if the old law is still in effect? Is there a precedent for 2 laws that simultaneously define two opposing boundaries? Yes actually there is.
Proverbs 26:4-5 "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes".
The point of this passage is the responsibility of the actor to discern the situation and it’s possible outcomes and then to act accordingly.
Exodus 22:2-3 “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed".
This statute defines the same type of discernment. If a thief is found breaking in and you are not able to make sense of the situation, there is NO GUILT in killing him, however, if the sun is risen and you CAN make sense of the situation and you kill him, then there is GUILT.
If you study the penal codes around the US, you will find that our laws are based on this concept. In most states the law says in effect, to a varying degree, deadly force is justified if the defender was unable to find another way out of harm. How does this apply to the modern Christian? Well, you have to discern! You have to consider the situation and the circumstances and act accordingly.
Contrary to popular belief, when you train with a firearm for defense the very first and most important rule is to NOT use deadly force when it isn’t necessary. Often, even very often, people that take defensive firearm training are accused of 'learning to kill people'. This is a completely false and unfounded assumption; Defensive training is mostly “Conflict de-escalation”. The role of the weapon itself in defense training is to 1. Act as a deterrent and balance unequal power, 2. Show red-line situational boundary marker, 3. To stop a threat from becoming your death. That is very far from 'learning to kill people'. That’s not to say there aren’t people who are personally bent one way or another, if your desire is to kill people, then, I suppose you would be learning how to kill people. That personal bias should not however be confused with what defense training actually is.
What about the concept of vengeance , what is vengeance? We’ve actually already read about it in Exodus 22. Vengeance is the act of executing justice, and it IS God's. Only He has the authority to execute such judgement, however He GIVES US some of that authority in specific situations. This authority is described in the penal code as THE AVENGER OF BLOOD.  
Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.". Life BELONGS to God, and He alone determines when it is to be taken. In God’s penal code he designed cities of refuge so that people who were actually due justice could wait out the heated anger of someone who had been wronged until they cool down and show mercy, or kill them if they left the city of refuge of course, but the mercy Christ desired in
Matthew 5:38 existed then too. This entire law system required responsibility to discern the situation though, i.e. the sun rising on an intruder. MOST of the situations of danger that we come into contact with ARE within our control to de-escalate, avoid, or to solve without the use of force, however there ARE times that we do not have the opportunity to know the extent of the danger, intruders in the dark are still indiscernible threats to the modern man and that is exactly why God permits the use of HIS vengeance in His law That brings me to the next section.

2. God is my protector, so I have no responsibility.

Let’s consider arguments 4 and 5.

This argument is the most common one that I encounter, it’s in my opinion the most invalid one. Nearly everything I write is focused on personal responsibility to “rightly divide the word of truth”, that is not by accident. This particular argument is an emotional one, so I will “fight fire with fire” and refute with emotion.
God is our protector, that is one of my favorite titles of God that I thank Him for regularly. The older I get, the larger my sphere of responsibility gets, the more I recognize just HOW much I need a protector. Once I had children, I was really opened up to seeing the danger that is present in our world and my complete inability to defend against it. Let me be perfectly clear, you, nor I can protect ourselves from all danger… it IS IMPOSSIBLE. The best trained men in defense will tell you the same thing, you cannot prepare for everything. I RELY on God to protect me and my family because I cannot. That being said… Protector is only one of many titles our God has. Another is Provider.
Matthew 6:25-34 25 “Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
That’s a beautiful cut-and-dry example of God promising to provide for all of our needs, yet he said through Paul,
2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat".
There are no shortage of proverbs about lazy men who do not work. These ARE both the truth. God IS our provider, but we HAVE to work.
God is also our Healer.
Exodus 15:26 “He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.””.
 He also expects us, after being anointed to seek medical help for ailments!
Mark 2:17 “When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.””.
Why do we accept that we have a responsibility in these areas but not in another? It is the same argument!  You cannot MAKE food appear on your table, you cannot WILL your broken arm back together, neither can you PROTECT yourself and your family from all harm, but that is no basis for sitting down and doing nothing. Either this life is a training ground for us or it is not, I believe that it is, and a training ground is not a movie. You do not get in shape by watching workout videos, you get in shape by exercising. You do not become like God by reading only,
Hebrew 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”.
That is one of my favorite scriptures, so much is packed in there but right at the end Paul says, “by reason of use”. That is how we grow, we read and then we do, that is learning. We learn to be like God by practicing the insignificant bits that we can grasp.
We practice becoming a healer by Praying for Healing and Health, then living healthy, abstaining from unclean foods, and fixing problems when we see them.
We practice being a provider by Praying for our Needs, then working 6 days a week to ensure our families have food on the table and clothes on their backs.
Dare I say we practice being a protector by Praying for Protection, acknowledging danger, avoiding it, learning to de-escalate it and carrying a weapon?!

3. Did Christ carry a Sword, and did He tell us to.

We will discuss argument 1 and the rest of 3.
Right at the end of Christ’s physical life, he made a very interesting statement. Many write it off as being part of another prophecy though the context does not point that direction.
Luke 22:35 “And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.”Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.” So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.””
Let’s break this down, he is telling the disciples to start going out with a supply of money, extra clothes, and a sword. He tells them if they don’t have a sword to go as far as to sell their clothes to buy one. Now, many would argue that this was a one-time command because of the next sentence, but there’s no indication of that at all. Christ was merely prophesying His own arrest. He would soon be “numbered with the transgressors”. Argument 3 wrongly assumes that 'transgressors' referred to the disciples because they had swords, when in reality He was to be numbered among the transgressors , or put another way, arrested like a criminal.  You’ll also note that He said to take money and extra clothes, those aren’t required in nor come up again in the story, I would say because they are separate things, ‘from now on money/clothes/weapon’ and ‘tonight I will be arrested’
Those who oppose the use of weapons will say that the next part of the story proves their case. Let’s look at it in all three accounts.
Luke 22:49-51 “When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.”
John 18:10-11 “then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?””
Matthew 26:52-54 “But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?””
Now, you’ll notice these three accounts all say different things, is that because they're inaccurate? No of course not, it’s because each writer recorded what was important to his view. However Christ DID say all these things, and if you put them all together He said (obviously a hypothetical paraphrase) 'put your sword back let them take me, this is part of the plan, we could fight, but we will not fight.' He actually said a very similar thing a few years later speaking of our time in
Revelation 13:10 “If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.”
All except the apostle John were martyred, that was what was TO BE. The position we are called to, more importantly our death is in God’s hands, HE decides when and how we go. Except in the case of suicide which is murder, the theft of a life outside of the specific permission God gives, it is NOT within our power to change our end point. Christ literally tells them to let the Romans arrest Him because it cannot be changed, that is what God intended. Now here’s where the opposing argument falls apart, if God controls when we die, why did Christ tell the disciples to be armed? It’s because it’s prudent, and is part of our training. We are not to fight to rule this world, Christ said in 
John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.””.
His servants were ABLE to fight but did not. Now, as to whether one of the two swords there in Luke 22 was carried by Jesus, I cannot say though “I” would venture yes, what I can say is that Christ DOES carry a sword, Revelation 19:15, and DID tell us to.

My conclusion is this; Christ NEVER changed His laws, he magnified them which is to say the old STILL stands.
1. THE LAW defines legal (in God’s eyes) self-defense.
2. The concept of Personal Responsibility is involved with all aspects of Godly Living.
3. Christ Literally said to do it.
I hope that MY thoughts don’t change your mind. What I DO hope is that YOU read your own bible and prove your beliefs to a level that you are comfortable to stand before the FATHER’s throne and answer for how YOU live your own life.


Seth Forrestier – December 26, 2019