Yeah. I caught that, too.
"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. " - Luke 22:36
Sell your cloak and buy a sword was an instruction by Jesus to his disciples. He wanted them to be armed.
“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. “ - Luke 22:36
Excellent reference. I hate it when people take bits and pieces of the Bible and string together their life’s theory that they demand we all follow.
Then said he unto them, “But now, he that hath a purse, let him take [it], and likewise [his] scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.” And they said, Lord, behold, here [are] two swords. And he said unto them, “It is enough.”
Luke 22:36-38
Jesus our LORD, said in Luke 22:36 and Luke 22:37 "he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one" because Jesus wanted, "this that is written must yet be accomplished in me” and then Jesus quotes scripture saying, “And he was reckoned among the transgressors".
Breaking down the above verses:
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“He that has no sword … let him buy one” |
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the disciples should acquire swords so |
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this that is written |
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the Scripture I am about to quote |
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must yet be accomplished in me |
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must and will happen right now to me |
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And he |
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Isaiah 53:12 being quoted: he = Jesus |
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was reckoned among the transgressors |
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Isaiah 53:12 being quoted: was counted with sinners |
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And they said, “Lord, behold, here [are] two swords” |
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the disciples tell Jesus they have two swords |
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Jesus says, “It is enough” |
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Jesus confirms the disciples have enough swords to fulfill Isaiah 53:12 |
I have parsed Luke 22:36-38 in a way that is consistent with classic commentaries on Luke 22:36-38 by Matthew Henry and Jamieson Fausset & Brown, and you will find they don’t give any license at all to taking up arms against authorities.
Jesus wanted the disciples to buy swords, so scripture could be fulfilled when Jesus would be "reckoned among the transgressors" when his disciples wielded swords and made themselves "transgressors" for Jesus to be "reckoned among the transgressors."
So, if you also want to be a “transgressor”, despite scripture telling us to be “perfect” in Matthew 5:48, Matthew 19:21, Luke 6:40, John 17:23, 1 Corinthians 2:6, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 3:15, 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Timothy 3:17, Hebrews 13:21, don’t pray for yourself to grow and for others to be saved, drop your Bible, pick up your gun, and steel yourself to fight the government agents who may come for it.
Jesus said the word never contradicts itself in John 10:35. So when Jesus, who is the Word, and LORD, and the 2nd person of the Godhead, said in Matthew 26:52, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword,” it is in perfect harmony with the above interpretation of Luke 22:36-38.
Otherwise, you would have to think that the LORD God, who made every star, world, plant and animal in all their glorious majesty and order in 6 days, and is called Master, and LORD, the Rock, and The Good Shepherd, would so plainly contradict Himself.
So when scripture says very plainly in 1 Peter 2:13 that we should, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as to them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well”, no license is given to us to rebel against governing authorities.
The Bible further says in Romans 13:4 that government “bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that does evil”. If government forces kill you when you rebel with arms, it’s with God’s backing and approval.
If despite all the above scripture, your attitude is still that of “God will forgive me for rebelling and fighting the government when they come for my guns” then ask yourself if God would also forgive witchcraft given 1 Samuel 15:23 says “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft”. Many a self-professed Christian “patriot” who would think nothing of pointing a gun at a government agent and squeezing the trigger, would quickly and decisively declare they would never partake in witchcraft, since it is so clearly a damnable sin committed by the arch-enemies of Jesus Christ.
Yet, the rebellion you still desire “is as” damnable witchcraft in God’s eyes.
Also, again, when you rebel with arms, you invite invasion from China/Russia/etc. They would be fools not to take advantage of your rebellion.
Furthermore, it is not necessary at all to fight tyrannical government with arms if we:
take up the New Covenant defensive and offensive spiritual weapons of God per Ephesians 6:12 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 against evil spirits that stir up our elected and appointed officials to do evil
we pray with faith since God can control and guide the hearts of President Obama, Congress, the Supreme Court, government bureaucrats, governors, mayors, state legislators, city councils, the Police, and our Armed Forces per Proverbs 21:1, and we are commanded to pray for them per 1 Timothy 2:1-3. We pray that many witnesses of the Gospel be sent to them per Matthew 9:37, they be convicted of sin like in Acts 2:37, and that God grants them repentance per 2 Timothy 2:25
Only then will they lead us with ever increasing prudence, and Godly wisdom.
A substantive reply to the aforementioned is not, “I feel in my spirit that it’s my divine right by natural law to fight the government with my guns.”
We're Christians, so if our feelings contradict Scripture, they are error.
After I stood face to face with a Mormon and tore down Joseph Smith and/or the reliability of the Book of Mormon, he put his hands on his chest, looked at me very earnestly, and told me that the Holy Spirit tells him the Book of Mormon is of God.
Therefore, to avoid error we need to give scriptural reasons for why we believe and do.
To give a scriptural reply of substance you might:
Parse Luke 22:36-38 in an intelligible way where the disciples are NOT transgressors
Find a reputable commentary that agrees with your position
Given John 10:35 says scripture has no contradictions, please explain how your interpretation of Luke 22:36-38 does not conflict with:
Matthew 26:52 which says, “Then said Jesus unto him, ‘Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.’ ”
Matthew 5:44 which says, “Love your enemies.”
Titus 3:1-2 which says, “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, [but] gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”
1 Peter 2:13-14 which says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”
Romans 13:1-2 which says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”