Jesus would have been a poor messiah indeed had his attitude been that he was here to spread the news of salvation to all the Earth, but if his followers were murdered before they got a chance to help spread that news, well that would have been ok since they didn't engage in violence. I mean think about it, if his followers would not defend themselves against evil, then how could they have spread his teachings? And if they could not have spread his teachings, they would have failed HIM, and they would have failed those who could have learned his message!
CHRISTIANS need not back down from murderers nor do they need to apologize if they use violence to obliterate and annihilate them!
I believe the message of Jesus was not “do not commit acts of violence” but “do not commit unprovoked and unjustified acts of violence.” The former doesn’t actually make any sense, especially if we note that Jesus himself wasn’t exactly a pacifist. Driving the moneylenders from the temple, for example, was not a non-violent act.