Except... (Luke 22:38):
...it was not the possession of swords that identified Jesus as a criminal but the false charges that He had claimed to be a king opposed to Caesar.
Best
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Luke 22:38 makes it plain that his call to buy a sword was strictly for self defense, and not a call to create an army.
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It's right there in the text. The purpose of the sword --- or one of the purposes --- was to fulfill the prophecy that he would be numbered with the transgressors. That would have served as corroborating evidence that he was a rebel and a king opposed to Caesar, as well.
So, both --- the fact that his followers were (ridiculously lightly) armed, and the false charge that Jesus was a revolutionary --- added up to Jesus being "numbered with the transgressors."
BTW, there is some controversy as to whether it was unlawful for non-Roman citizens to even possess swords. It's plausible that Jesus knew they would be arrested because of having swords.
In other words, the swords were not there for self-defense: they were there to provoke arrest.
I've read opinions for and against, but I don't know if it can be answered definitively.