Swords
My red flags always go up when I hear
a godless politician presume to know what Jesus might have done in this
or that situation. I recently heard one political pundit allege that
Jesus would NEVER have approved of AR-15’s. Where is the biblical
evidence to support this claim? I would argue the opposite based on the
biblical record of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The text is Luke 22:35-38. Jesus
asked his disciples this question: “When I sent you without purse, and
scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?” (22:35). They answered:
“Nothing.” Jesus continued: “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” (22:36).
The words BUT NOW signify a shift in
the way his disciples would conduct themselves AFTER his departure.
Translation: “Men, up until now, my providential provision for you
enabled you to focus entirely upon the gospel message without the
distractions that accompany SELF-PRESERVATION. But that’s about to
change! You’re gonna need to equip yourselves with a SWORD as a matter
of SELF-DEFENSE.”
The disciples were quick to respond:
“Lord, behold, here are TWO SWORDS,” to which he answered: “It is
enough” (22:38). Later that evening, the chief priests, and captains of
the temple, and the elders came to arrest him carrying “SWORDS and
staves” (22:52). Now, the SWORD was the weapon of choice in those days.
There were no firearms. But if these events had taken place in 21st
century America, who’s to say whether the captains might have come with
AR-15’s instead of SWORDS?
Furthermore, perhaps Jesus would have
encouraged his disciples to sell their garment and purchase an AR-15.
In other words, the time was coming when the disciples would need to
arm themselves with COMPARABLE WEAPONRY. In Gethsemane, the disciples
had TWO SWORDS to counter the SWORDS and staves of the arresting party.
In 21st century America, the disciples might have had AR-15’s instead
of SWORDS.
The point is Jesus admonished his
disciples to procure COMPARABLE WEAPONRY to answer the threat to their
well-being. If we apply that principle to 21st century America, an
AR-15 just might have been their weapon of choice. Just to remind
ourselves, the semi-automatic AR-15 is the CIVILIAN counterpart to the
MILITARY'S fully automatic M-16. The M-16 is an assault weapon; the
AR-15 is NOT an assault weapon.
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