Peter and his Sword (a discussion on weapons and self defense from a Biblical perspective.

I want to take you back to the garden at Gethsemane…when a large crowd of Roman guards armed with swords and clubs came to arrest Jesus.  As they went to arrest Jesus, one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the Roman guards.

There’s a couple of things that are very interesting about this…
First, earlier, in Luke 22:36, Jesus told his disciples that if they didn’t own a sword, that they should sell their cloak and go buy one.  Not a knife for cutting cheese, bread, or rope…but a sword, which was one of the main law enforcement and battle weapons of the time.

Second, Jesus’ response to Peter drawing his sword and attacking the Roman soldier wasn’t shock, awe, or disbelief.  He wasn’t angry that Peter was armed.  He wasn’t angry that Peter defended him.  He didn’t tell him to give his sword to the Roman guards.  He didn’t tell him to throw it on the ground.  He said, “Put your sword back in its place.  For all who live by the sword will die by the sword.”  And then he healed the Roman soldier’s ear and went with the Romans, knowing what was to come.

A lot of warriors feel alienated by the “modern” Church…but in large part, that’s because a lot of “modern” churches don’t understand warriors.  Not modern warriors and not warriors whose stories are told throughout the Bible.

The warrior ethos is highlighted throughout the Bible…definitely more in the Old Testament, but Jesus surrounded himself with rough men who were ready and willing to fight the good fight…both physically and spiritually.  Peter was outnumbered and outgunned.  The Bible doesn’t tell us that any of the other disciples had his back.  But he took the fight to the bad guys anyhow.

Taken from an article by OX at drytrainingcards.com

I would love to discuss this.