By Nate Gross, 11/Jan/2014
To kill, or not to kill? I think Jesus means exactly what he says in Luke 22:36 when tells His disciples “to buy a sword.” Two verses later we see that He told them that the two swords they already possessed would be “enough.” Here are a couple of points that I take away from this passage. One, as Christians we are to be ready and able to fight and defend. Two, arming ourselves is not to be our main focus; after all, there were just two swords for eleven disciples and that was “enough.” I also find it interesting that Jesus was not surprised by the fact that the disciples already had a couple of swords, perhaps He expected them to, after all the Jewish people have had a long-standing need to defend themselves (Nehemiah 4:17).
Defense, not Offense – Scripture repeatedly sets the precedent for the use of lethal force in the defense of others, mainly the defenseless (Nehemiah 4:14, Isaiah 1:17, Esther 8:11-12, Ezekiel 33:2). The Bible also teaches that our body is a temple of The Lord and as such we have a responsibility to protect and preserve it (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). One example is that of a woman fighting-off an attacker intent on raping her, the Bible clearly teaches that sex is reserved for the one we marry and no other. So in a case such as this self-defense is permitted, but more on self-defense versus defending others further on.
Just War – There are a few cases in the Bible when offensive defense (just or righteous war) is practiced. One is found in the book of Esther 9:1-5, where the Jewish people pursue and kill those who plotted to kill them and Joshua 8:1-2 is another example. Here are a few considerations taken from “War: Four Christian Views by Robert G. Clouse” for Christians when weighting the justness of a war:
“Just cause. All aggression is condemned; only defensive war is legitimate.
Just intention. The only legitimate intention is to secure a just peace for all involved. Neither revenge nor conquest nor economic gain nor ideological supremacy are justified.
Last resort. War may only be entered upon when all negotiations and compromise have been tried and failed (Deuteronomy 20:10).
Formal declaration. Since the use of military force is the prerogative of governments, not of private individuals, a state of war must be officially declared by the highest authorities.
Limited objectives. If the purpose is peace, then unconditional surrender or the destruction of a nation’s economic or political institutions is an unwarranted objective.
Proportionate means. The weaponry and the force used should be limited to what is needed to repel the aggression and deter future attacks, that is to say to secure a just peace. Total or unlimited war is ruled out.
Noncombatant immunity. Since war is an official act of government, only those who are officially agents of government may fight, and individuals not actively contributing to the conflict (including POW’s and casualties as well as civilian nonparticipants) should be immune from attack.”
Defense of Property – The Bible does not make an allowance for taking a life in the defense of property. All life, including the life of a thief is sacred to God and being of eternal substance should not be valued above the things of this world which will soon pass away (1 John 2:17, Luke 21:33, 2 Corinthians 4:18). There is one passage in Exodus 22:2 were it says, “If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed…” and many I have read take this passage to mean that you can protect your home. However, I believe this passage is more about protecting those in the home than it is about defending ones property. In the heat of the moment you cannot always determine the severity of the threat posed by the intruder and in this case the Scripture make the allowance for you to shoot first and ask questions later.
A Time and A Place – There is a right time and place for the use of force and as Christians, we have to be especially discerning. John 18:10-11 is a perfect example where we read, “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”” Peter made several mistakes here and we would be wise to learn from him. The first is that he attempted to defend someone who neither wanted nor required defense, we should take care that we are coming to the aid of those who actually need or require it. The second is that he attacked the servant of the high priest, a man who was not in charge or in a position of authority and may have been there for no other reason than his master ordered it so. When we do decide to act we need to make sure that we know who we are taking action against and what our objective is. In Matthew 26:51-53 we read another account of the same incident: “And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” Jesus tells Peter that those who live by the sword will die by the sword; what does this mean? Not long before this incident Jesus told His disciples to buy a sword and now he is telling them that if they use it, they will die by it. Here are my take-away conclusions for this passage. First, Christians often have (and should as Christ has) an elevated sense of wrong and injustice. “To err is human” but a Christian must be cognizant of his sin nature and tendency to try to purify and correct by use of the sword rather than prayer and living by example (Psalms 44:6, 1 Samuel 17:47). Second, taking a life changes and often twists a person’s soul and there is a spiritual price to pay. We read in 1 Chronicles 22:8 and 28:3 that God did not permit King David to build the temple because he had “shed…blood” and had “been a man of war.” Now David had committed murder which the Bible does differentiate from killing in defense, but non-the-less we should not take the issue lightly.
Self Defense, What Would Jesus Do? – In my studies of the Scripture I have not found a single verse where it condones self defense, though it stops short of condemning it. I read in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin;” and in Hebrews 2:17-18, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Jesus has lived as we have lived, He has felt as we have felt and I think that this is the reason that the Scripture lays out such a broad path. The ideal (Jesus) has walked the middle of the road, but He has made and allowance for us to stray a little without going of the road. What a merciful and loving Savior! In Matthew 5:39 we read, “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Jesus is the standard that each one of us if to strive to live up to, a high one indeed. Even as He was being tortured and crucified He forgave and too should we.
In Closing – This is why I believe that Christian can and even have a responsibility to be armed and ready to defend the defenseless. However, self-defense is a decision remains a personal decision between each person and God. I personally have decided that I will not take a life in defense of my own as long as there is not another relying on me for protection and wellbeing. As a single guy, I really do not have anyone who solely relies on me; I do have parents who, as they age, will increasingly rely on me as well as my unmarried sisters. This is where each person must choose for himself if there are others counting on them and how far they are willing to go . This tough choice and many others are one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 7:8 saying, “But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am.” When others rely on us, our responsibilities shift and often our responses are limited, thus, making our choices that much more difficult. At the end of the day “…I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved [me] from [my] enemies, And have put to shame those who hated [me]. In God [I] boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. SELAH” – Psalms 44:6-8
REFERENCES:
Luke 22:36 – Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
Nehemiah 4:17 – Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
Nehemiah 4:14 – And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Isaiah 1:17 – Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Esther 8:11-12 – By these letters, the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women and to plunder their possessions, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
Ezekiel 33:2 – “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Esther 9:1-5 – Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
Joshua 8:1-2 – Now the LORD said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. “And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”
Deuteronomy 20:10 – When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.
John 2:17 – Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Luke 21:33 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
2 Corinthians 4:18 – while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Exodus 22:2 – If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.
John 18:10-11 – Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Matthew 26:51-53 – And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
Psalms 44:6 – For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me.
1 Samuel 17:47 – “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
1 Chronicles 22:8 – “but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight.
1 Chronicles 28:3 – “But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 2:17-18 – Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Matthew 5:39 – “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
1 Corinthians 7:8 – But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;
Psalms 44:6-8 – For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah