Swords

I find it terribly interesting that the Christian Right is associated so strongly with the NRA, especially in light of Christ's own teachings regarding weaponry.

Jesus said He was bringing strife rather than peace (Matthew 10:34), but this is in the context of how people would be so adamant for Him that they would forsake everything else, much like someone who has found a new passion for music or art or anything else might forget their friends and family and focus on it.

That said, He was not bringing the kind of strife that the Jews of the New Testament thought - that is, He was not bringing about a new Earthly kingdom, leading the Jews to a glorious revolution over the Roman Empire.  They expected a Messiah that would lead them to war.  There was a moment when He could've taken up that banner, where He could've fought back - His arrest.

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.”

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. (Matthew 26:47-51)

An uprising is exactly what Jesus' disciples still thought he was there to lead, and this kind of violent confrontation is exactly the sort that could have escalated quickly.

Instead, though, Jesus defused the situation,

“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:52-56)

All who draw the sword will die by the sword; or, you may have heard it as "all who live by the sword will die by the sword."  The literal weapon is unimportant - the weapon is merely a symbol for a person's willingness to maim and possibly kill an opponent, armed or unarmed. 

There may be some who say, "but it's okay to defend yourself!"  Well, to a certain extent, yes.  But note what Jesus says about self defense:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42)

Or, as quoted in Luke:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31)

The command of Jesus is to not fight back, but to rather give people whatever they want.

Now, certainly, this does not mean to acquiesce to rape or murder - there are certain violations that I'm sure Christ wouldn't say you should suffer, because of how personal they are and how long-lasting their damage is.  That said, we aren't supposed to fight back in most situations. 

My mother used to say that this passage only means you should turn your cheek once, that if the person hits you again, you have leave to beat the snot out of them.  However, it's clear from Jesus' language that that is not the case, that the point of this is not to say "give in a little bit, but not too much" but rather "don't fight back."

That's because we're supposed to do to others as we would have them do to us.  If we beat them or shoot them, even when they're threatening us, we are not doing to them as we would have them do, but instead doing to them what we assume they would do to us.

But that may not be the intent.  Most people who draw a gun don't intend to kill, but rather to scare.  The gun is supposed to be a motivator to acquiesce to what the person wants.  When we fight back, when we draw a gun, etc., we are escalating the violence, rather than defusing it. 


That said, it's a different story if the situation is already deadly.  A person who threatens you with a gun might not be willing to take your life.  A person who fires a gun in your direction or the direction of another person certainly is.  At that point, it's necessary to take the other person's life to save your own.  One problem with guns is that they make us react at the wrong times, shooting at people who are no threat.  They give us a false sense of security that our actual training in stressful shooting situations may not be sufficient to see us through.

Words can save our lives... but when we have a weapon, we tend to reach for it first, rather than trying to defuse with words.  That's what Jesus means when He says those who draw the sword die by the sword.