What on earth was Jesus talking about now? There they were in Jerusalem, the culmination of the three years of traveling and teaching with the Master. They were in the city that was the center of their universe. Jesus had confounded all his questioners and accusers. The people had hailed him as a conqueror just a few short days ago, when he rode into the city on that ridiculous donkey. They were eating the Passover together. What more could anyone ask for? Surely the moment they had all been waiting for was at hand. Surely any day now he would reveal himself as the long-awaited messiah and king. The entire nation would come together at last, the heavens would open, the Romans would disappear, and milk and honey would flow in the streets of Jerusalem.
But what had Jesus meant by somebody betraying him? “The Son of Man is going as it has been determined,” Jesus had said, “but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” [Lk 22:22] They must have misheard him. Or maybe it was another one of his little bombshells that he tended to lob into their midst to get them thinking. Jesus probably meant that when he took his rightful place at the head of the restored kingdom, anybody who hadn’t gotten on board would be sorry. They’d be out in the cold for sure.
What a change was coming! Instead of being footsore homeless vagabonds wondering where their next meal was coming from, worrying if the next Roman crackdown was going to drive them back into their villages, they’d be living on easy street, eating at the king’s table and getting the respect they deserved. Finally.
Hey, Andrew, Levi, did you catch what Jesus just said? “You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." [Lk 22:28-30] What kind of organization would Jesus put together? Probably Peter and James and John would be at the top of the list in the new order, after all they’d pretty much been the inner circle all along. But surely Judas would get a top spot, treasury or something. He’d been taking care of the money. And Thomas - Thomas was sharp. But whatever happened, they would all be involved in helping Jesus restore God’s peace and justice - everything they’d been longing for since God promised David a righteous king. Wow! What a time to be alive! Who would ever have thought just a few years ago that they would be the ones to help usher in the kingdom! Judging the twelve tribes! Wouldn’t their fathers be proud of them! Nathaniel promised himself he wouldn’t breathe a word about his mother’s everlasting complaining about how he’d abandoned the family to chase after another itinerant preacher!
“Jesus, you don’t have to remind us again about serving the people, not lording it over them, or grinding the faces of the poor in the dirt. We KNOW we have to behave better than the Greeks and the Romans have, and we will! We promise! We’re not in this to get rich, you know that! And we’re not going to be jealous of each other, truly we won’t, whatever you decide will be fine with us, it’s just fun to dream about the day. When is it going to be, huh? Is it going to be soon?”
“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” [Lk 22:31-32]
“Jesus, what do you mean? You know I’ll never leave you! Even if they throw you in jail for a few days I’ll be right there at your side! I’d die for you, you know that! And of course I’ll encourage the brothers. Whatever you say, haven’t I always done whatever you asked of me?” Jesus just shook his head. “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” [Lk 22:34] Well, of course that shut Peter right up. Well, he did mutter, “I won’t either. You’ll see.”
And then, abruptly, Jesus changed the subject. And this is what they couldn’t understand. Because they’d been out on missionary trips before. And it had gone beautifully, every time! At first they didn’t understand why Jesus told them not to take money or provisions or even any sandals. But it turned out that the only people who wanted to hear the good news were the ones who didn’t judge by appearances, and who were willing to share what they had.
And here he was saying that the rules had changed! Now they were supposed to take purses and bags with them! What was going on, here? If it was just purses and bags, sure, that made sense - that way they could pay their way and not have to be beholden to anyone, even give alms. But that must not be what he meant after all, because then Jesus said they’d better have swords even if they have to sell their cloaks to get one. And that didn’t make any sense at all because hadn’t he taught them never to raise a hand to anyone, even to turn the other cheek if someone struck them?
Simon the Zealot reached under the table where he and Thaddeus had stashed them and showed Jesus the two swords he’d been lugging around with him ever since Jesus had called him away from the brotherhood to a life of peace. It wasn’t that he’d ever meant to use them, that wasn’t it, but, well, a sword was a valuable item, hard to come by, and you never knew, did you. And now at last Jesus had recognized what he had secretly suspected all along! The disciples would need them after all! The moment was at hand! They were going to make their move and the Romans would be history!
But then Jesus said that two swords would be enough. Or was that what he meant? He said, “That’s enough.” But did it mean that they wouldn’t need any more weapons or that he was tired of the discussion? Simon always did have a little trouble following Jesus’ line of thought. He loved him, of course, they all did - but he didn’t always make sense.
But as they all looked back on it later on, the one time they did use the sword, there in the garden later that same night when he cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear, Jesus rebuked him with a look and stuck the ear back on. You’d never have known anything had happened at all! So whatever Jesus meant by needing a sword, it certainly hadn’t been to defend him against his enemies. It was all very confusing.
It was only much later, when he was reviewing some of Paul’s letters to the church in Asia Minor, that John finally figured out what Jesus had meant with his instructions. It wasn’t that he’d been worrying about it all that time, no, there had been plenty of other things to worry about, but so often Paul’s application of Jesus’ teachings did bring it all back. He smiled as he read, remembering Simon the Zealot and his confusion and chagrin at having misunderstood - once again - what Jesus had meant. He wondered how many people would misunderstand what Paul was trying to say, too. Paul did use a lot of military metaphors, they were good, strong metaphors, but John did foresee a time when people would actually try to kill other people in Jesus’ name, thinking that they would be helping to usher in the kingdom that way, just the way they had thought before the Holy Spirit had showed them what Jesus meant.
The disciples hadn’t needed to take provisions with them on the training trips. Whatever else might have happened to them in the villages they went through, proclaiming the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand, they weren’t in any real physical danger. They were all Jews together, after all, and there had been itinerant rabbis - and wannabes - wandering across the landscape since - well, probably since Abraham! The worst that could happen to them was being laughed out of town. Which rarely happened, after all, because of the healings, even if people didn’t believe the Messiah had come.
But after Jesus died things changed. After Jesus died there was danger everywhere. It wasn’t more than a few months later that persecution began. The only way they could avoid it was by keeping their mouths shut and fading into the background, which of course wasn’t what Jesus wanted from them at all. The Christians couldn’t depend on the kindness of strangers anymore. They would have to provide for themselves; in fact they’d have to have enough to give away, and watch out for each other, and not expect anyone else to come to their help. They would have to be armed, yes, but with a different kind of defense, what Paul called the full armor of God, rather than full military issue field gear.
“Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” [Eph 6:14-17]
It was, indeed, a battle against spiritual forces. “It still is,” mused John. "We have to use spiritual weapons, not earthly ones. He hoped that in the ages to come that the followers of Jesus wouldn’t be as slow to understand as they had been. Even now, even in his own beloved church of Ephesus, people had actually come to blows over points of doctrine. He had had to be pretty firm himself, a time or two, making sure that people understood that you couldn’t call yourself a Christian if you were feuding with fellow believers. You weren’t supposed to hate anyone else, either, but it was so much more a disgrace to have the brothers at odds with one another. It simply ruined the message they were trying to get across, that love and reconciliation were not only possible but the highest good of the universe and provided for free by our Creator.
But every time a new wave of persecution came, there seemed to be only two responses from the churches. The first one was to hide, and the second one was to fight. And neither of those would work. Christians had to go out into the world, telling people the good news, whether it's safe or not. In fact, the more dangerous it is, the more important it is to get out there and get on with it! "Jesus’ advice still holds true," John thought. "Even truer now than then. No one else will provide for us. Jerusalem is no more, the rabbis have declared anathema on all the followers of the Way of Jesus, and every time the Romans need a diversion, they round up a few Christians and take bets on how many will cave and burn incense to the emperor.
The only way we can triumph over it all is to stick together, take care of each other, and watch out for the world. We have to remember that fear and ignorance and lies are all more dangerous than arrows. We can protect ourselves with the shield of faith and the breastplate of righteousness, but that’s playing defense. The only way we can make a difference to the world is by going on offence.
And the only weapon we’re permitted to carry is the truth. God’s word is a pretty powerful weapon: “Sharper than a two-edged sword,” [Heb 4:12] someone had written - and it is better than a sword, he thought wryly, because it keeps on working even if the speaker gets cut down! Since Paul had died, people hung on his letters as if they’d never bad-mouthed him during his lifetime. And Peter’s were just as sacred. John wondered if his account of Jesus’ life would get as much attention after he was gone... Oh well, it didn’t matter if his words lasted or not. God’s would, and that was enough.
