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This week we continue our discussion of chapter 22 of Luke’s Gospel. Please read verses 31-43 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 22:35-38 (NIV)
Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfilment.” The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” he replied.’
Have you ever said anything that has been completely misunderstood? These days, social media dominates all conversation and it’s quite rare now to actually talk to people. Almost everyone is now comfortable with text messages, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like. One of the biggest problems with all of this ‘communication’ is that it is so easy to be misunderstood. With just words, it’s not always possible to get across the right feeling or the right tone. Even something as simple as ‘ok’ can be misunderstood. It can be read as a dismissive comment or a sarcastic one. Basically, it’s the reader who decides how the message is being conveyed. The person writing the message has no control on how it’s actually being perceived. This can cause a lot of hurt and occasionally anger. Of course, there are also acronyms, ‘shortcodes’ and abbreviations that could also be misunderstood.
One example of this is a txt message that was sent to a friend after hearing that a close relative had died: ‘Sorry to hear about Jim, LOL’. Anyone over the age of 40 or so will know that LOL originally stood for ‘Lots of love’. Now it means ‘Laugh out loud’. So you can imagine that the person receiving the text wasn’t too happy to read that a friend was laughing out loud at the news of a death in the family.
Our verses today are among the most misunderstood in all of the scripture. Some of them are most puzzling and still pose problems for people whenever they are read. Just like the text messages earlier, in order to fully understand the message, we really have to know what is in the mind/heart of the sender. This particular conversation between Jesus and His disciples is probably taking place after Judas has left and so the betrayal and arrest of Jesus is imminent. Jesus reminds the disciples of what had happened earlier when he had sent them out on their own. He is reassuring them that they will lack nothing when they are working for the Saviour. Then He seems to throw a ‘spanner in the works’. It’s as if He’s saying, ‘that was then, but this is now’. Things are going to be different from now on. Indeed, they would be. The disciples were about to face huge opposition, torture and death. Jesus is warning them of what’s to come. The phrase about ‘buy a sword’ has been argued about for centuries. Personally, after reading all of Jesus’ teaching and observing His actions in the midst of great opposition, I cannot accept that Jesus is telling His disciples to arm themselves. I believe that this is just symbolic and that He’s telling them that things are going to be very violent from this point on.
The final point of misunderstanding is in Jesus’ final words in verse 38: “That is enough”. At first reading, we see that the disciples state that they have 2 swords and that Jesus is replying with “Ok, 2 swords are sufficient.” However, that is not the case. The phrase is actually a rebuke: He’s saying something like, “Now that’s enough of that kind of talk”. Jesus can never go outside of His Word or do something that violates it. A call to violence or a condoning of violence is against His Character. May we always interpret the Bible correctly and use His own Word to provide the meaning.
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