JESUS ON GUN CONTROL (BOTH SIDES OF THIS ISSUE HAVE MERIT)…

Luke 22:37-38  (NKJV)

37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’[a] For the things concerning Me have an end.”

38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

As Jesus faced betrayal He stood in the company of His disciples…His armed disciples. But, not all of them were armed. As the scripture states, there were two swords. He didn’t say get rid of the them, but He also let them know two swords were enough.

Jesus didn’t say, “We need more swords”, and when Peter used one of them to cut off the ear of one of the soldiers confronting them, not only did Jesus rebuke Peter, He also made a Holy and profound statement that also holds true for guns and all weapons (since of course they had no guns then)…

Matthew 26:47-52  (NKJV)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” ⁴⁹ Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. ⁵¹ 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. ⁵² But Jesus said to him, “PUT YOUR SWORD IN IT’S PLACE, FOR ALL WHO TAKE THE SWORD WILL PERISH BY THE SWORD”.

Notice verse 52…all who take the sword will perish by it! Jesus warned of the consequence of putting too much faith and confidence in weapons. But, that’s not the only place the bible issues that warning. There’s no conjecture in saying that Jesus was exercising ‘sword control’.

Psalm 44:6  (NKJV)

⁶ For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.

Psalm 33:16-18  (NKJV)

¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,

2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV)

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

However, Jesus also uses the illustration of a man defending His home in a parable…

Luke 11:21-22 (NKJV)

²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

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So here’s the thing. Our Lord permits and expects us to defend ourselves, but He is very clear in the fact that we should never, ever, ever put OUR faith in our weapons.

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People love saying that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Well, God addressed that too. He is the creator who created the person who makes the weapons as well as the heart that uses the weapons to kill, so what did He say about that?

Isaiah 54:16-17  (NKJV)

¹⁶ “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

 I don’t care how big or powerful the weapon, God owns the fight based on what is in the heart of those involved. Who is your ultimate trust in…your God or your weapon.

Okay, for those who claim to be believers and live by the bible, go to 1 Samuel Chapter 17 and read how David, a young shepherd boy kills a trained, well-armed military giant named Goliath with a sling shot.

If you need more biblical evidence, go to 2 Chronicles Chapter 20 and read how Judah didn’t even have to fight even when they were out-numbered and ‘out-gunned’.

2 Chronicles 20:15-23  (NKJV)

¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”^[a]

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

So, even though the bible permits weapons, it is clear that God expects our ultimate trust to be in Him.

Either you believe Him or you don’t.

Either you trust Him or you don’t.

Either you believe His word or you don’t.

Again, Jesus told His disciples two swords were enough. He permit them to have them, but it was clear that He exercised ‘sword control’ as well.

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The truth is both sides of the gun control argument have merit. The issues are not mutually exclusive.  One side says, yes civilians should own weapons, but there should be limits to the type. The other side says, guns don’t kill people, so civilians should be able to purchase what they want with few to no limits.

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Based on what the bible says, moving your passions and feelings out of the way, and fully putting your faith in God…where do you think Jesus stands?

BE BLESSTIFIED!