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Then Jesus asked them, \u201cWhen I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?\u201d \u201cNothing,\u201d they answered. He said to them, \u201cBut now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don\u2019t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: \u2018And he was numbered with the transgressors\u2019; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.\u201d The disciples said, \u201cSee, Lord, here are two swords.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s enough!\u201d he replied (Luke 22:35-38).

In chapter 9, Luke recorded how Jesus sent his 12 disciples into the villages to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom, to cast out demons and to cure diseases. For the journey, Jesus instructed them to take nothing along. They were to depend on the hospitality of the people they encountered. Amazingly, it all went according to plan; they were well provided for as they did kingdom work, as referred to in our text.

Throughout the centuries, some Christian groups have attempted to replicate this mission, assuming that this is the normative method of proclaiming the kingdom. That is a misreading of Jesus intention. Most of the church has understood that this was a onetime mission with a onetime methodology. This conclusion is rooted in our text in which Jesus tells his disciples things are about to change.

Trouble is coming quickly. Perilous and difficult days are ahead. They will now have to fend for themselves. They can no longer depend on the good will of others.

It is important not to miss the rhetorical character of these remarks. The disciples take the comment about the sword literally\u2014one of the disciples will even wield his sword at Jesus\u2019 arrest, a reaction Jesus rebukes as he heals the damage the sword has done. His reply, \u201cThat\u2019s enough\u201d, is a dismissal. The disciples still do not understand the nature of Jesus kingdom.

In the past it was an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, sword for sword. You responded to danger by becoming dangerous yourself. But in his kingdom, one does not respond to violence with violence, rather, you turn the other cheek.

Jesus is about to be numbered among the sinners. He will be condemned to death as a criminal and allow himself to be crucified. Thus, the disciples are in trouble as well. He needs them to understand, and he needs us to understand, that his followers must be prepared for opposition. The Lord has in mind a toughness of character; a capacity to stand strong in the battle. He wants us to be focussed on his mission without the need for accolades nor the world\u2019s acceptance and care. What is needed is the courage of a soldier in battle, fight until you win, or you die.

As disciples, we serve as aliens in a strange land (1 Peter 2:11), as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). We will need to draw together to support one another, while not expecting support from those who do not share our devotion to the Lord. We need to encourage each other not to pick up the weapons of the world, such a swords or guns or fists or angry words.

We are called to be wholehearted followers of the Crucified One. But the world in which we live is in the power of sin and the Evil One. Thus, it is unavoidable that scorn and hatred will be hurled towards us from those who reject God and His Christ. And the only way to remain firm in such a world is to be spiritually equipped with His power and armed with the sword of His Word.

The use of force in the vindication and extension of His church on earth has been advocated by some sections of Christendom. However, it is quite foreign to the teaching of Jesus as his rebuke, \u201cThat\u2019s enough\u201d indicates.