20-08-2023 Let Him Who Has No Sword Sell His Robe and Buy One

Title: Let Him Who Has No Sword Sell His Robe and Buy One

Today’s verse comes from Luk 22:35-38. In verse 36, Jesus is saying, Let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. In verse 54, it is recorded that Jesus was captured by the military officers and taken to the high priest’s house. Therefore, today’s text, ‘Let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one’ should be understood as a scene in which he delivers the baton of the gospel to his disciples in an urgent situation of crisis near the end of his life.

Unfortunately, however, the disciples were not prepared to handle this historical crisis. So, even in the midst of saying this, you can see that they answered that there are two swords here without realizing it. Jesus goes forward saying ‘it is enough’ because they didn’t understand His message.

The disciples did not understand the sword that Jesus wanted, and they did not prepare it. Therefore, it can be seen that the disciples did not understand what the outer garment Jesus was talking about and could not take off. The God that Jesus’ disciples believed in 2000 years ago is our God today. Therefore, do not view these words only as an incident that happened 2000 years ago, but listen to them as a request from you and me, disciples of Jesus Christ, and pray in the name of the Lord that there will be works of enlightenment.

Many theological books interpret the coat in Luk 22:36 literally as the coat worn by the Israelites, but if the coat means a literal coat, the sword must also be a literal sword, if so, the disciples who prepared the sword should have been praised by Jesus. However, we see that the Bible does not explain it that way, both the coat and the sword must be understood spiritually. He said that outer clothing is spiritually ‘a cover-up for sin’.

Gen 3:7 records the scene of the first crime. Adam and Eve, knew the shame of their nakedness after they sinned, weaved fig leaves into skirts and hid themselves under a tree in the garden. This would be the spiritual meaning of outerwear. Then, this outer garment can be defined as ”all kinds of hypocritical means to cover human weakness, ignorance and helplessness.”

If we look at Luke 22 again with this understanding, it means ‘an infidel/disbelief idea’ which the outer garment that Jesus said to sell mean. When it comes to disbelief, the religious leaders who were trying to kill Jesus were the unbelieving ones but also the people who followed Jesus and those who were next to Jesus also were the unbelieving. He meant to say that these people are “the ones who were wearing a veil that pretended to believe.”

Jesus called Peter and said Satan has demanded permission to shift you. First of all, this scene itself is telling us that Peter does not have 100% confidence in Jesus. But Peter confessed “I am ready to go both to prison and to death.” This was a false confession because Jesus said ‘you will deny me 3 times before the cock crows’, and really Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times.

The important thing is not the fact that he made a fake confession, but the fact that this fake confession makes Peter looked good. And gradually, the warning that Jesus said, ‘You still don’t believe me’ is forgotten, and the more he believes the lie, ‘Oh, I am the one who will go to death with Jesus’. The founding pastor described this as ‘excessive self-confidence’. Trusting ourselves by being deceived by our own fake confessions.

Pursuing the worldly honours and riches, and a strong power are all humanistic desires. In the case of Judas, indulging in secularism, he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. This is the commercialization of Jesus. He made Jesus and His Word into commercialized items to sell or to trade. As we read Bibles, we may say, ‘Ah, this is about the disciples at the time of Jesus who didn’t believe well, we believe well.’ By the way, wouldn’t the confession that ‘we are okay, we believe well’ become a fake confession that Peter did?

What is Outerwear?

It is the thought of wanting to stand before God without God. Thoughts to think of Jesus without God or thinking of God without Jesus. People looking for Jesus without the cross, and without Golgotha and those who distinguish between the Bible and revelation.

To become a true believer, you need humility and faith of today. We must remove all humanistic thoughts, believing only the Bible, and only believe in Jesus. A sword is generally a tool that can kill, but not save. In the Bible, the sword is being translated as ‘having the power of life and death’ ie. It can save lives.

Eph 6:17 says that the sword is the word of God. Heb 4:12 says that the Word of God is alive and pierces even to divide the spirit and soul. Also, in 2 Tim 3:16, it is written that the word of God is beneficial for correcting and training in righteousness.

When Jesus said to buy a sword, this sword means the spiritual sword, the Word of God. It means to focus on what you will say in the future, and at the same time, remember what He has said in the past.

What do we mean when we rearm with the Word? It means to become a person who confesses ‘I will not give a reason even if I am thrown into any kind of hardship, pain, and tribulation where I have no choice but to die. I will not resent others.”

Because we were not armed with the word of God, we trembled in fear that this or that would happen. We said that we were going to bring the gospel to the empty valleys of Achor, and we said that we would be treated with contempt. The reason we can’t do that is because we are afraid of dying.

The sword is the life of Jesus himself and His lesson. We must fight the battle of the Holy Gospel with ourselves. Why did He tell us to sell our coats and buy swords? It is to give us true victory. The true victory is not the victory over others.

What do we gain from studying the Bible? We come to know God though the Bible. And when we get to know God, we get to know who we really are. The same thing is written here too. I pray in the name of the Lord that we throw away everything that adorns us outwardly, do not plan the works of the flesh, and become clothed only in Jesus Christ.