What Would Jesus Shoot?

By Selwyn Duke

A co-religionist friend of mine asked some years ago, “What
is the [Catholic] Church’s teaching on firearms…?

Does it recommend an assault rifle or a shotgun?”

He was kidding, of course, but not so funny are some recent
attempts by liberal “Christians” to turn Jesus into Sarah Brady. Motivated by
their unique brand of religiosity in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, they
say that the Lord would never condone gun ownership. Why, didn’t He state, “[A]ll
that take the sword shall perish with the sword”?

Were I to steal a leaf out of the liberals’ book, I’d now become
conveniently literalistic and say that if anyone wants to consider sword
control, I’m game. But let’s address the matter seriously.

When the temple guards of the Sanhedrin came to the Garden
of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, the apostle Simon Peter leapt to the Lord’s
defense, drew his sword, and sliced off the ear of a slave accompanying the
guards. This is where the quoted Bible passage comes into play. The gospel of
Matthew (26:52) tells us that Jesus rebuked
Peter, saying, “Put up again thy sword into
its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Quite a
pacifist message, huh?

Yet there’s something generally overlooked here. Peter only
had a sword to draw because he had one on
his person — and Jesus obviously took no issue with this. In fact, even
during Jesus’ rebuke, He never told Peter to throw his sword away. The command
was simply to resheath it.

Why? Perhaps because Jesus had actually ordered the apostles to acquire swords. As Luke 23:36-38 tells us:

“But now he that hath a purse, let
him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that hath not, let him sell his coat,
and buy a sword. For I say to you, that this that is written must yet be
fulfilled in me: ‘And with the wicked was he reckoned.’ For the things
concerning me have an end.” But they said: “Lord, behold here are two swords.”
And he said to them, “It is enough.”

So what is the actual meaning of Jesus’ words in Matthew? I
won’t say anything definitively, but I will note that the relevant line has
often been interpreted to mean “He who lives by the sword shall die by it
also.” And, of course, there’s as big a difference between legitimate
self-defense and living by the gun as there is between respecting the state’s
legitimate role and living by government.

So what would Jesus shoot? Nothing, I’m sure. He wouldn’t
get married, either; His role wasn’t exactly the same as ours. But I’m also
sure that a clear understanding of Christianity shoots the liberal arguments right
out of the sky.

(Hat tip: the readers who emailed me the Luke reference.)

Contact Selwyn Duke or follow him on Twitter

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