Yesterday, two vehicles containing 4 missionary families were attacked by armed bandits and robbed on the road between where I live and where I go to church. There is no other road to get to the town where our church is. Gun control laws are tough, here. The bandits didn't care about the law against guns or the law against stealing or the law against armed robbery. They did it anyway... twice in one day... against Christian missionaries.
What would Jesus do?
I find all of these Scriptures relevant to our reaction to armed robbers attacking us.
John 8:59: Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Matthew 10:28: Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
Matthew 21:45-46: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them. When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.
Mark 11:18: The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
Mark 12:12: They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
Luke 20:19: The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people--for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
John 10:31-39: Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?"
The Jews answered him, "We don't stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God."
Jesus answered them, "Isn't it written in your law, 'I said, you are gods?' If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can't be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God?' If I don't do the works of my Father, don't believe me. But if I do them, though you don't believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
Luke 4:28-30: They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things. They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way.
John 10:17-18: "Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father."
Luke 22:36-38: Then he said to them, "But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: 'He was counted with the lawless.' For that which concerns me has an end."
They said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords."
He said to them, "That is enough."
Matthew 26:51-54: Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn't ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?"
Ephesians 6:10-20: Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; 16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the spoken word of God; 18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: 19 on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Romans 13:3-4: For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn't bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.
My comments:
Jesus Himself demonstrated 3 defences against threats of physical violence before it was His appointed time to lay down His life.
1. He just left the scene, passing through unharmed. How did He do that? Angry mobs intent to stone you or throw you off of a cliff are usually hard to sneak away from, especially when they think they are doing God a favor in doing so. I think Jesus gives us a clue when He tells us that he could have asked the Father for angelic protection even when the angry mob was coming to take him to be crucified. I'm sure Jesus prayed for exactly this kind of protection before, many times. It worked for Elisha against a whole army (2 Kings 6). I often pray for such protection for myself and my family.
2. Jesus used perfect logic and divine arguments. His arguments were not necessarily always to increase His physical safety, as sometimes they stirred up religious indignation, but sometimes they both delayed his death and made a great point of truth.
3. Jesus was often found with multitudes of people who believed that He was indeed a prophet of God, and who would probably have defended Him. At least Jesus' enemies seemed to be convinced of that danger.
Jesus rebuked Peter for taking up his sword to fight for Jesus when it was time for Jesus to lay down His life for us, even though He had earlier said that they should buy a sword if they didn't have any. This pair of Scriptures is hard for both the hard-core pacifist and the hard-core militant person to explain. I suspect that the real Truth is between those extremes. It is good to have a weapon, but to not use it at the wrong time. All use of weapons is obivously not banned, i. e. for the "authorities" to punish the evil-doers. Who are the authorities, here? The police? Private guards? The mission director's office? What about a man defending his family? What weapons are appropriate? Swords/bush knives? Smaller knives? Batons? Baseball bats? Stones? Guns?
My fleshly guts long for a pistol and lots of bullets, right now, but I believe that it is wiser to FIRST fight the spiritual battle to the full extent of our authority and responsibility, and THEN to take appropriate physical actions to defend ourselves as the Lord gives us wisdom.
Servant of Jesus Christ
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http://eBible.org/mpj/
