Why did Jesus say to buy a sword?

[Kristos]

I know this is an old thread, but I came across the following quote from St. Maximos the Confessor and I thought to share:

Whoever possesses spiritual knowledge must always possess as well a rich store of virtue gained through his conduct. Scripture says, ‘He who has a purse,’ that is, spiritual knowledge, ‘let him take it, and his knapsack as well’ (Luke 22:36), that is, affluence of virtue with which he nourishes his soul. He who does not have a purse and therefore neither a knapsack, that is, knowledge and virtue, ‘let him sell his garment and buy a sword’ (ibid.). By this Scripture means: let him give his own flesh willingly to labors in pursuit of virtue, and for the sake of the peace of God let him wage war against passions and demons, wisely using the word of God (this is the sword) to discriminate between good and evil.

St Maximos the Confessor, Two Hundred Texts on Theology​

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Kristos]

I believe the preaching of St Maximos ( above) best explains this although I also believe that there is a provision for legitimate authorities and last resort self defense ( Ecclesiastes 3 , Romans 13:1-7 ).

There's a lot to think about there. I'm not a legitimate authority at this time, so last resort self-defense...under what circumstances would I really be willing to take another person's life. I debate this often with myself. Many circumstances seem easy to answer - for example, if I was being robbed, even at gun point, definitely not, but what if my family was involved? If someone points a gun at my children, how could I know their intentions? I might be willing to give them a benefit of doubt with my own life, but maybe not with my children's. What are my de-escalation responsibilities? Do I have an obligation to flee first even when faced with deadly force? Of course, I pray to never be put in this situation, but if I don't know what I'm going to do beforehand, how could I possibly decide in the moment?

 

[Jackson Cooper]

There's a lot to think about there. I'm not a legitimate authority at this time, so last resort self-defense...under what circumstances would I really be willing to take another person's life. I debate this often with myself. Many circumstances seem easy to answer - for example, if I was being robbed, even at gun point, definitely not, but what if my family was involved? If someone points a gun at my children, how could I know their intentions? I might be willing to give them a benefit of doubt with my own life, but maybe not with my children's. What are my de-escalation responsibilities? Do I have an obligation to flee first even when faced with deadly force? Of course, I pray to never be put in this situation, but if I don't know what I'm going to do beforehand, how could I possibly decide in the moment?

If someone else is threatened, then I would say kill the perpetrator.
The reason I say that is because you would ultimately be in the position of deciding who lives and who dies.
The perpetrator is the one who is threatening the life of someone else. By doing so, the perp is forcing someone else to have their life cut short, and therefore their time to repent and do good works shortened.

I think it only makes sense that the perp should be the one to have their time to repent and do good works shortened, if anybody's need be. Otherwise you are allowing the victim to lose precious time.