Live By the Sword

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:52)

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What does "perish by the sword mean"?  For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  We will call this a "warning" that Jesus gave, as the context makes it to be not a good thing: if you take up the sword you will die by the sword.  I have thought it to mean that if we live this way by the sword, wielding the blade, then we will ultimately suffer a similar fate at the end of a blade (by the sword).  It seems very logical.  Maybe I'm the only one who thought of it like that--though I doubt it.  However, that explanation hasn't always felt totally right to me because if that's what it means, what about the many Christians who died by the sword but did not wield it?  They suffered persecution and death at the end of the blade, though they did not take up the sword to fight with one.  So, what kind of warning would this be if to "perish by the sword" was also meant for those who did not take it up? And, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15)

So, consider this alternate meaning.  I don't think this is simply a teaching on pacification.  When you pick up the sword in battle, and you die... you die by it.  That is, your sword.  You fall to the ground by your sword.  You perish by the sword.  That makes more sense because it is offers a scenario whereby a persecuted church may die at the end of a blade, yet not "perish by the sword", as Peter was warned of in a negative light.  The blade we chose to wield in this life will accompany us to the ground (and perhaps beyond) in our death.  I don't think Jesus is merely presenting this as a choice without any moral consequence.  After he told Peter (us) this, He healed the soldier's ear and undid the damage that was done.

Now, I could use this alternate meaning as a defense of, self-defense, because a person may die in doing so as in doing many things, yet in this context not necessarily "perish by the sword".  However, I'm not going to do that, primarily, and that was far from the reason I started to write this.  I believe there are some situations where physical self-defense (of yourself or another) is okay, though I won't get into all that now.  I think the greater point here is, what is the blade you choose to wield?  What is your weapon of choice?  Peter knew the death Jesus was to die, because Jesus told them He was going to do so.  Peter should have been letting the Word of God direct His steps, but here erred here.  Do you want to fall to the ground surrounded by the Word of God welcoming you and ultimately truly impacting the lives of those around you, or by a sharp and bloody piece of cold hard steel?  It's not so much a rebuke of self-defense as it is a rebuke of a life-long pursuit of solving conflict and suffering, in all circumstances and persecution.  Do we combat our suffering and seek to see others saved with logical tit-for-tat, or by the Word of God, through faith?

So, we have an alternate sword we can wield in life.  Not a physical blade, but the Word of God.  The Word of God is also likened to the sword in multiple places in the Bible (Hebrews 4:12; Eph 6:17).  The better alternative, is not a logical and methodical skill of a cold blade, but by the blade of God's Word.

This being said, "the sword" is not restricted to the use of a metal blade, but is analogous of our approach to all suffering--pragmatism in what we can see, or faith through God's Word in what we cannot see.  Like many of the things Jesus said, I believe this something best understood as a parable for a broader truth.  Now, it could very well mean we could find ourselves in a situation like Peter, desiring to pick up the literal sword when we should not.  Yet, I don't believe it is restricted to that specific act in general.  Like I said before, I don't believe the primary teaching here is just pacifism, but rather... what is the sword we choose to live by?  What sword to we draw when trouble comes?  Do we swing violently at our problems, or turn to God for His Word?  Are we pragmatic in solving our own problems with cold hard logic of our own making, or are we people of God's Word who turn to God for His deliverance and direction?

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.(Ephesians 6:12)

We must realize how short and miserable the reach of a cold blade is (our knee-jerk, human reasoning reactions), and how long the reach the sword of God's Word is.  A cold blade may reach a few feet in front of you to meet the heart of a man in order to kill him, but the sword of God's Word can reach down from the height of the heavens and into the heart of man to give him life.

This cold blade should not be our approach to life.  It's very short.  If we want our reach to be far, we must wield the blade that can go the distance.  The blade we choose will ultimately be the one we fall by when we die.  Do not go through life wielding a cold, short, and spiritually inept blade.  Instead when we die, no matter the means, fall to the ground by the warm, ever-reaching sword that brought life.