Luke 22:35-53 "Swords and Worries"
Things build up in our life and we stress about them—get anxious, worried. It gets hard to focus on what we’re doing today because we’re so distracted with all these pressures. Finances, conflicts with people, health, career. Just watching the news and seeing the state of the world is enough to make us throw up our hands some days.
So, we pray about all this stuff. We try not to worry, try to trust God. Also, maybe we make a budget, join a gym, go for a checkup, try and talk out our differences with people and make peace. Sometimes those things help, but sometimes we feel stuck. We only see the situation going one way, and we don’t like it. We only see one option for going forward and we don’t want to do it. Now what?
We’re still in Luke chapter 22, in the upper room with Jesus and the disciples. It’s been quite an evening. They celebrated Passover with all the joy. Jesus instituted Holy Communion and things got serious. Then He said one of them was going to betray Him and they got into an argument about who was the best disciple. Now Jesus turns His attention to the dangerous mission ahead of them.
And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
Luke 22:35-36
When Jesus sent them out two by two on their mission trips, He didn’t let them carry money or food—they were to completely rely on God to provide through the kindness of strangers, the people they were ministering to. And they were fine. Nothing to worry about. God always provided.
God is still going to provide but now He wants them to take the usual provisions with them. Also, they’re not going to be supernaturally protected like they have been up to this point. It’s going to get dangerous and not everyone is going to listen to what they’re saying. From now on, mentioning the name of Jesus could get them into trouble. He even says they should carry a weapon—buy one if you don’t have one. Sell your coat if you have to. A few of them got a little too excited about that part. That’d be like Jesus telling me, “Well, Frank, you should probably buy another guitar. Sell the dog if you have to.” I saw a cartoon the other day, a man was doing the dishes, vacuuming the carpet, folding the laundry and his wife asked him, “What caliber is it and how much did it cost?”
Jesus is trying to prepare them for how things are going to be very soon. It’s going to get real. He doesn’t want them to be completely blindsided by the very dark thing that’s about to happen. It’s going to rock their whole world. He wants them to know it’s all part of the plan. They don’t have to worry.
For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” Luke 22:37
Isaiah had talked about this moment 700 years ago. Jesus is going to be arrested in a few hours. He’ll be crucified between two thieves. Anyone associated with Him will automatically become an outlaw. Outcast. Hunted. Also, Jesus is going to become sin, he’s going to die like a criminal, He’ll descend to the place where the dead go. He’s giving them a practical and theological glimpse into the reality of the plan of salvation.
They probably should have been taking notes but they were still thinking about buying weapons…
And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.” Luke 22:38
Typical dudes. One track mind. Peter and Simon the Zealot are probably comparing the balance and handling of their blades. Jesus is like, “Enough with the swords, already!” It’s possible that He meant two swords were plenty for the whole group but I don’t think so because He had said, “Let the one who doesn’t have a sword sell your cloak and buy one.” Which seems to mean they all needed one. More likely He’s just saying, “ENOUGH about weapons already!”
There’s been a lot of debate over this little passage. Is Jesus telling them to literally carry swords for protection? Or should it be understood as spiritual weapons? Like the sword of the Spirit that St Paul talks about as part of the full armor of God?
Well, it can be read either way but since the moneybag and knapsack are real, I’m pretty sure the weapon is to be taken literally, too. It was very common for Jewish men, especially men from Galilee, to carry a concealed short sword. Peter and Simon the Zealot had probably been carrying one all along.
The complication is later that night, when the soldiers show up with Judas, Peter is going to pull his sword and start swinging. Jesus will stop him and say, “Put it away—those who live by the sword die by the sword.” And there’s not a single mention of any followers of Jesus using weapons to defend themselves anywhere in the New Testament—plenty of examples of them being willing to be martyred for their faith, though.
But I think we have to take this at face value. Going forward, there are going to be dangers around every corner so it would be a good idea to carry a weapon to protect each other from harm. Each other. It’s a good and holy thing to protect our loved ones—to protect each other. Enough said.
After a little briefing on their next mission, they’re getting ready to call it a night. Go back to the Garden of Gethsemane—back to camp—just like they had every evening since they arrived in Jerusalem a week ago. This night’s going to be different, though—after tonight everything’s going to be different.
And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Luke 22:39-40
This is basically the same thing we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Satan had asked to sift them like wheat, remember? They were going to be attacked by the prince of darkness himself. They were going to be tempted to fall asleep—remember how many times Jesus had told them they needed to stay awake? Keep watch? He was talking about waiting for His return at the end of time but it certainly applies here, too. They’re also going to be tempted to run away and hide when it all goes down. They’re going to be tempted to give into their fear and lose hope. They’re going to be tempted to lose their faith—and to feel all kinds of guilt and shame for abandoning Jesus in His hour of need.
So He tells them to pray. Stay awake and pray.
And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:41-42
Other Gospels tell us He invited three of the disciples to stay closer to Him—the three with nicknames: Peter and the Sons of Thunder—James and John.
It’s interesting that Jesus knelt to pray—this is where we get the idea—Jews usually stood when they prayed. This is an intense prayer, maybe Jesus is feeling tired, maybe He’s showing submission and worship—either way, He drops to His knees. The Son of God had come to earth specifically to do the thing He’s now asking God to spare Him from. Spare Him from the humiliation of being arrested like a criminal. The torture of being beaten and whipped nearly to death by the Roman soldiers. The gruesome, bloody, violent, shameful death of being crucified naked on a public cross—while people mocked Him. But none of that was unique to Jesus, lots of people had died in a similar way at the hands of the Romans, none of that was the worst part. All people die under the weight of their own sin but Jesus is going to be the only person who will ever die under the weight of everyone else’s sin. He’s going to become sin, take upon Himself the sin of the entire world. An incomprehensible burden. His perfect union with God the Father is going to be severed. In a great mystery, the divine Son of God will die according to His humanity while being forsaken by His heavenly Father. God, who is light of light, will turn away from Jesus leaving Him in total darkness under the weight and curse of all our sin. No one had ever faced anything like this before.
As He prayed in Gethsemane, the weight seemed too heavy. “Father, is there any other way? I don’t want to drink this cup, the cup of Your wrath against the sin of mankind. I don’t want to go through with this.”
Have you ever been in a situation where you know what you’re supposed to do but you just don’t want to do it? It doesn’t compare on any level to what Jesus was going through here, but I think we can all relate a little.
Jesus is going to do what He always does. He’s going to be faithful. Do what the Father wants Him to do. Jesus is 100% God but He’s also 100% man—the man doesn’t want to go through with it. The man is feeling the weight of what’s about to happen—He is feeling very weak. But He prays, “It’s not about what I want, what I feel—Father, Your will be done.”
By the way, that’s a good thing to end your prayers with when God is leading you to do something you don’t want to do, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” But that’s the only time it’s good to end a prayer that way—you don’t need to let God off the hook when you ask Him for something. He wants us to put Him on the hook, that’s what faith looks like—He wants us to put Him on the spot so everyone can see His love, mercy, kindness, and glory.
VERSE 39: And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
This isn’t the only time God sent an angel to minister to Jesus. The strength the angel gave Him came from the Father, angels are God’s messengers. This is an hour of need. Jesus is suffering here—beyond our ability to imagine. This moment of spiritual warfare and psychological torture is every bit as real as the physical torture He’s going to experience later.
Jesus is so completely overcome with emotional agony that He’s sweating blood. A condition known as hematidrosis, where extreme anguish or physical strain causes the capillary blood vessels to dilate and burst, mixing sweat and blood. His body is reacting to the stress and anxiety of what He’s about to endure. We know He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane, the name literally means “olive-press,” Jesus is feeling the weight of what lies before Him—like the enormous pressure that squeezes the oil from olives.
So, Jesus is anxious. Worried. Just torn up inside under all this pressure. How can that be? I thought He told us not to be anxious—to not worry. Is Jesus sinning? I thought He never sinned?
In Matthew 6, Jesus said,
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
People hear those verses and think, “Great. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, now I have to worry about not worrying!” That’s not the point.
Jesus isn’t commanding us not to worry like, “Hey! Stop worrying or I’ll give you something to worry about!” That’s a complete misunderstanding.
When Jesus tells us not to worry, it’s a word of comfort. Like when you get on a rollercoaster and start freaking out so someone who loves you says, “Don’t worry, it’s going to be fun, you’ll be okay—relax, try to enjoy the ride.”
Or when you take your kid to the dentist and they get scared so you say, “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay, it’ll all be over soon.”
Doesn’t mean they’re not going to be afraid, doesn’t mean it isn’t going to involve pain. But you’re trying to comfort them, make them feel better, give them some courage. It will ultimately be good for them.
I’m really weird about needles—like really bad. I know they’re no big deal. I tell myself it’s no big deal. I’m completely aware that they’re not trying to hurt me—and that it’s not really going to hurt that much. I know all these things. But my body freaks out anyway. My heart rate goes through the roof, my blood pressure goes up, I get all clammy, I can’t think straight—I’m literally the worst patient in the world. Sometimes I black out. In Illinois you have to have a blood test before you can get married—I almost called it off! I’ll just stay single.
And for years I was not only embarrassed by how stupid I reacted to that stuff—I also felt ashamed and guilty for sinning. Jesus said not to be anxious and here I am being anxious.
I want you to hear this: Being anxious is not a sin. Jesus didn’t sin. All those verses where God tells us not to worry are supposed to give consolation, not condemnation. Comfort, not more things to stress over. They’re words of Gospel, not law.
If you’re a person who tends to worry and have anxiety, listen to the words of Jesus as a comfort, “Don’t worry. One day things really will be okay. Try not to let the worries about tomorrow consume your mind—worry about what’s happening today, worry about things you can do something about. And if you can’t do anything about it, just pray and trust God.”
So, Jesus prays and asks if there’s any way to save the world without going to the cross. He gets His answer and He’s as okay with it as He’s going to be. He won’t run from the path set before Him. He is completely resolved to do the Father’s will.
And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Luke 22:45-46
He told them to stay awake but they didn’t. “Sleeping for sorrow,” I get this. When I’m overwhelmed, I fall asleep, too. It’s not a great survival instinct. Most people have fight or flight—I take a nap.
He reminds them what He had said earlier about praying that they don’t fall into temptation but it’s too late…
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47-48
While He’s still talking to the sleepy disciples, Judas shows up leading a small army. Some Roman soldiers and a bunch of temple guards. It’s dark and they don’t want to arrest the wrong guy so Judas said he’d identify Jesus by giving Him the usual greeting of a brotherly kiss on the cheek. Jesus cuts Judas to the heart, “You’re really going to betray me with a kiss?” That’s low.
But notice, Jesus stepped forward and identified Himself. In the Gospel of John this is where Jesus not only identifies Himself as the one they’re looking for but as God in the flesh. He says, “Who are you looking for?” When they say “Jesus of Nazareth,” He says with the power of God, “I Am He!” “I AM” is the name of God that was revealed to Moses. When He said it, the soldiers and guards were knocked to the ground like Jesus was using the force.
Which helps this next part make more sense…
And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:49-51
Jesus had knocked them down with a word from His mouth so the disciples thought the fight was on—they look at Jesus and ask if they should go for it. But Peter doesn’t wait, he’s like mm-Leroy Jenkins, he just starts swinging. I’m sure he was aiming to cut the guy’s head off but he must have ducked so Peter just sliced his ear instead.
The guy’s name was Malcus, he was the servant of the High Priest, probably the one leading this arrest on his behalf. Maybe the ear fell to the ground or maybe it was dangling off the side of his head—but Jesus tells the disciples to stop fighting and heals the man’s ear.
Peter had been obsessed with swords all night, just itching to use his. But this wasn’t a fight they could win, it wasn’t a fight Jesus wanted them to win. He was resolved to do what was asked of Him. He is handing Himself over. He also doesn’t want the disciples to be arrested with Him or killed in a battle.
That had to be a moment. Most of the army had been knocked to the ground, Peter attacks the guy in front—and Jesus heals the one sent to arrest Him. By the way, remember this the next time you’re praying for someone to be healed. Do you think Malcus had such great faith in Jesus and that’s the reason he was healed? This is what it looks like to pray for your enemies. It’s a really cool moment.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:52-53
Jesus calls them out on their hypocrisy and cowardice. He had been in Jerusalem every day, out in the open, not hiding—but they show up in the middle of the night with swords and clubs treating Him like a dangerous criminal. Pretty lame.
When He says, “But this is your hour and the power of darkness,” He’s talking about the one who’s really behind all this. Satan, who entered Judas, he’s the one attacking the disciples and taking his stand in this hour with all the power of darkness—not just nighttime—actual darkness.
That’s as far as we’ll go today.
What do we learn from all this talk about swords and anxiety and prayer and Jesus getting arrested in the middle of the night?
We learn how important it is to do what God wants us to do. Even if we don’t want to.
We learn to pray for strength to do it anyway. Pray for peace and resolve to be faithful.
We learn to be vigilant in prayer—to pray that we’re able to overcome temptation and be delivered from the attacks of the devil to destroy us.
We learn that following Jesus isn’t going to be easy. We need to be prepared to take up our moneybag, our knapsack, and even our sword to protect each other in this mission to tell the world about Jesus.
People are not always going to love us for it—we need to respond with compassion anyway, praying for our enemies, praying for their healing.
We learn that Jesus was tempted in every way that we’re tempted—He was even tempted to not go through with dying for us. He was overcome with agony and anxiety about it but nonetheless did the Father’s will. Even in His 100% humanity He was faithful to God’s will.
We learn all those things and a bunch of other stuff, but the most important thing we learn is what He endured for us—what He did for us. That He was numbered among the transgressors—He took our sin on Himself, He took the curse of your sin and my sin. He did this so you could be right with God. So that no matter what you face in this world you can have the hope that Jesus has overcome the world and you don’t have to worry.
All those things we stress about—getting anxious, worried. All those things that make it hard to focus. Finances, conflicts, relationship problems, our health, our career—the state of the world.
What did Jesus say? “Pray that you do not fall into temptation.” He says you don’t have to worry because you can trust that if you’re following Him, He’s leading you somewhere good. Even when the future looks like a dead end, even when the only good choice is something you don’t want to do. This is where faith comes in. Jesus set His face toward the cross, He resolved to do what the Father wanted Him to do, and that’s when He stopped sweating blood. He will endure the rest of His suffering with a calm and peace that is beyond understanding. Here’s something amazing: He promises that if you put your trust in Him and resolve with all your heart, soul, mind and strength to follow Him—that same peace will be yours. AMEN.