⁵¹And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ⁵³Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

In Gethsemane, the disciples were ready for war, but not Jesus, at least in the physical sense. Yes, Jesus had taught them, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34), but He also made it clear that “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), and therefore His call to arms was of a spiritual nature, not earthly. And now in the Garden of Gethsemane, He says to put away the sword someone had brought.

However, scholars are stymied by what the Luke records Jesus saying earlier in the Upper Room that same night the events of our passage in Matthew 26 take place:

And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one …  They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.” (Luke 22:36–38)

Does Jesus contradict Himself? No. Did Luke misremember what our Lord said and get it wrong? No. Our Lord cannot contradict Himself, for He is God and Luke’s account of the gospel is inspired. So, how do we reconcile this apparent inconsistency? We note that Jesus said two swords were enough—that would not be near enough if Jesus were anticipating a battle and the disciples should defend themselves. The sword was itemized among the other practical things to bring along on a journey, including a money belt and a bag. It is clear that the disciples were obviously not in the practice of carrying around swords; they had to sell a garment to purchase one.

Scholars struggle with definitively answering this issue. The best understanding is one of two solutions: 1) This was a practical plan for defense after the resurrection when they would be scattered. 2) This was symbolic of the spiritual battle that would soon occur, but Jesus did not intend for them to be ready to do a physical battle. As our passage shows, when one of the disciples tried to instigate a sword fight, Jesus stopped it.

So why is this story included at all? First of all, we see the miracle of Jesus in healing the attacker’s battle wound, in the act of loving one’s enemy, which He preached. Further, we observe that Jesus was not enacting passive resistance but complete acquiescence to the “enemy.” As the prophet foretold,  He was “like a lamb that is led to slaughter” (Isa. 53:7). This incident showcased His intention and control of how the event of His arrest would play out. Also, He proclaimed that He could call a mighty spiritual army, equivalent to “twelve legions,” which equals 24,000 angels—more than enough to scare the arresting part away.

The meticulous control of events adds to the evidence that Jesus had His mind set on going to the cross and fulfilling Scripture, that is, His Father’s will. His entire incarnation was designed from before His birth to be a steady march to the cross and redemption of sinners. Scripture says, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” Luke 9:51 KJV). There was no turning back.

The betrayer had been dismissed to his nefarious plan, the tempter failed to turn Him away from the Father’s will, and the disciples were now put in check. Nothing could alter the course of God’s plan of salvation in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the “Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23).

Lord, I worship You for the unalterable, unshakeable, unfailing plan of salvation for me. I cannot thank You enough, and I bow my heart, my soul, and my entire being before You.