Matthew 26:52

‘Then Jesus says to him, “Return your sword into its place, for all they who take the sword will perish with the sword.” '

Jesus then turned to His disciple and said firmly, “Return your sword into its place, for all those who take the sword will perish with the sword.”

It was a timely warning that the sword had no place in what He had come to do. It was an instrument of death, not an instrument of life, whereas their responsibility would be to take out life. Jesus was not talking about war or self-defence. He was talking about aims and attitudes in religious matters. And His words were just commonsense. The sword is not something to be used lightly, and not at all in the affairs of God, for violence simply breeds violence, and leads to death not life.

‘Return you sword to its place.' Perhaps there is here an echo of 1 Chronicles 21:27, when the avenging angel did the same when David sought forgiveness through sacrifice. The disciples were to see that they were not to be avenging angels, but messengers of hope and forgiveness.

‘All those who take the sword will perish with the sword.' Compare ‘he who sheds man's blood, by man will his blood be shed' (Genesis 9:6). But there the thought was positive, justice must be meted out for murder. Here the thought is rather of the necessary eventual consequences. The man of violence must expect to die violently, and that included those who were just now surrounding Him with swords and staves. It would also not have taken the disciples long to work out that to behave like this was not to love one's enemies and be perfect as their Father in Heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:44).