Peter, thinking in human terms, was about to interfere with God’s plan. So, in the garden, the Lord utters to Peter those famous words: “they that take the sword (labóntes máxairan) shall perish with the sword”. So, Christ instructed the Apostles to buy swords, even at the cost of their own clothing. Then Christ tells the chief of his Apostles not to use the sword he has, even in a moment when Peter seems to be defending Him. Quaeritur: Was Peter defending the Lord, for the Lord’s sake, or was he doing something with the sword for his own sake? Peter seems to try to defend not just a loved one, such as a child, spouse, friend or stranger, but one who is man and God. If betrayal of God is worse than betrayal of a human being, then the defense of God is even more compelling than defense of a human being (including oneself). On the other hand, God’s ways are not our ways (cf Isaiah 55). Christ tells Peter not to use the sword He told Peter to buy. But then the Lord says in the Matthew account of the same moment, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (22:53). Peter has zeal, a strong arm, and a sword. Christ has the entire arsenal of the angelic realm, in addition to His divinity. Moreover, the Passion was not comparable to any other moment in human history. Peter was not using the sword properly, that is, he was not aligning his motives to God’s plans. The Apostles had, after all, been warned by Christ that He was to suffer.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 17:55:13 +0000