Warriors of Peace: Part 2

Warriors of Peace

Talk given on Feb. 28, 2016 by

Bill Peavoy

Part 2: The Paradox of Jesus

This confusion is nothing new.  The Old Testament is filled with warrior prophets who held the scriptures in one hand and a sword in the other.  The mighty Jehovah Himself is recorded as a powerful God that would destroy entire armies with fire from heaven and the ancient Jews fully expected their Messiah, when he finally arrived, to free them from their political bondage and lead their armies to victory against all who opposed His Mighty Kingdom.  They were expecting a King, a Warrior, a Lion.  

When Christ was finally living among them, many of them couldn’t believe he was the Messiah because he more closely personified the attributes of a Lamb.  He was gentle and meek and his gospel was one of peace and forgiveness.  Although he spent most of his days teaching His gospel of peace, there were occasional signs that he might just be the Messiah they were waiting for.  

He healed people and even raised the dead.  I’m sure not a few of his followers recognized that such power would come in handy on the battle field.  Imagine following a general who could heal you if you got wounded on the battlefield or bring you back to life if you got killed in the glorious cause.  Jesus also proved that he could feed 1000 men with a single loaf of bread.  That would be an incredible asset in a military campaign, not having to worry about defending supply lines which is a major concern in warfare.  There were even a couple of times he fashioned a whip and let loose on the wicked sinners at the temple or sharply put hypocrites in their place with strong language.

When the Roman Army eventually showed up to arrest Jesus, I’m sure Peter wasn’t the only one ready to fight alongside the Master to reclaim the glory of Israel and liberate the Jews from the oppressive Gentile government.  As Peter drew his sword to commence what I’m sure he believed would be the beginning of a glorious war they would undoubtedly win, he was surprised to be immediately commanded by Jesus to put his sword away.

 This was very confusing.  Was Christ to be the Lion of the Old Testament or the Lamb of the New Testament?