Luke 22:38 Commentary and Bible Study

Two swords are sufficient. Why? because not even a single letter of the word of God can fail, and the Hebrew of Isaiah 53:12 is plural – ‘transgressors’; there must be at least two swords for there to be two transgressors, for Scripture cannot be broken. Christ has said not the least stroke of a pen will fail from Scripture, and the plural Hebrew adds extra letters to the word. One of these two swords was carried by Peter, and the Lord Jesus allowed this. He had it with him in Gethsemane at the time of the Lord’s arrest, but the purpose of their acquiring swords was certainly not to defend themselves, nor to defend their Lord. When Peter drew his sword in Gethsemane at the arrest of Christ, he was misunderstanding these instructions and thinking that he had to use the sword literally; he had been taught well enough by the Lord to know that that was wrong (Matthew 5:39). But he was immediately corrected by Christ who told him, ‘Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword’ (Matthew 26:52), and the Lord healed the wound that Peter had inflicted. That was not why he had a sword, but only so that the disciples would warrant the name of ‘transgressors’ among who Christ was numbered at his arrest. ‘For the things concerning me have an end.’ There must be a fulfilment of all Scripture, and many Scriptures are about to see their fulfilment in what follows.