Did
Jesus really support concealed carry? Absolutely he did.
Look
no further than the Bible. All four gospels report the violent episode that
takes place when Judas and the soldiers come to seize Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane. Jesus of course is prepared to go along peacefully. Peter, meaning
well but unclear on the concept, draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the
high priest’s slave.
Okay,
uncalled for – nobody’s disputing that. And of course, after putting the ear
back where it goes, Jesus reprimands Peter, telling him, “Put your sword into
its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?”
I’m
not what you would call a Bible scholar in the strict sense (or really, any
sense), but I think a few things jump out right away. First, Jesus expresses no
surprise of disapproval that Peter has a sword. Second, he does not tell Peter
to get rid of the sword or to hand it over to the soldiers. Third, he tells
Peter to keep his sword, albeit with the admonishment to be less hasty in its
use – “he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.” Sound advice, no
doubt. If you go around cutting off ears or holding up gas stations, your
chances of arriving in the hereafter with a couple extra holes in your own hide
increase dramatically. And this is what Jesus seems to say to Peter: Keep your
weapon, carry it around even, but be judicious in how you use it.
In
fact, we can learn as much from what Jesus didn’t say as we can from
what he did say. Let’s look at this for a minute from the perspective of all
the different things Jesus could have said to Peter, but chose not to.
To list but a few:
1.
“Peter, you have a sword?! What are you doing with that? How can you call
yourself my disciple?”
2.
“Oh no, a sword! Quick, call the authorities! Oh yeah, heh heh. Hi,
authorities.”
3.
“Peter, it’s okay that you have a sword, but you should have kept it locked up
at your house…what do you mean homeless? Well then, at least you should have
kept it tied to the donkey.”
4.
“Peter, that sword is too long. Who needs a sword that long? You don’t need a
sword that long to go hunting.”
5.
“Peter, I’m disappointed in you. You should have traded that sword in last
month when they had that exchange program at Herod’s palace. A gift certificate
to Galilee-Mart could have gone a long way.”
So
you see, if Jesus was opposed to Peter having a sword, or keeping it on his
person, there a several things he could have said. But he didn’t. Scriptures
opened, case closed.
And if it’s
okay with Jesus, shouldn’t it be okay for America?
By John
White
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