In Matthew's Gospel, chapter
26, we read of how Christ goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and
takes three of the disciples with him whilst he prays unto
his father as the hour of his death approaches. And we read
of how those disciples slept whilst Christ prayed. And finally, Christ says unto
them, sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at
hand and the son of man is betrayed into the hand of sinners. Rise,
let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth
betray me. Verse 47, and while he yet spake,
lo Judas, one of the 12 came. And with him a great multitude
with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the
people. Now he that betrayed him gave
them a sign saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he,
hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus
and said, Hail master, and kissed him. Jesus said unto him, Friend,
wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands
on Jesus and took him. And behold, one of them which
were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and
struck a servant of the high priest and smote off his ear.
Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place. For all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures
be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords
and staves, for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching
in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. For all this was
done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. And behold, one
of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew
his sword and struck a servant of the high priest and smote
off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, put
up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. We read here of how the chief
priests and elders of the people came unto Jesus to take him armed
with swords and staves. And how when they came upon him
and took him, One of the disciples, whom we know from elsewhere to
be Peter, took his sword and tried to defend Christ, and struck
the servant of the high priest and smote off his ear. Christ rebukes him, put again
thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. Reminded here of the The violence
that is in this world. The violence of men that they
approach one another with swords and staves and would seek to
kill one another. We live in a violent, sinful
and evil world. There would be no need for swords
and staves, for weapons. Were it not for the sin that
is rampant amongst mankind. Men rise up against men. Brother against brother. Nation
against nation. Oh the multitudes that have fallen
by the sword. How much blood has been shed
in battle. How much blood has been shed
in the streets. We read We hear on a constant
basis of those who have died at the hands of others, those
who've been slain, those who've risen up violently against their
fellow man. How often we hear of this. And no reform of man, no attempt
to civilize the nations, No laws and restrictions, no wisdom of
man through the generations has ever served to bring an end to
it. Because underneath it all is
the sin that is within every man's heart, which when left
unchecked comes to the surface and results in the murder, the
violence, the warfare, the sword. We read of this in the scriptures
of those who lived by the sword and died by the sword. All they
that shall take the sword shall perish with the sword. We can
read of this throughout the scriptures. David faced that great warrior
Goliath, a giant amongst the Philistines. the champion of
the Philistines, who had a sword of a giant. He was feared amongst
all the people when the Israelites faced the Philistines on that
day. They were in fear of this one
man with his great sword. And young David, a lad, who looked
after the sheep, was called and came to the battlefront to serve
his brothers and saw what was going on. And with five stones
and a sling, he slew the giant. Then said David to the Philistine,
Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield,
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. So David prevailed
over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and smoked the
Philistine and slew him. But there was no sword in the
hand of David. This great warrior who has slain
many with his great sword, Goliath, was slain with a stone. And then David took Goliath's
own sword and cut off his head, and he
perished. King Saul, who constantly sought
to take David's life of another great king in battle he lived
by the sword he too died and was thrust through with his
own sword facing defeat Saul said unto his armor bearer draw
thy sword and thrust and thrust me through therewith Yes, these
uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me, but
his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore
Saul took a sword and fell upon it." Whenever we read of these men
of battle, these men of the sword, so often they die in battle and
they perish by the sword. Jesus saith unto him, put again
thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. But the reference to the sword
here in this passage has a deeper meaning than a physical sword
used in battle. The sword here means far more
than that. It is a sword that is associated with justice. The scribes, the Pharisees, the
priests, the elders of the people came unto Jesus armed with swords
and staves. They came to exact what they
saw as justice upon this traitor of the people. They came to silence
him, to take him, to condemn him, and ultimately to put him
to death. They came armed with swords and
staves. These people, these priests, were not They were not men of war to be
pursuing Christ with swords and staves. They were men of the scriptures. They were men of the oracles
of God. They were the custodians of the
law. Their approach unto Jesus here,
armed with swords and staves, is typical, is a picture of how
they approached unto him through the years of his ministry. Constantly
the scribes, the Pharisees, the priests, the elders of the people
would come unto Jesus and accuse him and question him and condemn
him and say, it says in our law, this what sayeth thou we have
a law that says this what sayeth thou and they sought to bring
the law down upon christ in condemnation they sought to find fault with
him they said you heal on the sabbath day and break the law They accused him at the end saying
he made himself equal with God. He said he's the son of God.
He blasphemes. Constantly, they come at him
with their accusations, their condemnation. They took the sword
of the law of Moses and brought it to bear upon Christ, who was
innocent of every charge. It's the sword here in this passage,
the sword that the priests come armed with, with swords and staves,
and even the sword that the disciple Peter took and drew and cut off
the servant of the high priest's ear. These swords are typical,
are pictures of the sword of justice, the law of God. These priests spent their lifetime
armed with a sword, armed with the law to enact justice upon
the people, to rule over the people, to put fear in the people's
heart, to make sure they walked according to that law. They wielded
the sword. They wielded the judgment of
law. How often they brought their
accusations. And faced with them, approaching
Christ who was innocent of every charge, Peter takes up his sword
to defend the innocent and strikes off the ear of the high priest's
servant. But Christ rebukes him. Vengeance
is mine, saith the Lord. Christ said, "'Put up thy sword
into the sheaf. "'The cup which my father hath
given me, "'shall not I drink it?'' John 18. Here in Matthew he says, "'Put
again thy sword into his place, "'for all they that take the
sword "'shall perish with the sword. "'Thinkest thou that I
cannot now pray to my father "'and he shall presently give
me "'more than 12 legions of angels? "'But how then shall
the scriptures be fulfilled "'that thus it must be?'' Christ had no need of the law
to defend him. He could defend himself, but
Christ in giving his life Christ in allowing this people to take
him and accuse him and condemn him and call out for him to be
crucified. Christ in going willingly to
the cross, being nailed to the tree, being hung in the midday
sun. Christ dying and suffering in
the place of sinners, willingly put himself under the law. He took the sins, the guilt of
his people. He bore it as his own. He bore
our sins and our transgressions. He bore the sins of his own,
his people. He was made sin. And the sword
of God's justice came down upon his own son. The law exacted
its penalty upon this man, this Son of God, who was innocent
of every crime, but who bore the crimes of others and being
made guilty, being made sin under the law, the soul that sinneth,
it must die. He took that sin, he took that
guilt, he became guilty before God and the sword of justice
came down upon him. and slew him. This is the sword that these
priests sought to bring upon him. Rightfully, he was innocent
of all their charges, but in substitution in the place of
his people, he took the sins of the guilty and was made guilty
in their place. that he may pay the price that
they deserve to pay, that they might be set free. Then said
Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheaf, the cup
which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? I will
drink this cup, Peter. I will be put under their sword. I will be put under the sword
of the law. I will be slain because I came
to save sinners. such as you. Yes, the sword speaks of justice,
of the law. And when Jesus says unto Peter,
all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. He's saying, all they that take
the law shall perish with the law. If you turn to the law for
righteousness, you will find it condemns you utterly. These
priests and elders that came armed with swords and staves,
these custodians of the law that sought to accuse Christ were
guilty of its every charge. They were the sinner. He was
the innocent. They were the guilty. They deserved
to die. They'd broken the law in every
sense, in every way. They lived by the sword, and
they would perish by the sword. They lived by the law, but that
law they sought to live by condemned them utterly, and by it they
would perish. When this mob took Christ and
crucified Him and brought the sword of the law against Him,
they condemned themselves. For they unlawfully charged Him,
they wrongfully charged Him. They wickedly put Him to death.
They were guilty of every charge that that law could bring. They
did not honour Him as God. They murdered Him. They coveted
his throne. They coveted the place of the
Son of God. They stole his words. They were guilty of every charge. Christ never resorted to the
sword. He could have called a legion
of angels to defend him. He could have brought that word
down in condemnation of them. but instead he put himself under
that law and under that sword for he came not to condemn but
to save he came to deliver not to slay he came to offer himself
a sacrifice for sin that sinners like they might be set free he
put himself under the sword of in order that sinners like you
and I might be spared. Put down your sword. Put up again thy sword into his
place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the
sword. Peter took the sword, and with
it he struck off the servant of the high priest's ear. What
did he achieve with that sword? He caused that servant of the
high priest to lose his ear such that he could not hear. That
was the effect of the law. That was the effect of the sword
upon that servant. It took away his hearing. He
could not hear if he wanted to. And that's the effect of the
law upon us. All those that turn to the law
for righteousness, they cannot hear. They never hear the gospel. They never understand the grace
of God. All they can see is righteousness
and the law and what they think they must do and what they think
they are doing. They're so taken up with themselves
and their own obedience and their own self-righteousness, they
never hear. It's as though that sword is
struck off their rear and they cannot hear. How often we see this, how often
we see it in ourselves when we're taken up with the law, we just
don't hear the gospel, we never hear. We're taken up with this
issue and that issue and this thing that's wrong and that thing
that's wrong. Oh, how much of the conversation
of religious men taken up with the law, is about this issue
and that issue and this thing that's wrong and that thing that's
wrong. How we're taken up, we're pointing the finger at one another. And we never see our sin. And
we never look for a savior. And we're never taken up with
Christ and his blood and his sacrifice and his gospel. We
don't hear. It's like that law has struck
off our ears and we're deaf. and blind to the truth. We cannot
hear, we cannot see, we do not believe. That's where Lord places you.
That's where these scribes, these priests, these elders were. They
had their swords, they had their staves, they had their law, but
they knew not Christ. And all they'd do with Christ
would be to put him to death. They never heard him. He said
unto them, in that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes,
are you come out as against the thief with swords and staves
for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching
in the temple and you laid no hold on me. I was there. I taught you, I preached unto
you, I declared the gospel unto you and you never heard. And
here you come with the law, with your swords and your staves to
accuse me, to condemn me, to put me to death. You never heard. You never heard that I came into
this world to save sinners. You never heard that I came not
to condemn, but to save. You never heard me speak of grace. Your ears were shut. Is this
you? Is this me? Taken up with what we should
do, what we should not do. Taken up with this thing and
that thing. Taken up with issues. Taken up with what others are
doing. Taken up with the law. But never hearing Christ. Never
hearing his gospel. Put up again thy sword into his
place. Put away the law. For all they
that take the sword shall perish with the sword. All they that
take the law shall perish with the law. Put up your sword and
look. Listen. Behold the Lamb of God. here he was in their midst hear
him hear him put up thy sword believers don't resort to the
sword they don't need to sometimes they may be tempted to sometimes
they may in their Flesh turned to the wisdom of man and turned
to the law and bring it as a condemnation. Sometimes they may look upon
their brethren and wag the finger, but Christ will rebuke them and
say, put it down. Put that sword down and trust
me. If you turn to the law, if you
take up the sword, if you take up the law, you will perish with
the law. Oh, if we could just learn this
lesson, not to turn from grace to the law, from faith to works, from Christ and his wisdom in
the gospel and to our wisdom in the flesh. How easily we turn
to judge one another. How easily we pick up a sword
to attack, to accuse, to condemn, to judge. How much of our time
and our energy is looking at one another and thinking they
shouldn't be doing this and they should be doing that. Oh the
trouble where it is because they've done this and they've done that.
How rarely we look within at ourselves and say the trouble.
is me. The problem in this world is
me. The reason the churches are as
they are is because of me. How slow we are to look at ourselves
and say I'm the guilty one. If we look to the law, how slow
we are to look at it and say, I'm guilty of all its charge
outside of Christ, my savior. Oh, how guilty we are. All that we see, which is our
fault in others. condemns us. It condemns us. All they that
take the sword shall perish with the sword. If you take that law
and use it to find fault with your brother, it will come straight
back at you and find the same fault with you. You see the motes
in other's eyes when there are beams in yours. Yes, it condemns
us. We perish by it. We need grace,
not law, to deliver us. And our brethren need grace,
not the condemnation of the law, to deliver them. If you see a
fault with a brother, it's not law they need. It's not a sword
that they need pointed at them. It's the grace of Jesus Christ.
We need Christ every day and in every way. These men came
unto Christ armed with swords and staves to take him. And they
nailed him to a cross and they hung him up to die. They used
their sword to slay him. And as he looked out upon this
wicked world, as he looked upon them, he said unto his father,
father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Does
he look unto you as you come unto him with your hard unbelieving
heart and take a sword and thrust him through and say, I will not
hear him. I have no need of him. I do not
care for him. I will not have this man to reign
over me. When you cry out in your heart,
crucify him, crucify him. And you turn and you forsake
him. Does he look unto you in grace and say, father, forgive
them. They know not what they do. For we have forsaken him. And
we have left him there to die. Every one of us. This passage
we read ends on this solemn tone. But all this was done that the
scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples
forsook him and fled. Then all the disciples forsook
him and fled. They left him. These priests
came armed with swords and staves and took Christ and all the disciples
forsook him and fled. They left him alone to the consequences. They left him to be taken and
accused and judged and slain. They fled. As we've done, Oh, we're happy to take a sword
like Peter and stand firm when we've got
that sword in our hand. We're happy to condemn as these
priests condemned, but take our sword away and we flee. Do you see this? When Peter had no sword, when
the disciples were rebuked, put away thy sword, put up thy sword. When they saw the enemy armed
with swords and stoves, and they saw that Christ meekly was taken,
and they could see that he would be taken and crucified, they
feared for their own lives and fled. Are you like this with the law?
Powerless without it. You cannot see how you can live
without it. It's your one weapon, it's your
one defense. If I have no law, then sin will
slay me. You feel without it. How can
I live? In reality, the only one that
could save these disciples here was the one that they forsook. That sword would do them no good.
They would perish by it. The law will do us no good if
we turn to it. It will condemn us and slay us. We need Christ. Yet by nature, we flee. The one we need is Christ and
yet without a law or a sword to protect us, we flee. We abandon the very one, the
only one who can help us. Forsaken of all. Alone. Christ was led away. Abandoned
by all men. He was accused, judged. and led
away to be executed. He was nailed to the tree and
lifted up. Alone, he trod the winepress. Alone, he drank the cup of God's
wrath. Alone, he fell under God's sword
of justice. Alone, he endured the tumult,
the storm of judgment. Alone, he entered into the abyss
of the hell of God's wrath in the darkness of the three hours
on the cross. Alone, he bore the sins of his
people. Alone, he was made sin. Alone,
the fires of God's wrath consumed him. Alone, he cries out, my God,
my God. Why hast thou forsaken me alone? And all the disciples forsook
him and fled. You and I included. He suffered for sinners alone. He gave all to deliver his people
from their sins. He gave himself for those he
loved. There's another sword of which
we read in the scriptures though. Another sword, the sword of the
spirit, the word of God. Paul says in Ephesians, take
the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit, which is the word
of God. In Hebrews, for the word of God
is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Yes, this sword, this word, God's
Word goes forth out of the mouth of Christ the Saviour. For we
read in Revelation, when John saw Christ in that vision, he
saw him and said he had in his right hand seven stars and out
of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was
as the sun shineth in his strength. Out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. Out of the mouth of Christ the
Saviour, having died, having risen again from the dead, ascended
into glory, he declares his gospel, he preaches his word, and it
comes unto us as a sharp two-edged sword, not a sword simply by
which we will perish, but a sword which will divide that which
is dead from that which lives. A sword which will slay us in
our old man of sin and rebellion, but bring us unto life in Christ
alone. Oh, what a sword this is. It
divides soul and spirit. It's quick and powerful. It both
slays and brings life, for it is two-edged. You will both perish
by this sword, by the law that condemns you from the word of
God. But this word will bring you
in the gospel unto Christ, who is eternal life. Yes, this sword
will slay the old man. It will bring him in guilty before
God. It will find you and I guilty
of every charge of the law against us. But that old man, that wretched
flesh, that wicked sinner, will find that if ever it sought life
by the sword of the law alone, that all it would do would slay
him, he perishes by it. But when God comes with his sword
of the spirit, his word, his gospel, destroyed what we are by nature,
having brought us in guilty before him, having perished under that
law, the flesh is no more. And this sword of the spirit
will then lead us by faith unto a savior who is life everlasting. There we will be brought in powerless
and weak, without any strength in ourselves, condemned under
the law, guilty, crying out for mercy. And when God, by his gospel,
causes us to look and behold the Savior who gave his all for
sinners like you and I, there we will see him lifted up high,
exalted above all men, lifted up above that place of execution,
risen from the dead, having conquered sin, having conquered death,
having conquered hell, having destroyed that sword of justice,
having put it away, he will be lifted up before us as a mighty
saviour, and we will behold as John did. in his right hand and his countenance
shining as the sun in its strength. Oh, the light and glory we will
see in him. Oh, what a mighty savior. We
may have perished by that law, but in Christ we will live forevermore. Oh, we may have forsook him.
As with those disciples, we may have fled. With the law taken
out of our hands, we may have seen ourselves as weak and fled
for our lives. But when the Spirit seeks us
out and finds us guilty and brings us back and says all is well,
thy sins have been put away, Christ has blotted them out. He's washed them whiter than
snow. They will be remembered no more. When we're brought back there,
then we know we have a great savior. Yes, we forsook him. We left him alone in the darkness. We feared with no law to protect
us. But he found us. He sought us
out in the darkness. He took his word and brought
it unto us. He showed us what we are. He
brought our flesh to nothing. He lays us down at his feet. And when we're brought there,
then Then we see. Then we believe. And then, and only then, do we
have life. Then we will look upon our old
man, that old man who would live by the law, live by the sword,
and see how he perished by the sword. See how he was condemned
and judged under the law. We will look upon him. We will
look upon our old man, our old self, and see him nailed to the
cross with Christ. We will look upon him crucified
with Christ. And we'll see a dead man there,
taken out of sight. And then in Christ, we will see
ourselves laid in the grave. and brought up from the grave,
rising in the Spirit, full of life in Christ our Saviour, rising
and ascending up into glory, and we see ourselves in Christ
and Christ in us. Oh, what a sight! Oh, what a
Saviour! As Paul made plain in Galatians,
for I, through the Lord, to the law that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. The life which I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself to me.