Spiritual warfare is not just a concept—it’s a daily reality for every believer. Unpack why Jesus instructed His disciples to carry swords, revealing deep biblical truths about preparing for spiritual warfare in a hostile world. Through Luke 22:37-38, we learn that spiritual warfare requires discernment, courage, and readiness—not physical weapons, but the armor of God. Spiritual warfare is not about attacking people but standing firm against the enemy’s schemes with the right weapons, such as prayer, God’s Word, and fellowship.

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Table of contentsThe Context for Jesus’s Words about Spiritual WarfareNew Testament Authors Don’t Ignore Old Testament ContextJesus’s Followers Must Expect To Be Treated Like HimJesus’s Listeners Often Mistook The Spiritual For The PhysicalThe Disciples Mistook Spiritual Preparation for Physical PreparationThe Disciples' Problems Caused by Misunderstanding Jesus’s Words about Spiritual WarfareThe Irony with Peter and UsJesus Wants His Disciples To Prepare For Spiritual Warfare.Two Questions We Should Ask Ourselves

The saying, “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight,” originated in the American West during the late 19th century, when people carried guns for protection, and disputes were often settled with duels. Today, the phrase has become a figure of speech to describe someone being ill-equipped or unprepared to handle a difficult challenge or task.

We could adapt the saying for the disciples: “Don’t bring a physical sword to a spiritual fight.” They misunderstood Jesus’s words. He wanted them to prepare for spiritual warfare, but they thought He wanted them to prepare for physical combat.

The Context for Jesus’s Words about Spiritual Warfare

Jesus just celebrated the Last Supper with the disciples. He’s about to leave the upper room and head to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He will pray and be arrested, and He wants them to know that after that happens, things will change for them dramatically:

Luke 22:35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”

This refers to when Jesus earlier sent out the disciples to preach the kingdom of God when Jesus was at the height of His popularity. The disciples were His royal ambassadors preaching the kingdom for the King of Kings. Everyone loved them because everyone loved Jesus. Things were going to go so well for the disciples that they didn’t need to bring a moneybag, knapsack, or sandals. They could rely on people’s generosity and hospitality. But after the cross, things were going to be very different:

Luke 22:36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

This is a radical shift. The kindness and generosity the disciples knew would be replaced with cold looks, opposition, and persecution. They were previously welcomed into people’s homes, but now they would be pilgrims traveling in a hostile world. The obvious question is, why such a dramatic change in the disciples’ treatment? Jesus tells us in the following verse:

Luke 22:37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”

This is a quote from Isaiah 53:12.

New Testament Authors Don’t Ignore Old Testament Context

There is a tendency to think that when an Old Testament verse is quoted in the New Testament, the context doesn’t matter. The New Testament author quoted the Old Testament verse simply because it captured what he was trying to say. The problem with this is that it would mean the New Testament author is violating one of the primary rules of Bible interpretation: consider the context. The truth is that God quotes Old Testament verses because of their context.

So, why would Jesus quote Isaiah 53:12 to the disciples at this moment? We can answer this by thinking of the context for Isaiah 53:12. The chapter is primarily about the Messiah’s rejection and suffering:

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Verses 4-6 are about His substitutionary atonement. Then we read:

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

There are verses in Isaiah 53 about God the Father afflicting Jesus, but this verse is about Him being afflicted by man; specifically, His trials are in view. And here’s the part that Jesus quoted:

Isaiah 53:12b He [referring to Himself] was numbered with the transgressors;

Why did Jesus choose this specific phrase? The answer is contained in the word transgressors. Jesus was viewed as a criminal, so much so that He experienced criminals’ trials, a criminal's death – crucifixion - and He was murdered between two notorious criminals. There’s no way He could look more like a criminal.

Jesus’s Followers Must Expect To Be Treated Like Him

If Jesus is viewed as a criminal, who else will be viewed as criminals? The disciples. Criminals have accomplices, and the disciples will be viewed as Jesus’s accomplices. It’s like Jesus said, “If they arrest Me, they will arrest you too. If they treat me like a common criminal, they will treat you like a common criminal.” We’ve been reading through Acts as a family, and it's pretty much a record of the apostles being treated like criminals. Consider these times Jesus told His disciples to expect to be treated like Him:

Matthew 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

“If they say I’m the devil, how do you expect them to treat those following Me?”

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

“You don’t get to be treated better than Me. Expect the world to treat you like it treated Me.”

Jesus’s Listeners Often Mistook The Spiritual For The Physical

Before reading the disciples’ response, I want to set you up to interpret it correctly because it’s one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Gospels. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that Jesus was probably the most misunderstood Person in all of human history. And the most common way He was misunderstood is that He was speaking spiritually, but people thought He was speaking physically. Consider just a few examples from John’s Gospel:

John 2:18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Jesus was referring to His resurrection on the third day, but because they interpreted His words physically instead of spiritually, they thought He was referring to the temple.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus was talking about spiritual birth, but Nicodemus thought he was talking about physical birth.

John 4:13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Jesus was talking about spiritual water that leads to eternal life, but the Samaritan woman thought He was referring to physical water from the well, which satisfies physical thirst.

John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus was referring to people consuming Him spiritually, but because they interpreted His words physically, they thought He wanted them to become cannibals.

The Disciples Mistook Spiritual Preparation for Physical Preparation

Jesus was often speaking spiritually, but He was interpreted physically, and that’s precisely what happened in Luke 22:38:

Luke 22:38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

Because they misunderstood Him, they took a private inventory of what they had available and said, “Here you go. We’ve got two swords.” Consider these commentaries’ explanations:

The Pulpit Commentary explains the verse: “Of course, the advice as to the sword was not meant to be taken literally. It was one of those metaphors the Lord used so often in his teaching.”

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “[The disciples’] words, ‘here are two swords!’ Must have grieved the Lord, for they indicated that the disciples had missed the meaning of His words.