"Sell Your Cloak and Buy a Gun?"
✦ Reading Scripture as it was written — not as we wish it to be Scripture & Interpretation Why context still matters when Christians reach for Luke 22:36 Every few months, the debate flares up again about guns and weapons. Even in countries that generally don't have a high level gun issue. Someone, almost always identifying as a Christian, drops Luke 22:36 like a trump card: "Jesus told his disciples to buy swords. He would want you armed today." It's a compelling sound bite. It's also a textbook case of reading a verse while ignoring everything around it. Don't get me wrong we all do it sometimes. But, in cases like this it is profoundly dangerous. The Scene Jesus and his disciples are on their way to the Mount of Olives — just hours before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The atmosphere is charged with foreboding. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus tells them that Scripture is about to be fulfilled in him: he will be numbered among the transgressor...
