Matthew 26:52 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

NIV: "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

NASB: Then Jesus *said to him, 'Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.

CSB: Then Jesus told him, "Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.

NLT: Put away your sword,' Jesus told him. 'Those who use the sword will die by the sword.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Matthew does not name the disciple who jumped in to defend Jesus from the crowd that had come to arrest him. John, though, lets us know that disciple was Peter (John 18:10). Peter may have thought the moment of truth Jesus warned him about had come. Jesus told the disciples they would all abandon Him and told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before morning (Matthew 26:30–35). Peter likely wanted to show Jesus that he was not afraid to die defending him right then and there. So, Peter drew the sword he brought with him (Luke 22:38) and swung it, cutting off the right ear of a servant (Luke 22:50). Peter is not a trained warrior, and some commentors suspect he was really aiming for Judas.

Jesus is not interested in an armed conflict in this moment. According to Luke, Christ immediately heals the servant's ear (Luke 22:51). Jesus rebukes Peter for trying to use violence to stop what is meant by God to happen in this moment.

Some have pointed to Jesus' words here as a reason to never take up arms in conflict. That is reading too much into this event. He does not tell Peter to throw the sword away, but to put it back into its sheath. We know from John's account that Jesus told his arresters to let His disciples go (John 18:8). In that context, Jesus seems likely to mean that He does not wish for Peter to die by the sword tonight in a foolish attempt to save Him. Christ, Himself, does not need to be protected by an earthly sword (John 18:36).

Jesus will go on to say that He does not need to be defended from what is happening because, ultimately, this is the reason He has come (Matthew 26:53).

Matthew 26:47–56 paints the scene of Jesus' betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrives leading an armed crowd of soldiers, temple guards, and others. Judas identifies Jesus to the arresting crowd using a friend's kiss. Peter (John 18:10) wildly swings a sword and cuts a man's ear off in a misguided effort to defend Jesus. Jesus tells him to put the sword away. If He wanted saving, He could ask the Father and 12 legions of angels would arrive. He will not resist. The Scriptures of the prophets must be fulfilled. This passage parallels Mark 14:43–50, Luke 22:47–53, and John 18:1–11.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.