A Prayer
of Jesus
I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
Edition No. 19          February 1, 2003
WE ARE HERE TO LISTEN TO
The Voice of Jesus
"This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"
MISUNDERSTANDING JESUS (#9)   
The Strong Man, Fully Armed
The False Teaching
Men often cite this utterance of Jesus to justify self defense by means of arms: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil.(Luke 11:21,22)
To examine cases of the false teaching, find "Luke 11:21" in the pages at the following links.

This writer
says: Jesus assumed the right of a man to defend his family by the use of his arms.

This writer says: Mindful that evil exists in people and not inanimate objects, He (our Lord) exhorts us to defend ourselves with the force of arms
This writer says Jesus taught that it was normal to be armed for defense.
This writer says:
The principle of self defense is taught by Jesus.
Jesus recommends arms as protection for goods and family
according to this false teaching.

Exposing the Error
Gun advocates especially are attracted to the expression, fully armed, and assume that this is Jesus' counsel to his followers.
The context reveals the error. The strong man is Beelzebub, (Satan) who had kept his goods in peace.  But Jesus is stronger and has taken away the strong mans armor and is dividing his spoils. Jesus uses this example to explain how he entered into the world that had been Satan's realm and cast out demons. But some, while recognizing this, insist that Jesus would not have used this example had he not approved of its implications and recommended it to his disciples.
Would Jesus have us follow the example of the dishonest steward also (Luke 16:1-13)? Surely not!  But the strong man fully armed is a metaphor his hearers would easily understand because rulers then were often attacking strong cities and taking them by force. This metaphor is for one purpose only -- to explain how Jesus had entered Satan's realm and was spoiling his goods (casting out demons).

Declaring the Truth

Does Jesus teach armed self defense? This is the quesion.
Here is the clear answer:
But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also
(Mt.5:39)

Some say this applies only to minor threats, not major ones that threaten life, limb or home. Oh? Then is a killer not one who is evil?  What amazing artifice men contrive to make Jesus say what they want! He also said, on his way to the cross: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.(Mt.16:24,25) To deny self is to refuse to defend self, or to save one's life!  This is the Great Principle that explains what Jesus said and did. He did not defend himself, nor permit his friends to defend him, for whoever would save his life will lose it.  This counsel is only for the children of light. The children of this world hear him not, nor will they.   More