June 23 2025

Monday June 23

Luke 22:35-38

Preparing For Spiritual Warfare

35 And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing." 36 Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end." 38 So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today, we're continuing in Luke chapter 22, looking at verses 35 through 38. Jesus is with the disciples in the upper room, or in the process of leaving for the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas has already gone to gather Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus and take Him to trial. It’s Thursday evening, but in the Jewish calendar, it’s Friday, and Jesus knows He will be crucified. He is preparing His disciples for this time, having already warned them of persecution and tribulation in John chapter 16, saying, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. I’m going away, but I’ll come again, and I’m sending the Holy Spirit.” These things were said in the upper room, as recorded in John’s Gospel.

Now, Jesus is preparing His disciples for spiritual warfare in a new dispensation. After telling Peter in verses 31-34, “…Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat…. And before the rooster crows you  will deny three times that you know Me”, Jesus now says in verse 35, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” They replied, “Nothing.” He’s referring to when He sent the twelve to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the lost sheep of Israel, proclaiming, “The King is here; Jesus the Messiah is here—receive Him, trust Him, believe Him.” They lacked nothing because God miraculously provided as they preached throughout Israel.

Then He says, “But now,” signaling a shift to a new time. He’s going away, and they’ll be left to take the gospel of grace to the world, not just to Israel but to the Gentiles. “He who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

Jesus is quoting Isaiah 53:12, saying, “I’m numbered with the transgressors. I’m going to the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world. Something different is coming—I’ll be resurrected and leave, but you’ll take this gospel to the world.” All things concerning Him will be accomplished; on the cross, His final words, “It is finished,” marked the completion of His substitutionary, atoning work. Jesus is signaling the end of the dispensation of Old Covenant as He fulfill all the prophesies and the demands of the Law by becoming the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. He is about to finish the Old and bring in the New!

The disciples, still not grasping His meaning, say, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” Jesus responds, “It is enough,” not meaning that two swords are sufficient to fight the Roman soldiers in Gethsemane, but rather, He was saying, “We’re done talking—you’ll understand later.” It was only, after 40 days of studying the Word, and spending time with the Lord between the resurrection and His Ascension, and 10 more days in  prayers in the Upper Room, and after the Holy Spirit came upon them on Pentecost, did they begin to comprehend what Jesus was talking about.

What Jesus is basically saying to them was, “Set aside the message of the gospel of the kingdom for another time. Now you will go forth with the sword of the Spirit. You cannot fight this battle in the flesh—it must be through the power of prayer and the Word of God, with the Holy Spirit working in and through you.”

What a powerful passage. Remember how Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”  And in Philippians 3:1-11, Paul proclaimed that he had no confidence in the flesh but in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ!

Today, let’s make sure that we are serving Jesus in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

God bless!