Then said he unto them: "But now, he that hath a purse let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and let him that hath no sword sell his garment and buy one." JOHN xxii. 36.
This declaration of Jesus is often quoted by those who believe in contention and fighting. Here, they say, he directly counsels them to prepare for forcible resistance, and advises his followers to prepare for the onset. This appears to be true, if we consider the statement apart from the circumstances which preceded and followed it. Luke is the only one who relates this incident. He places it at the conclusion of his account of the Last Supper. Peter had declared that he was ready to go with his Master to prison and to death; and in response Jesus had told him that the cock should not crow, at the coming dawn, before Peter should deny that he ever knew the man. At this point in the narrative, Jesus said to them:
"When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, lacked ye anything?" And they said, "Nothing."
