I got home from FETC, emptied my suitcase, then Laura filled it with her things. Today she headed off for an ACS conference through Wednesday, leaving me on my own for awhile. At least we got to see each other for a few hours.
This morning’s sermon at Fourth dealt with Peter’s denial. This made me think back to the incident in the garden, when Peter rashly pulled a sword and attacked a servant of the high priest.
The question that came to mind was,where did Peter get a sword? All of the Gospels say that the sword was his. He had it already, and had not taken it from one of the guards.
There are two inconsistencies here. First, a sword was a fairly precious item. Folks in those days didn’t just wear them like the Old West six-shooters. Even if one could be obtained, as an occupied people it seems unlikely that the Romans would have allowed an armed populace.
The possession of sword also seems inconsistent with Christ’s overall message of peace. I doubt that his statement that, "I come not to bing peace but a sword" meant that his disciples ran around armed.
What I suspect is that the "sword" was something more utilitarian, possibly a large fishing knife in keeping with Peter’s former occupation. Pure speculation, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.