Guardians of the Truth
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning that satan's primary attack on the church will be the Truth of God's Word.
Text: Luke 22:35-38
Date: 09/07/2025, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 209
Description:
Knowing that His time with His disciples is growing short, Jesus continues to instruct them on the vital aspects of shepherding His church after He leaves. Having carefully described the necessity of such Kingdom attributes as servanthood, discipleship and faith-- Jesus once again turns His attention to the relentless spiritual battle His church will face in the age to come. Using graphic language and imagery, Jesus warns His disciples that the enemy will attack the church, throughout its history, by targeting its most precious and essential resource-- the TRUTH. He quotes Isaiah's Servant Song to emphasize how this truth will be manipulated by the enemy and that His disciples and the church they establish must be prepared to wage a never-ending fight to protect it. Ultimately, we will realize God has codified this TRUTH in His inspired, inerrant and infallible WORD, which is therefore satan's primary target in his war against the truth. The church must fulfill its calling to not only spread the truth, but to tenaciously defend and protect it-- realizing that Jesus has appointed us as the guardians of the Truth until He returns.
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I. Introduction, John 17:17.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 22:35-38.
A. Context
B. Jesus reveals the upcoming fight for the Truth.
1. Recollection of a happier time, vs. 35.
a. The remembrance, Luke 9:3, 10:4.
b. The answer.
i. Palestinian Hospitality.
ii. Good standing with the people.
iii. The protection of the Holy Spirit, Luke 10:5-6,17-18.
2. Warning of challenging times to come, vs. 36.
a. A dramatic reversal.
i. Comparing the two times.
ii. Days of persecution, Luke 22:28,31; John 17:11-13.
b. Probing the reason, Rev. 12:17; Acts 1:6.
c. The most misunderstood instruction.
i. What Jesus is not saying, Matt. 26:52.
1) Christianity is not a religion of violence, Josh. 6:21; Matt. 26:52,53; Luke 6:29; John 13:35.
2) Glaring lessons from history.
3) Yet another literal interpretation, Acts 8:32.
ii. What Jesus is saying.
1) Clearly, Jesus is not talking about violence.
2) Imagining the imagery of the sword.
3) The nature of the battle, Luke 4:29-30, 22:28; John 1:14, 8:43, 14:6.
4) Getting to the point.
iii. Summarizing the imagery of the sword, Heb. 4:12; Rev. 19:15; Eph. 6:17.
3. Fulfilling Isaiah's Suffering Servant, vs. 37.
a. Looking at the form.
i. Noticing the similarities.
ii. Noticing the emphasis.
b. Looking at the words.
i. The explanatory "for".
ii. The modified truth formula.
iii. A specific Messianic prophecy describing Jesus, Luke 20:17.
iv. A divine necessity, Luke 9:22,44, 18:31, 22:22.
v. The "end" of redemption, 2Cor. 1:20.
vi. The Preeminence of Christ.
vii. Differences in the closing statement.
c. The quote from Isaiah.
i. As a quote in a specific sense, Isa. 53:12.
1) A statement of lawlessness, Psa. 51:13, 1Tim. 1:9.
2) The "criminalization" of Jesus, John 3:19-20; Luke 13:14, 22:52, 23:33.
3) The criminalization of the church, Luke 6:2; Acts 18:12-13.
ii. As a quote in a broader sense.
1) What the quote does not mean.
2) What the quote does mean, Matt. 8:17; John 12:38; Acts 8:32-33; Gal. 3:13; 1Pet. 2:24.
3) Evaluating the immediate context, 2Cor. 5:21.
iii. Summary
4. The disciples' confusion, vs. 38.
a. The disciples' response.
b. Jesus' rebuke, Luke 22:51.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
