Giants Fall

It should come as no surprise to us that the warrior Jesus need not fight with swords; God's been setting that story up since way back in the Old Testament.

It's the story of David and Goliath all over again. Except this time, it is God who fights like David.

Remember this story? David is the small little shepherd boy who comes to check on his brothers on the front lines of fighting against the Philistines. While there, he discovers that there's actually not much fighting going on. The Philistine champion, a Goliath of a man, steps forward every morning and challenges any man of Israel to a one-on-one battle for victory, but there are no takers, which means the two armies have essentially been staring at each other from opposite sides of the trenches for weeks. 

David, who has essentially zero experience fighting men, but has a bit of a background in wildlife extermination services (he has killed a bear and a lion in defense of his sheep), steps forward and says, basically, "I'll go." So Saul outfits him with a shield and a sword, which are too big and make the courageous David clumsy. So he casts them off, picks up a couple of smooth stones and says, "These'll do." He stands against the giant with rocks, and he wins.

Fast forward to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who comes to check on His people on the front lines of fighting. They're struggling against a Roman occupation that doesn't know what to do with them and a Pharisaical leadership whose burden is far too heavy for Israel to bear. Every day, Israel does her best to be the people God has called her to be, but in the face of such opposition and obstacle, she's not really gaining any ground. 

Jesus, who spends His time loving men, not fighting them, steps forward and declares, "I'll go." And come He did. And the men of this world who were so long waiting for a warrior do their best to outfit Him with the weapons of this world. They try to give Him a sword. Again and again and again, they try to convince Him that this is what He needs. But the sword is not what Jesus wants. This is not a battle to be won by the sword. So He pushes them away.

And then the Rock stands against the giants, and He wins.

Right? It's the same old story, just recast into a different light. We start with a shepherd, end with a Rock, and giants fall because of it. We wouldn't dare say that David wasn't a warrior, so how could we possibly conclude that Jesus wasn't? He's simply another one who does not fight with the weapons of this world.

He doesn't need to.

And that, too, is a good reminder for the rest of us who stand on this side of the trench and call ourselves warriors.