Was Jesus a pacifist?

Question

Does that mean If he was then he's against self defense seeing as that's a form of violence?

Answer 1

Jesus actually seems to give us conflicting messages.

He says turn the other cheek and then he violently overturns the moneychangers' tables in the Temple.

In Jewish and Christian tradition, the commandment "You shall not kill" forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. The murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. (Gen 4:10)

Killing in self defense, a just war, and lawful capital punishment are not considered murder.

However many Christians including Catholics believe most modern governments no longer need to use capital punishment to protect society from criminals.

Many (but not all) people agree that the war in Iraq is not a just war and therefore breaks this commandment.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that HE was absolutely not a pacifist. However, he always instructed his followers to be pacifists and avoid violence. He left them the command that whoever lives by the sword will die by the sword. He viewed vengenance as belonging to God, and since he would sit in judgment one day he was entitled to do as he wished. After he told Peter to return his sword to its place, he reminded him that at any point in time he could command thousands of angels to take up his defense. Jesus did not resort to violence because he knew he was supposed to die as part of his mission. How could he die if he killed all his opposition?

I don't really believe any of this stuff, but that is what is written about him. I guess you can take that for what it's worth.

Answer 3

Read John 2:14-16 and you will see that He wasn't a pacifist.

Answer 4

Yes and No. Mostly no, at least with regard to the human definition of the word.

It's a complicated question, but if you don't mind the length of my answer I'll give it a try.

First of all, self defense may or may not be the right response, depending on the situation. Jesus does not oppose the concept of self-defense, He simply instructs that there are times when we should "turn the other cheek" rather than to fight back. I believe He is teaching us to choose our battles wisely and as long as we do not compomise our faith, we should be be willing to sacrifice our pride, ego, possessions, or whatever else is being threatened, if by doing so could cause some eternal benefits for others.

Now, in order to answer your question about whether Jesus is a pacifist I would need to first discuss His character in general. Jesus is God. They are one in the same. And anyone that has studied The Bible knows that you can't place God into a box of labels. He is Holy, showing absolute mercy and justice at the same time. We cannot fully comprehend this concept. We can only make sense of it as best we can.

The life of Jesus demonstrates to us the perfect man. It's God's way of showing us what we should strive for with our lives. There is no better example of how to live than the life of Jesus.

Jesus tells us to, when possible, live at peace with others. This is his instruction as to how we should live our daily lives. This means we should not go out of our way to find conflict. There will be plenty of conflict that naturally arises just by following Him. When we desire to live an uncompromising Christ-like life in a fallen world filled with people that will despise us, peace is not going to last very long. It's just a fact of our current existence.

That is why Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace, but He came to bring a sword. He knows there will be a battle. He does not desire the battle, but He won't back down from it either. He is also referred to as the Prince of Peace, but this is referring to the peace that He brings to all that choose to follow Him. Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of spirit...but that doesn't mean a peaceful existence, at least not until sin is completely obliterated.

God has a Holy nature that CANNOT tolerate or co-exist with anything opposing that nature. Some might think that sounds like a bully. But that's a very childlike human view. It would be like calling life a bully because it cannot co-exist with death. Or light a bully because it cannot co-exist with darkness. It's just a silly way to look at it. God is God, the maker of all things, the beginning and the end, (alpha and omega), the "it-all" of the Universe. If God and sin co-existed from the beginning than you might be accurate to call God a bully. But sin is just a virus, a temporary black stain on an eternal white existence.

In answer to your question, Jesus, being God, is by nature a pacifist because God's nature is peace. However, when confronted with the black stain of sin God has no other option than to oppose and completely wipe out the opposition. So, He is anything BUT peaceful or tolerant when relating to this fallen world.

Lucky for us, part of His nature is also mercy and patience. So, although He cannot tolerate our sinful nature He made a way for us to be cleansed free from sin and He gives us much more time than we deserve to make our choice. But the time is limited.

Those who reject God and choose not to battle against sin, but rather to align with it, will face the same judgement sin receives. There is no other option. It's not even a choice at that point. God's nature will force His hand and while it will sadden Him, these people will be thrown out of eternal life along with the sin.

For these people God IS NOT a pacifist.

Those who accept God and reject our sinful nature will have our lives cleansed from the sin through the sanctification of Jesus. All this means is that when God looks at us after we die He won't be able to see that black stain on us anymore because Jesus will stand in our place.

For these people God is the ultimate pacifist.