Annotation CXVI

”They who take the sword shall perish by the sword.” — Matthew 26:52

On war.

Chrysostom, homily 85 on Matthew, [says]: “That they might more easily believe that he was [to be] betrayed, he therefore said to them, ‘Buy swords’ — not encouraging [them] to strike, but that he might set the prediction before [their] eyes.” Erasmus, in the annotations on Luke, uses these words for the confirmation of his dogma — by which he teaches that every kind of war is forbidden to Christians. The refutation of which error you have below, Annotation 156.