I do not intend on making this a harsh criticism of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), for we all sometimes say foolish things. However, I did want to address the statement and then talk about it in light of what the Bible says. For some reason Yahoo Sports has an article on the incident which occurred on June 14th wherein the US Congresswoman is credited with making a joke about trolls on Twitter:

“They like to say: ‘Oh, Jesus didn’t need an AR-15. How many AR-15s do you think Jesus would have had?” She went on, after the crowd laughed at the joke, saying, “Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him.”

Lauren Boebert (file photo)

First of all, I am not perfect and say things I should not say all the time. That said, perhaps the Congresswoman would be better served guarding her words more closely when she references Christ. At least according to her Wikipedia page, the Congresswoman is a born-again Christian. I am not going to judge her more harshly than I judged Matthew Dowd, whose thoughts were more problematic I would say, but I do want to share a few thoughts.

First, we can well assume as a born-again Christian that the Congresswoman accepts the Biblical narrative of the Gospels with regards to Christ’s earthly ministry, arrest, trial, death, and resurrection. Therefore, let us deal with this from the Biblical narrative concerning when Christ was arrested and His government killed Him.

In the Gospel of John 18, the narrative begins with Christ having been sold out to the authorities by Judas for thirty pieces of silver. These men were armed and sent by the Pharisees, religious as well as government authorities, to apprehend Him and were led to the place where Christ was by Judas. Upon the men arriving in His area, Christ asked who they sought. The men said Jesus of Nazareth, Christ replied that He was whom they sought. The men were evidently rather reticent to perform the task as the Gospel claims that the men fell back and to the ground. The exchange repeats and Christ yet again tells them He is whom they seek. He then says:

“I have told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me, let us go their way.”*

Peter then draws his own sword and strikes at one of the arresting men, hewing his ear off. Christ then said:

“Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”**

Christ’s followers were armed sufficiently if Christ’s intent was to run away and live in the wilderness ala the Maccabees or King David.

As we see, Peter would have been better served with an AR-15 just as much as he would have been better served with literally any firearm of any make or type or era, but he was sufficiently armed for the task at hand. Christ’s capture by the authorities up to and including His execution was something that He knew had to happen and that He would have to endure by Himself.

The Bible also makes perfectly clear that the reason Christ died (and subsequently rose from the dead) was not because He could not escape the authorities but instead because of humanity’s sinful nature. The authorities did not kill Christ, the Romans did not do it, and Peter not having an AR-15 did not do it but, instead, man’s fallen state, the sins of every man and woman, nailed Christ to the Cross. This is part of why Ephesians 4 exhorts the reader, as an ostensible Christ follower, not to recommit to the deeds that required Christ be sacrificed in the first place.

I am not especially upset at Lauren Boebert; lots of jokes made during presentations sound better in our heads than they do coming out. I would, however, ask that, as a born-again Christian person, she consider choosing her words and her jokes when it comes to Christ more carefully in the future.

*: Scofield Study Bible, KJV, John 18:8

**: ibid; John 18:11

Breason Jacak is a pen name.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0 license