Luke 22:38

The disciples evidently took Jesus’ words about buying swords literally. They produced two that they had already acquired. They had understood Jesus’ earlier warnings about what lay ahead of Him in Jerusalem and had armed themselves to this extent. This was not Jesus’ intention.

Some interpret "It (or That) is enough" as meaning two swords would be adequate in view of the coming conflict. This does not seem to be what Jesus meant since He later rebuked Peter for using even one sword to defend Him (Luke 22:49-51; cf. Matthew 26:52). Furthermore two swords would not be enough to defend Jesus against arrest. Others interpret Jesus as having meant that the possession of two swords was enough to identify Jesus and the disciples as criminals and so fulfill Isaiah 53:12. [Note: Danker, p. 225; P. S. Minear, "A Note on Luke xxii. 36," Novum Testamentum 7 (1964):128-34; and Martin, p. 260.] However it was not the possession of swords that identified Jesus as a criminal but the false charges that He had claimed to be a king opposed to Caesar. Probably Jesus meant that He wished to pursue the discussion no further. [Note: Manson, p. 342; Morris, p. 310; M. Bailey, p. 148; et al.] The disciples had misunderstood Him. They would only learn what He meant later as they would learn the meaning of many other things that He had taught them that they had failed to perceive. The expression occurs often in the Old Testament in this sense (cf. Genesis 45:28; Exodus 9:28; Deuteronomy 3:26; 1 Kings 19:4; 1 Chronicles 21:15).

Luke probably included this part of Jesus’ conversation with His disciples because it is a sober warning to all disciples of our need for personal spiritual preparation. We all face essentially what the Eleven did. We must not rely on physical defenses in spiritual warfare but make responsible preparations and arm ourselves with the resources that only God can provide (cf. Ephesians 6:10-20). The disciples slept in Gethsemane when they should have been praying (Luke 22:40; Luke 22:46). Likewise we often fail to ask God to help us and instead rely on our own resources.