By chhotebhai
Kanpur, March 11, 2025: Trump has weaponized tariffs to subject both friend and foe. He has even weaponized (appropriated) the Bible to further his self-centred goals.
Sacred Scripture, like anything else, can be used or abused. It’s like a knife. It can be used in a well-lit kitchen to chop vegetables, or in a dark alley to slit throats.
When I turned 18, my father, who prayed the Bible every morning, gave me a verse on the armour of God from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Eph 6:14-17). It was a life lesson for me.
In the last verse Paul says that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). The author of the letter to the Hebrews, earlier believed to be Paul, uses the same simile, “The Word of God is something alive and active; it cuts more incisively than any two-edged sword; it can seek out the place where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow, it can pass judgement on secret emotions and thoughts” (Heb 4:12-13).
Peter uses another simile. “Your birth was not from some perishable seed but from the imperishable seed, the living and enduring Word of God” (1 Pet 1:23). The seed is life giving, the sword is life saving; both essential for one’s spiritual well being.
How were these apostles attracted to the Word of God? From their guru, Jesus. We have just entered Lent. The gospel reading for the first Sunday was about Jesus’ temptation (cf Lk 4:1-13). We would have heard myriads of sermons about it. The focus invariably is on the temptations, not on how Jesus countered them. A careful study shows that Jesus used the Word of God as the sword to ward off temptation. Not surprisingly, the Tempter also used the Word to counter punch Jesus.
The first temptation is at the physical level, to the stomach, after 40 days of fasting. A taunt is also thrown in, “If you are the Son of God” (v4). Throughout the Gospels Jesus is being tempted to prove that he is the Son of God, a trap that he avoided. His counter punch is by quoting scripture. “Scripture says that human beings live not on bread alone” (ibid), a quote from (Deut 8:3).
The second temptation is from a great height showing him “all the kingdoms of the world” (v6). This is believed to be a hill top outside Jericho that is now inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. I visited there in 1980. One can see eagles flying below, not above.
Vast expanses meet the eye. This temptation is for power, a psychological/emotional level. The quid pro quo is to do homage to the devil (v8). Jesus quotes Scripture for the second time. “You must do homage to the Lord your God, him alone must you serve” (v8, cf Deut 6:13).
Seeing Jesus’ propensity for Scripture the tempter now changes tack, using it against him. While repeating “if you are Son of God” (v9) he asks him to throw himself down from the parapet of the Temple in Jerusalem (v 10) saying that “He has given the angels orders about you, to guard you … They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone” (v 10, cf Ps 91:11-12).
This third was the most dangerous temptation, using Jesus’s own logic against himself. It was another taunt to prove his divinity. For the third time the temptation is countered with scripture “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deut 6:16). We see that Jesus effectively uses scripture to defeat temptation.
There is more to the third temptation, going beyond the physical and psychological to the messianic or eschatological level – the proof of divinity. What would have happened to Jesus had he actually accepted the tempter’s challenge? In all probability he would have died a natural death, torpedoing his salvific mission.
Hypothetically, even if he had risen after such a death, it would have been devoid of meaning, defeating his purpose. The tempter would have been victorious. Our primary lesson here is that if Jesus used Scripture in his own defence, how much more so should we?
Another important lesson is the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, the gift of discernment, of how and when to use Scripture. This is because there are many well meaning Christians (I don’t mean Trump) who misquote Scripture to bolster their arguments.
There are some fundamentalist Christians who refuse medication or vaccination, believing that God would look after them. Recently a pastor’s son was bitten by a venomous snake. He refused the anti-venom serum and died. That pastor was mistakenly quoting “The infant will play over the den of the adder; the baby will put his hand into the viper’s lair. No harm will be done” (Is 11:8).
In moral theology this is called the sin of presumption – presuming that God will intervene miraculously to solve problems or prevent negative outcomes. Jesus foresaw such situations which is why he assiduously avoided the image of a miracle worker. After most of his miracles it was again the tempter that tried to project Jesus as the Son of God, while he himself cautioned against telling anyone about it (cf Mat 8:4, Mk 1:34, 3:12).
It is in this context of spiritual discernment that we need to revert to the quotation from the Hebrews: two-edged sword, incisive, can judge thoughts and emotions. Firstly, what is a two-edged sword? Some swords, like sabres, are heavy and have only one sharp edge like the chopper that one uses for breaking coconuts.
This, however, could not pierce heavy metal armour. The two-edged sword is more like the epee that is used in modern day fencing, light and pointed. It can pierce the chinks in the armour, be it chain or plate armour. That’s what the Word of God is like. It is fine and delicate like a surgeon’s scalpel or what biology students have in their dissection kit.
Separating soul and spirit, joints and marrow, thoughts and emotions, means the ability to dissect and discern. All through life, especially for those in authority, decision making is called for; decisions that affect not just one’s own life, but that of others dependent on us. The Word of God is that touchstone, litmus or Ph test, to distinguish between right and wrong. This Lent we are invited to use this spiritual tool in our decision making.
Jesus’s use of Scripture is not limited to his temptations in the desert. Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of his public ministry in his native Nazareth he enters the synagogue, takes up the scripture scroll and reads (cf Lk 4:14-19). He concludes by saying “This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening” (Lk 4:21). It is an invitation to all of us to make Scripture an intrinsic part of our daily lives, so that those who listen to us may experience fulfilment.
Jesus also quoted Scripture to silence his critics. When questioned about his disciples picking ears of corn from a field on the Sabbath Day, he threw back at them the case of David taking his hungry followers to the House of God where they ate the loaves that were reserved for the priests (cf Lk 6:1-5).
Jesus’s last temptation was not a sexual fantasy as some novelists would have us believe. The tempter was back to his old trick; “Save yourself if you are God’s son and come down from the cross” (Mat 27:40). Perhaps sensing Jesus’ two mindedness, the Father gave him the ultimate jolt, the feeling of being separated from God, as sinners experience.
It is then that Jesus cries out in anguish “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mat 27:47), a direct prayer from the psalms; “Eli, Eli lama sabachthani” (Ps 22:1). Jesus is reminded that his mission is not to prove himself but to fulfil his salvific purpose. So even his last agonising words were from Scripture.
Even after his Resurrection he was talking Scripture to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. Their hearts burned and they recognised Jesus (cf Lk 24:27-32). We too are invited to share God’s Word to touch the hearts of others and make Jesus known.
Before concluding, a word of caution from Vatican II. The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation says that the words of God have been expressed in human language. It is the Word of God in the Voice of men. We may need scholarly guidance to distinguish between the two.
During this holy season of Lent may we rediscover the joy, solace, wisdom and beauty of the Word of God. Let us prioritise Scripture, not weaponize it.