Was Jesus a Pacifist?

Was Jesus a pacifist? Such was the debate topic between two scholars at a recent Oxford conference.

Before the debate were to begin, however, I would suggest this is the wrong question.

I would ask, "In the story of the Good Samaritan, would Jesus have commended the Samaritan if he had arrived early enough to use physical force to fend off the attackers from beating up the guy?"

Or, "Would Jesus have unilaterally disarmed the U.S. in the face of an aggressive Soviet foe?"

Or, "Would Jesus allow Iran to develop a nuclear bomb if he could take military action to stop them?"

Or, "Would Jesus have used a gun to stop an attacker who broke into my house and was about to kill my children?"

Or, "If certain states harbored, aided and abetted terrorists intent on killing innocent American civilians, would he condemn the U.S. for attacking those states once diplomatic efforts had run their course?

Indeed, to turn the question around, what would Jesus think about a legitimate government taking no military action to protect its citizens? Would he not condemn the state for its failure to protect "the least of these?"

Asking "Was Jesus a pacifist" is the wrong question. We should ask, "To what extent would Jesus expect a legitimate government to protect its people?" or "Would Jesus expect the president to do little or nothing in the face of 9/11?"