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Rejection by the Samaritans
v. 51. And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,
v. 52. and sent messengers before His face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him.
v. 53. And they did not receive Him because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem.
v. 54. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
v. 55. But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
v. 56. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
John and James, the "sons of thunder," had not yet learned the full lesson of humility, as this incident shows. When the days of His being received up were altogether fulfilled, when the days of His assumption were in course of accomplishment, "implying the approach of the closing scenes of Christ's earthly experience," then He firmly set His face to journey up to Jerusalem. It was not the last journey which the Lord was here undertaking, but one which would settle His fate, so far as the leaders of the Jews were concerned. From this time forth He might expect a falling away of popular favor. He made this journey through Samaria. But when, in one case, He sent messengers ahead to provide lodging, He met with a flat refusal. The Samaritans, a mixed people, had fallen away from the Jewish Church, accepted only the Pentateuch as God's revealed Word, and did not worship at Jerusalem. There was, on that account, little love lost between the Jews and the Samaritans, Joh_4:9. In this case the people of the Samaritan village would not give Jesus lodging, because, literally, His face was journeying to Jerusalem; He was headed in that direction, that was His destination. But this treatment of their Master filled John and James with the greatest indignation. Referring to the act of Elijah, 2Ki_1:10, they wanted to follow his example and have the village destroyed by fire from heaven. But Jesus turned to them and very earnestly upbraided them for their suggestion. The spirit of Christ and the New Testament is not bent upon destroying the souls of people, but upon saving them. Rather than show any resentment, Jesus chose a different village to lodge in. This lesson is in place even today. The Christian Church, the Christian congregation, uses no force in bringing Christ and His Gospel to people, for His kingdom is not of this world. "Here Christ says: Remember of what spirit ye are children, namely, of the Holy Spirit, who is a Spirit of peace, not of division. This Peter also forgot in the garden, when Christ said to him: Put the sword into the sheath. It requires not fighting, but suffering. The Holy Spirit permits it now, and maintains His silence that Christ is thus crucified and abominably dealt with. Thus, because we have the pure doctrine, it happens also to us that everything that is great in the world uses power and might against this doctrine. But God alone upholds it, else it would have been destroyed long ago. But since they vilify the doctrine and defend their godless estate, we cannot hold silence, but must speak against them. But we are here like John and James; our heart has this feeling, that we desire revenge upon the godless tyrants. Here every one should repent thoroughly and pray God that He would keep us from such murderous thoughts. revenge we should not desire, hut have compassion, and remember why the Son of Man is come, namely, that we should not desire judgment and revenge upon the sinners."