Luke 9:51 ¶ And it came to
pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set
his face to go to Jerusalem, 52 And sent
messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the
Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go
to Jerusalem. 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? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye
know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.
And they went to another village.
The disciples expressed
their all too human ambition for status in the previous passage. They wanted to
hold back others, not of their group, who were preaching in Christ’s name. Now,
they want to kill those who do not welcome Christ. These Samaritans and the
Jews were in conflict over where they were to worship which resulted in them
refusing to receive Christ after He diplomatically sent messengers to alert
them of His coming thereby invoking the wrath of His followers. They knew He
was headed to Jerusalem and their worship was focused on Samaria. Note the
following when Jesus came to Sychar, a city of Samaria and the woman at the
well was speaking to Him. Another village will be blessed instead with the
Saviour’s presence.
John 4:20 Our fathers
worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where
men ought to worship.
Reminds me of the
history of political Christianity throughout Europe and the Middle East for two
thousand years. Supposed Christians lobbied for power and privilege using the
faith as an excuse or platform for power and murder. They closed ranks and
persecuted other Christians who did not do things exactly their way or
acknowledge their authority. They killed, to the tune of millions, other
non-conforming believers and non-Christians.
Christ condemned all of
that, the persecution of people who did not fall in line with what we perceive
as doctrinal truth and those not of our own denomination. He condemned not only
the persecution but the murder that has been such a prominent part of the
history of religion. Remember the tares? God will deal what is wrong at the end.
I do not say we should fellowship with error but physical persecution is not
Christian.
The reference to Elias,
Elijah from the Hebrew, can be found in 2Kings, chapter 1.
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