THE RIGHT SPIRIT
LUKE 9:51-56
LUKE 9:51-56 NKJ
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.
OBSERVATION:
Here is a great example of how Jesus dealt with rejection. And, of course, it's a great example of how we are to deal with those who reject us.
The disciples were mad that this one Samaritan village had rejected Jesus. The Samaritans and the Jewish people had not been on the same page for centuries. There was a lot of religious prejudice on both sides of this fence.
When a traveler was facing south towards Jerusalem, the Samaritans were known to turn their backs on him. This was plain rude and rejecting.
When this village treated Jesus in this manner, it was too much for James and John. They wanted to call down literal fire and burn the village and its people to the ground. The very idea of destroying a village of people by fire sounds brutal. But religious prejudice is an ugly thing.
And Jesus called the brothers out on this error. He rebuked them. A rebuke would indicate He was not abusive, but He was not happy. He told them they were unaware of the spirit or the way they were operating. His entire purpose was not to destroy those who did not receive Him. Jesus came to save men's lives.
And they went to another village.
APPLICATION:
One of the worst things we can do as followers of Jesus is operate in this spirit. This way of doing things is just wrong.
People are not always going to agree with us and treat us well. But our objective is not to see them destroyed. Some of the people who oppose us and our values are not believers. They have never received the life of God. They have never become new creations in Christ. They are like the village of the Samaritans, rejecting the very one who can do the most good for them. But calling down verbal or social medial fire is not going to help.
The best thing we can do is keep moving. There will be people who receive us and our message. So, we don't get caught up in the negative. Keep a right spirit, a Christ-like spirit. This will baffle our opponents and honor our Lord.
PRAYER:
Lord, help me operate in a right spirit toward people. Especially toward those who reject You and reject me.