Luke 9:43-56 Grace for Failures
“O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?”
I don’t know about you but this phrase is still ringing in my ears.
We are going to look at Luke 9:43-56 this morning. That starts on page 867 in the pew Bibles.
This gets broken up into several small chunks in our modern printings of the Bible but that shouldn’t keep us from looking at this resume of failures for the disciples all at once.
I know that sometimes it may sound like I’m picking on these knuckleheads and perhaps not giving them the honor that they are due as the Lord’s Apostles, maybe that’s accurate. After the Apostles were given the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of them in the book of Acts amazing things were accomplished through them but in this account in Luke 9 the only thing amazing about them is grace. And not their grace either.
But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
Let’s pray.
Now let’s take just a minute to remember some of the events leading up to this text. Jesus had fed the five thousand, Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ and Jesus said that He would build His church on that confession, Jesus miraculously paid Peter’s Temple tax by having him fish for it, you can read about that in Matthew 17:24, Jesus predicted that some of the disciples would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God, and He took Peter, James, and John up the Mount of Transfiguration only to return to a crowd of people and nine disciples unable to cast out a demon. Jesus casts the demon out Himself, and heals the boy, and gives him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God.
But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
The disciples saw the casting out of the demon as a victory over darkness but Jesus turns around and tells them how the real victory will be won, through His atoning death on the cross.
Let these words sink into your ears- this is a contrast between what they have been seeing and what they will soon see. Since the disciples couldn’t perceive and therefore couldn’t understand what Jesus meant it results only in distress and sadness in their hearts.
They didn’t understand what Jesus meant even though He had said this to them before back in verse 21, and Jesus’ meaning was concealed from them, so that they couldn’t understand.
What concealed this truth from them? Was it God’s mercy to spare them from sorrow? I don’t think that it was the Lord who concealed this truth from them, it was their own flesh. It was their own pride, weakness of faith, and fear.
They didn’t understand what Jesus meant because it didn’t line up with their ideas of how this was all supposed to go and they were afraid to ask Him about it because what He might say could threaten the little kingdom they wanted to set up.
They wanted men to be delivered into His, and therefore their, hands, instead Jesus again predicts that He was about to be delivered into the hands of men.
Think I’m being too harsh on them? Look at verse 46.
46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
So clear was their lack of understanding of Jesus’ mission and the prediction of His death, that while Jesus had His eye on the cross the disciples had their eyes on crowns and argued over who was the greatest.
Mark 9:33-34 shows how embarrassed the disciples were to be caught having this argument.
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
Can you imagine getting busted by the King of kings having an argument over which Disciple was the greatest? This is not exactly a Ted Williams vs. Babe Ruth kind of argument, who was the better hitter?
This was nothing more than gross self-promotion, focusing on crowns while Jesus was focused on the cross.
But how does Jesus respond? With grace.
47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
Matthew Henry wrote: “Jesus Christ is perfectly acquainted with the thoughts and intents of our hearts: He perceived their thoughts, (ESV- knowing the reasoning of their hearts) v. 47. Thoughts are words to him, and whispers are loud cries. It is a good reason why we should keep up a strict government of our thoughts because Christ takes a strict cognizance of them.”
Jesus knew the reasoning of their hearts and what did He see?
Vain rivalry, pride, arrogance, selfish ambition to name a few. These poisonous qualities were what the child was lacking and so should they.
For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.
Is this not the example of Jesus? It’s proof that the disciples were not yet in line with Jesus’ plan for His kingdom. Jesus’ example was subjective lowliness as the way to objective greatness.
Mark 9:35, Jesus said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
That doesn’t sound very much like arguing over who was the greatest in the kingdom to me.
But wait, there’s more examples of the bad understanding of the disciples!
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
This one is even more troubling because the philosophy is widespread and happily accepted still today in the church. I have been guilty of this and perhaps still am to some extent.
Why would the disciples try and stop somebody from casting out demons in Jesus’ Name, somebody who was honestly helping people in the Name of Jesus? Not some other name, but Jesus’ Name.
The disciples tried to stop somebody else from casting out demons in the Name of Jesus out of rivalry and pride. They perhaps couldn’t stand the idea that somebody else was having success in the face of their failure to cast the demon from the boy earlier in the chapter. Perhaps they just couldn’t stand a little competition, a little rivalry.
But was that other guy really on a different team? No.
Here’s two examples in Scripture in how to do this right.
The first is Moses in Numbers 11:26-29.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
The second example is Paul in Philippians 1:15-18.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Even preaching out of rivalry still gets the job done as long as Christ is proclaimed.
The Twelve were not to be Christ’s only representatives on earth, they would have hated the idea of the church at this point. They should have rejoiced that the power of God was at work on earth in Jesus’ Name in others as well. Being excited about that fact would show that their true interest was that of Messiah’s mission of grace.
And finally verse 51,
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
They just didn’t get it. They didn’t get Jesus at all.
The folks in that village didn’t reject Jesus and His teaching, they didn’t want Him there because they were told He was on His way to Jerusalem and the Jews were their enemies. This was a Samaritan village who had long been rejected by the Jews and not allowed to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. This was no more than cultural friction and how do James and John respond? No grace, no forgiveness, consuming fire from heaven, that’s what they wanted!
Luke doesn’t record what Jesus said to them, just that He rebuked them. What grace is exercised by the Holy Spirit through Luke’s pen in the writing of this Gospel account that he left those words out.
Lack of understanding, lack of humility, lack of love, lack of grace, sounds like a real bunch of winners!
But if you can read these accounts of the various and repeated failures of the disciples and not catch glimpses of yourself in them, you’ve got some serious problems of your own.
Just like them, sometimes we just don’t get Jesus.
Maybe we’re as blind as they were when it comes to following Him, blinded by tradition, preconceived notions of discipleship and the church, prejudice, jealousy, ambition, pride, selfishness.
So what do we do, what should they have done? Repent.
James 4:1-10
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Amen.
