Laborers and the Lamb's Book of Life - Luke 10:1-20 - June 18, 2023

 Luke 10:1-20 Laborers and the Lamb’s Book of Life

Good morning! Turn with me to Luke chapter 10, we’re going to look at verses 1-20 and that’s on page 868 in the pew Bibles.

I don’t know about you but I was praying that the Lord would take it easy on us this week, because I’ve been feeling a little beat up. We’ll see I guess.

Let’s look at those verses and we’ll jump right in.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. 

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Let’s pray.

Chapter nine began with Jesus sending out the Twelve, two by two, into the villages where Jesus had already been and chapter ten begins with Jesus sending the seventy-two, two by two, into the villages and towns where He hadn’t yet gone but was going to on His way to Jerusalem.

These seventy-two went out and returned and then there is no other mention of this group except maybe in Acts chapter one where they would have numbered a part of the 120 disciples that had followed Jesus from His baptism by John in the Jordan River.

This is important for us to be aware of because this group had no lasting special office in the church that was any different from any other disciples.

But here this group was given a special task by Jesus and there are some things we can learn from Jesus’ instructions to them.

The Twelve were sent out to gather what Jesus had sown. The seventy-two were sent out to till the ground in preparation for Him.

Riggenbach wrote that, “The seventy-two disciples are to be regarded as a net of love which the Lord threw out in Israel.”

Two different metaphors, to be sure, but beautiful pictures nonetheless.

Jesus stuck with the farming metaphor.

First Jesus tells them that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Here is something important for us to remember: Laborers pray for more laborers to labor alongside them. Spectators pray for laborers to do the work for them. Jesus says, “be laborers and pray for more laborers.” 

The fields were ripe for harvest, people were ready for the Good News but there weren’t enough people bringing it to them. This condition still exists today. Be a laborer and pray to the Lord of the harvest for more laborers.

In verse three Jesus tells them, “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”

Do you know what a lambs natural defense is? No, because it doesn’t have any. 

Ken Davis used to tell a story about growing up on a farm and having sheep. There was a particular sheep that he didn’t like for some reason so one day he thought he would jump out and scare the sheep as it walked by. So he hid around the corner of the barn and when the sheep approached him he jumped out and yelled, BOO!

Do you know what the sheep did? He died, that was his natural defense.

It’s funny but that exactly where we are without Jesus, totally powerless. He sent the seventy-two out with a reminder that they were completely powerless and they were being sent out in the midst of those who would devour them if given the chance.

And He sent them out in haste, they were to go to the villages and towns in a hurry, preach the kingdom of God, heal the sick, rely on the benevolence and hospitality of those who would listen, warn those who rejected their message, and then report back to Jesus.

4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 

Sodom was a city in the Old Testament that was known for its out of control sexual immorality and complete lack of even a single righteous person and along with the city of Gomorrah was completely destroyed y God with fire and brimstone from heaven.

I’ve actually visited the site and there is hardly anything there but brimstone. Archeologists have found evidence that the city burned both from the top down and the bottom up. It was completely consumed.

But Jesus says that it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Sodom than it will be for any town that rejects the gospel.

Jesus goes on to say, 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. 

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 

Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum were all towns around the Sea of Galilee that Jesus had done many mighty works and preached the Good News of the kingdom in but they rejected Him. Tyre and Sidon were pagan cities north of there on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea that had never heard the gospel and never claimed to know God.

But the measurement at judgment will be the same: did you accept or reject Jesus.

Jesus reminds us of this fact when the seventy-two returned.

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

I think that this is a warning to the church. Maybe you cast out some demons, maybe you healed some people, maybe you raised an good family, maybe you have a nice house, maybe you make a comfortable living, maybe you restarted a dying church and now its full, maybe you did lots of great things in your town or your church, but don’t rejoice in that stuff, that power didn’t come from you anyway, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

This is a warning.

JJ vanOosterzee wrote, “What anyone does is a very deceiving standard for the judgment of his inner worth, one may cast out devils and yet himself still be a child of darkness.”

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, my least favorite verses in the Bible.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

And Revelation 20:11-15,

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

And how can we know for sure, how do we get our names into the Lamb’s Book of Life, how can we be saved from that terrible fate described in Revelation?

Romans 10:8-13 says,

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

And to those who would be laborers sent out into the harvest:

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Those who call on the Name of the Lord will be saved, and those of us who are saved are also sent as laborers into the harvest, to preach the Good News and pray for more laborers.

Amen.

The Cost of Following Jesus - Luke 9:57-62 - June 11, 2023

 Luke 9:57-62 The Cost of Following Jesus

Good morning! Turn with me to Luke chapter nine. We are continuing our study in the Gospel of Luke with 9:57-62 and that’s on page 868 in the pew Bibles.

Over the last few weeks we have really been run through the ringer by Jesus along with the disciples so I commend you for coming back for more.

I want very much to preach on the many blessings and quiet and peaceful living that comes along with following Jesus but I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen today. In fact, if we’ve been run through the ringer so far, I’m afraid this morning we may get dragged through a knothole backwards.

But all this is for our good.

Let’s read Luke 9:57-62 and then we’ll pray.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Let’s pray.

Here we have three examples of those who would follow Jesus but each of them has, to put it politely, a concern. The truth is that they each have an excuse.

We have to remember that Jesus is dealing with three individuals here and He always deals with individuals individually but we can learn from the principles that He lays down here and with the help of the Holy Spirit apply them to our own lives.

I wonder if you remember the First Commandment. You shall have no others gods before me.

And I wonder if you recall what Jesus said was the Greatest Commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And in our catechism that we’ve been working through question nine asks us: What does God require in the first Commandment? That we know and trust God as the only true and Living God…

This is exactly what Jesus is dealing with in these three examples, what it looks like to put God first by following Jesus.

So let’s look at each one.

The first example is that of an excited and enthusiastic would be follower.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

In Matthew’s account of this interaction, in Matthew 8, he tells us that this man is a Scribe. This is important information for us so that we get a better understanding of Jesus’ response to his energetic offer to follow Jesus.

In the New Testament, Scribes were educated, leading men in society. They filled a number of roles in government as well as in the religious hierarchy of Israel. These were guys that were used to a certain standard of living, a standard that was pretty high.

So when this guy in his exuberance says, “I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Jesus fills him in a little as to what that might look like.

58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Is Jesus telling this guy that he can’t follow Him wherever He goes? No, but He is telling Him that following Him would come with a cost.

Jesus didn’t have a home with a nice soft memory foam bed with an orthopedic pillow. He lived a life of humble poverty as He travelled from place to place preaching and teaching about the kingdom. To follow Him meant that this Scribe would have to give up his comfortable lifestyle of high society and be willing to live as Jesus lived.

Following Jesus would come at a cost. For this guy it would come at that cost of his material wealth and possessions. He would have to give that up if he was to follow Jesus wherever He went.

Contrary to the opinion of some, following Jesus does not promise health and wealth but requires us to forsake all that stuff, to put it in its proper place in service to Jesus. Following Jesus does not promise ease but hardships and trouble.

John Calvin wrote about this example: “Let us therefore look upon ourselves as warned in this person, not to boast lightly and at ease, that we will be disciples of Christ, while we are taking no thought of the cross, or of afflictions; but, on the contrary, to consider early what sort of condition awaits us. The first lesson which He gives us, on entering His school, is to deny ourselves and take up His cross.”

That was fun, let’s look at the second example.

This time Jesus Himself calls a man to follow Him.

59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

There are lots of differing opinions on the actual state of this man’s father, whether he was actually dead or only really old and near death. I don’t think it’s really all that complicated considering Jesus’ response to the man’s excuse.

The man didn’t tell Jesus, “no, I won’t follow you,” he just asked if he could just take care of some important business first. Seems reasonable, doesn’t it?

Tradition was to bury the dead on the day they died. Jesus could very well have called this man straight out of the funeral procession and his response was, “just let me take care of my dad and I’ll be right with you.”

But Jesus says, 60 “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Let the physically dead be buried by the spiritually dead. This seems harsh but at the principle level Jesus is reminding us that our primary responsibility is to the kingdom of God not the kingdom of men or of the world.

He’s calling this man to make a courageous decision to leave behind his familial responsibilities in order to proclaim the kingdom.

JJ vanOosterzee wrote, “Duty to a handful of dust must now give way before duty towards mankind.”

That’s what the proclamation of the gospel really is, our duty towards mankind, so that they may know how to no longer be spiritually dead.

Again, John Calvin wrote about this example: “He intends only to show, that whatever withdraws us from the right course, or holds us back in it, deserves no other name than death. Those only live, He tells us, who devote all their thoughts, and every part of their life, to obedience to God; while those that do not rise above the world, who devote themselves to pleasing men, and forget God, are like dead men, who are idly and uselessly employed in taking care of the dead.”

This man that Jesus called could expect his relatives to balk at his leaving his father to be buried by others in order to follow Jesus, to leave behind what his family would consider his responsibilities to his extended family.

To follow Jesus with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, will most likely raise the ire of our families and those that we are close to if they don’t follow Jesus in the same way if at all. They may think that we take this “Jesus thing” way too seriously, or that we’ve turned into a religious fanatic.

Jesus says that that is the way of death, the way the spiritually dead think. We can’t let that be us nor stop us from following Jesus according to His Word.

In verse 61 a third man says he wants to follow Jesus.

61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Now we’ve had folks just put in a garden out here at the church building so this example should be really fresh for some of you. Nobody can rototill a straight line in the garden while looking over their shoulder behind them.

First Century plows were one handed implements that would have been attached to a yoke of oxen. Turning around and looking at the furrow you’ve just made would result in crooked furrows or even a flipped plow. This was a mark of a bad farmer, easily distracted with divided attention.

Following Jesus requires singular devotion.

This man, while professing in words that he would follow Jesus turned his back on Him until he had taken care of his worldly business.

I think Jesus is making a reference to the calling of Elisha in 1 Kings 19:19. While Elijah did allow Elisha to go kiss his mother and father goodbye, this man who said he wanted to follow Jesus was reluctant to separate and break from the world.

This man wanted to put his hand to the plow while looking back at his life, but Elisha burned the yokes and cooked the oxen then followed Elijah. That’s the kind of follower Jesus is looking for.

The simple principle in these three examples is that here is a cost to following Jesus, just like the heading says.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

No excuses. No compromise. No half-heartedness.

Burn the yokes. Cook the oxen. Follow Jesus.

Amen.

Grace for Failures - Luke 9:43-56 - June 4, 2023

 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.