Luke 9:53-56
We all have a strong sense of justice, whether we realise it or not. It's not something that is normally evident every day, as most of us do not have the energy to make a stand against every injustice around us; that would just be exhausting. But, somewhere deep inside there is anger that burns when we come across something that just isn't fair. Most of the time it erupts because of something that has happened to us. Someone cuts us off on the road, or pushes in front of us in the coffee line, or we get overcharged or undervalued. This brings out our true sense of what is right and a desire to see justice be done. It can also come about when someone we care about is wronged or treated badly. We react out of instinct to protect them, which is not a bad thing, but often the reaction can cause more damage which compounds the original problem.
The disciples were jumpy. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem with great intention, He had been performing amazing miracles and healing people and now they were on their way to the one place where Jesus would be recognised for who He really was, or so they thought. On their way, to save time they passed through Samaria and the people of a local town refuse to let Jesus enter, all because of the rift between Jews and Samaritans. Couldn't they recognise that Jesus was good for everyone? Couldn't they understand what He was going to do? For James and John this was too much, they could not stand by and let these people disrespect 'God's Messiah' (Luke 9:20). Their sense of justice bursts through with the most dramatic question "should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?" (NLT). It's unclear which brother actually puts the question to Jesus but His response was most definitely to both of them. Some versions of the Bible include dialogue from Jesus but most just state that Jesus 'turned and rebuked them'. I wonder what it was like to be on the end of a rebuke from Jesus...probably it would be one of the most humbling experiences possible because as He spoke His words would have been laced with the Holy Spirit reminding James and John about their shortcomings. I guess we have all experienced that at some time or another, if we are honest with ourselves. But a rebuke from Jesus is also filled with grace. Jesus didn't need James and John to call down fire from heaven on His behalf, He could have done that Himself, but He chose to overlook the Samaritans' snub and the self righteousness of James and John. He chose not to act to right the wrongs of this village, because, let's face it, if He started then and there, where would He finish? How many times would He have to call down fire from heaven? Not too long after this discussion every single disciple snubbed Jesus and left Him all alone to face the most inhumane torture and death. Jesus would have known this was coming, but yet He doesn't take it out on them when James and John attempt to protect His honour on this occasion. He just sets them straight "...the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:56 NASB) and then they simply "went to another village". Jesus never held a grudge, nor did He seek to set right the injustices that were done to Him, His only concern was to see the Father's will be done (Luke 22:42) and it cost Him everything in this life, but He knew that God had it all in hand. The Father would see that justice was done. Sure, it is vital that we stand up for what we believe in and speak out against what is evil, but when it comes to calling down fire from heaven, that's best left up to God, lest we end up calling down the fire on to ourselves.
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