51 And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh 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 were_ going to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples
James and John saw _this_, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid
fire to come down from heaven, and consume them? 55 But he turned,
and rebuked them. 56 And they went to another village.
The record of the last journeys of our Lord toward Jerusalem forms a
unique feature in the Gospel of Luke. In the other Gospels some of these
incidents are included but they occupy only one or two chapters; here,
however, they fill ten chapters with events most of which are no where
else related.
The direction of the journeying was first eastward through the borders of
Galilee and Samaria, then across the Jordan and then southward through the
region of Perea. This region is not so designated in the Bible but is
described by the phrase, “beyond the Jordan,” and as most of these
incidents occurred there, this period of the life of Jesus is commonly
called his “Perean ministry.” Luke here emphasizes the divine prevision
and at the same time the human courage of our Lord. He indicates that
Jesus saw plainly his coming death and also his glorious ascension, but
that he unfalteringly moved forward to the intervening agonies of the
cross.
The first incident of these journeys was in a village of the Samaritans.
Certain messengers had gone before to prepare entertainment for the large
company which followed Jesus, but the Samaritans would not receive him;
then his disciples, James and John, suggested that they should “bid fire
to come down from heaven and consume them.” There was something admirable
in the indignation of these disciples. The Samaritans were moved by a
narrow and provincial prejudice and they were offering to Jesus a
gratuitous insult. It sometimes seems that the genius for indignation has
disappeared, and it is refreshing to see men who feel deeply any
disrespect to Christ, any injury to his cause.
But Jesus rebuked his disciples, “And they went to another village.” There
may be place for righteous indignation, but there is no place among the
followers of Christ for anger, for intolerance, or for revenge. This is
not a time of judgment, but of grace. It is not for us to attempt to
administer vengeance, but to preach the gospel of love.