City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

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.

Luke 9:51–56

Reflection

One of the most significant things about this story is that we are even reading it. Jesus performed no miracle. He didn’t heal anyone. He didn’t cast out any demons. The story has no bearing on Jesus’ sacrificial death or triumphant resurrection.

It doesn’t seem like the kind of story one would remember and keep retelling until it found its way to Luke, who apparently also found it worthy of recording. Unless, that is, the remarkable part was Jesus not doing a miracle. 

We have the benefit of reading this story in hindsight. We read of the response to this Samaritan slight of Jesus and we say, “Oh, yes. The Sons of Thunder overreacted by wanting to call fire down from heaven to destroy a village.” That’s not what Jesus is about. It’s like mocking those in the past who promoted smoking as beneficial for your health. At the time, the research wasn’t developed enough to show the true effects of smoking, plus tobacco companies funded misleading research. Today we know better because of the vast amount of data available for researchers to draw correct conclusions.

What James and John asked of Jesus would have appeared a reasonable, bold, and Biblically-based response to a village that had publicly snubbed the Messiah. James and John didn’t come up with the idea of calling fire from heaven. They got it from 2 Kings 1, which records the story of King Ahaziah, King of Israel, ruling from Samaria.

Ahaziah turned from God to worship the pagan god, Baal-zebub. Ahaziah had sent men to inquire of Baal-zebub to see if he would recover from his sickness. On their way, Elijah intercepted them and gave a prophecy that Ahaziah would not recover. Then King Ahaziah sent fifty men and their captain to confront Elijah to challenge Elijah’s prophecy about his impending death. Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed Ahaziah’s men, thereby confirming Elijah was a man of God. See 2 Kings 1:1-10.

Here, Ahaziah’s descendants in Samaria had rejected the true man of God- Jesus. Calling down fire from heaven would have been great evidence for everyone there to see that this Samaritan village was making the same error of Ahaziah in rejecting Jesus. What better way for them to see Jesus was who He said He was? 

In addition, James and John were demonstrating their faith that Jesus was who He said He was and that He had the power to permit them to call fire down from heaven. Their faith certainly surpassed that of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. In short, there is much to be commended in what James and John suggested to Jesus.

Application

What is remarkable about this story, then, is that Jesus didn’t allow James and John to call fire down from heaven and what that revealed about Jesus’ character. It was Jesus’ restraint in not using His power that revealed so much of His personality.

Shocking. Surprising. Intriguing enough that the disciples continued to tell the story to listeners who were probably equally astonished at this person, Jesus, who could be so powerful and yet so careful and merciful in the exercise of that power.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for revealing Yourself to us, so we can know You. Amen.