Jesus Rebukes James and John on the Roadby CBPepper
9:56Luke 9:56
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
The Son of man came to save, preserve and recover human life, not to destroy it. He spoke this when a Samaritan village refused Him lodging on His way to Jerusalem, and James and John wanted to call down fire to consume them, but He pitied and rebuked their vengeful spirit and went with them to another village to bless those willing to receive Him. His heart overflows with love, pity and sympathy, He used His power only to bless and never to hurt, and He gave Himself wholly to restore God's moral image in fallen man. He never compels belief or forces His presence, and cruelty, persecution, imprisonment and killing for conscience or rejection are contrary to His spirit and come from Satan, not from Christ. His followers must therefore learn meekness, humility and love, forgiving without retaliation, correcting and reforming to save and not to ruin, and continuing His healing and life-saving work by simple means.
Context and Wording
The declaration is that the Son of man came to save, preserve, and recover human lives rather than to destroy them. It was uttered when a Samaritan village slighted Him and refused Him lodging and hospitality on His journey toward Jerusalem, and James and John, indignant at the rejection, wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume and punish the people. The refusal to hear Him and the inhospitality of the Samaritans drew from the disciples a desire for retribution that called forth His correction.
He looked upon the disciples with pity and rebuked their harsh, vengeful, and vindictive spirit. He did not retaliate for the disrespect or force His presence upon those unwilling to receive Him, nor did He withdraw His love, but went with them to another village to bless those willing to receive Him. Those who refused His presence in Samaria missed the blessing they could have received by welcoming Him.
The journey toward Jerusalem in this setting directs attention to His coming sacrifice as the sacrifice that brings salvation to the lost world. The saying belongs to His final instruction to His disciples before He is taken from them, to be studied to understand His work and reflect His light so they can remain in harmony with Him through coming trials and persecutions.
Mission to Save
The verse reveals a heart overflowing with love, pity and sympathy that are not repressed, teaching meekness, humility and love. Nearness to moral perfection makes sensibilities keener, perception of sin more acute, and sympathy for the afflicted deeper. He used His powers only to bless and never to hurt, and His words, His bearing and His work were full of divine tenderness. Nothing could disturb His absolute patience or rouse Him to vindictiveness, and He patiently endured the most contemptuous sneers, the bitterest criticism and the most marked hostility.
He never killed anyone. He gave Himself wholly to save people and to restore God's moral image in them, and His sacrifice shows Him to be a Saviour, not a destroyer. That saving work was planned in heaven to reshape broken, perverted human character and restore the moral image of God. It meant Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, taking humanity in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh and lift up man.
By living the law in humanity He testified to the unchangeable character of God's law, to stop every mouth and prove Satan an accuser and liar. In doing so He revealed God as full of mercy, compassion and inexpressible love, so that whoever believes in Christ as personal Saviour will be saved. His healing miracles testified to this saving purpose, for wherever He went His mercy brought health, life, joy and renewed ability. He used earthly blessings to prepare people and to lead them to receive the gospel of His grace.
His works were done to restore and heal, never to destroy, so the disciples recalled this verse when His curse on the fig tree and its withering seemed unlike His usual work as Restorer and Healer. His mission of mercy is joined with the warning of judgment and with God's justice. The parable of the barren fig tree illustrates this, for the tree that fails to bear fruit faces judgment and the warning that it may be cut down, yet is given time, care and a further opportunity of mercy.
Freedom From Force
Christ does not compel belief or force anyone to receive Him, and He does not force His presence on those who refuse Him but seeks to win them through mercy and love. His ministers are therefore to persuade and appeal rather than command or force, for He accepts only willing service and the voluntary surrender of the heart. When hospitality was refused, the missed blessing fell on those who would not welcome Him, while His followers were called to learn meekness, humility, and love rather than answer disrespect with violence.
The verse rebukes the desire to answer rejection, disrespect, or disagreement with punishment, harm, or destruction. It forbids a vindictive and overbearing spirit in dealing with others. Zeal for God must be tempered so that it does not express a harsh spirit that misrepresents His character, for a zeal that would call down fire and destroy lives must be corrected.
It forbids religious bigotry, persecution, oppression, disrespect, and revenge. Cruelty, torture, and murder are contrary to His spirit, whose love and sympathy stand in contrast to cruelty and coercion, and He does not condemn people to death for refusing to honor or accept Him. Consigning people to prison, rack, or death for refusing Him homage or for worshiping according to conscience does not reflect Him, whose life shows compassion for suffering people and readiness to relieve human pain. A power that persecutes and kills those who do not accept it manifests a spirit entirely different from His and cannot truly represent Him. He never killed anyone.
Persecution of people seeking liberty of conscience, and the desire to hurt or destroy those who reject one's work or disagree with one's ideas, come from the spirit of Satan, the deceiver and murderer, not from Christ. Every person belongs to God, Christ died to redeem all, and everyone who believes in Him is precious to His heart, for He identifies His interests with suffering humanity. Therefore harm done to another by words, actions, or conduct is counted in heaven as harm done to Him and as an offense against Himself, and bringing religious suffering on others is offensive to God. Those who would seek God's judgment on the disobedient must examine their own conduct and must not wish retribution on anyone who dishonors the truth.
Following His Spirit
To follow Him is to learn meekness, humility, and love instead of answering slight or disrespect with resentment, retaliation, or violence. Forgiveness replaces returning abuse, and jealousy, hurt pride, and self-interest are to be resisted. His followers rise above slights and supposed injustice, showing pity and sympathy even to those felt to have done injury, pardoning and being reconciled to a brother, and speaking only wise and gentle words. They are kind even to enemies, for His powers were used only to bless and never to hurt, His words, bearing, and work full of divine tenderness, with an absolute patience nothing could disturb and no vindictiveness aroused even by contemptuous sneers, bitter criticism, and marked hostility. Like John when corrected for wanting fire upon the inhospitable village, they are to be teachable and heed His instruction, accepting rebuke and learning from it.
With imperfect people they are to deal in His compassion, love, sympathy, and tenderness rather than hastily condemning them and ending their work. Harm is to be corrected without wounding the work or endangering souls. Reform and correction of others' habits are to be carried forward as a work to save and give a more secure foundation, not to ruin or destroy. Reformers are not destroyers but seek to save in kindness and love, drawing people through persuasion, patience, forbearance, and love, avoiding rudeness, bigotry, and domineering behavior and letting their own example support their teaching. Amid war and bloodshed they are not to imitate violence but to cooperate with God in the work of salvation.
That same life-saving work is to be done by the most simple means, by teaching families how to care for the sick, by reviving the hope of the gospel in men and women, and by drawing them to Christ as the great Healer. Physical healing is His best way to reach the sick and afflicted and draw them to Himself, and being cured of bodily suffering leads many to eternal life. It includes giving comfort, sympathy, and a helping hand to the poor who will never recover themselves without help. Physicians are to work intelligently by rational methods and not with drugs, and then by the prayer of faith to draw upon God's power to stay the progress of disease. This inspires belief in Christ and in the power of prayer and gives confidence in simple methods of treating disease, and so directs minds to the truth and is of great efficiency in gospel ministry.
The physician's work of relieving suffering and rescuing life reflects His purpose and must be done with reliance on Christ, who steadies and guides the physician. In the sickroom physicians and nurses are to reflect through words and actions that God is present to save rather than destroy. Ministers of the gospel are to come into close connection with Him as the divine Healer whose purpose is to rescue life and walk in His footsteps. They are to proclaim the message for this time in all large cities under the influence and leading of the Holy Spirit, uniting prayer and the healing of the sick with teaching soul-saving truths, so that healing accompanies and confirms evangelistic work with convincing power as it did the labors of Christ and His apostles.
The destruction of the Review and Herald office and the earlier destruction of the Battle Creek Sanitarium are corrective appeals from God. The workers' lives were preserved, defended, and spared so they could recognize the warning, repent, be converted, and return to Him. In this sparing of life while property was lost, He shows that He seeks to save life, not destroy it.
The Son of man came to save, preserve and recover human life, not to destroy it. He spoke this when a Samaritan village refused Him lodging on His way to Jerusalem, and James and John wanted to call down fire to consume them, but He pitied and rebuked their vengeful spirit and went with them to another village to bless those willing to receive Him. His heart overflows with love, pity and sympathy, He used His power only to bless and never to hurt, and He gave Himself wholly to restore God's moral image in fallen man. He never compels belief or forces His presence, and cruelty, persecution, imprisonment and killing for conscience or rejection are contrary to His spirit and come from Satan, not from Christ. His followers must therefore learn meekness, humility and love, forgiving without retaliation, correcting and reforming to save and not to ruin, and continuing His healing and life-saving work by simple means.
Context and Wording
The declaration is that the Son of man came to save, preserve, and recover human lives rather than to destroy them. It was uttered when a Samaritan village slighted Him and refused Him lodging and hospitality on His journey toward Jerusalem, and James and John, indignant at the rejection, wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume and punish the people. The refusal to hear Him and the inhospitality of the Samaritans drew from the disciples a desire for retribution that called forth His correction.
He looked upon the disciples with pity and rebuked their harsh, vengeful, and vindictive spirit. He did not retaliate for the disrespect or force His presence upon those unwilling to receive Him, nor did He withdraw His love, but went with them to another village to bless those willing to receive Him. Those who refused His presence in Samaria missed the blessing they could have received by welcoming Him.
The journey toward Jerusalem in this setting directs attention to His coming sacrifice as the sacrifice that brings salvation to the lost world. The saying belongs to His final instruction to His disciples before He is taken from them, to be studied to understand His work and reflect His light so they can remain in harmony with Him through coming trials and persecutions.
Mission to Save
The verse reveals a heart overflowing with love, pity and sympathy that are not repressed, teaching meekness, humility and love. Nearness to moral perfection makes sensibilities keener, perception of sin more acute, and sympathy for the afflicted deeper. He used His powers only to bless and never to hurt, and His words, His bearing and His work were full of divine tenderness. Nothing could disturb His absolute patience or rouse Him to vindictiveness, and He patiently endured the most contemptuous sneers, the bitterest criticism and the most marked hostility.
He never killed anyone. He gave Himself wholly to save people and to restore God's moral image in them, and His sacrifice shows Him to be a Saviour, not a destroyer. That saving work was planned in heaven to reshape broken, perverted human character and restore the moral image of God. It meant Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, taking humanity in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh and lift up man.
By living the law in humanity He testified to the unchangeable character of God's law, to stop every mouth and prove Satan an accuser and liar. In doing so He revealed God as full of mercy, compassion and inexpressible love, so that whoever believes in Christ as personal Saviour will be saved. His healing miracles testified to this saving purpose, for wherever He went His mercy brought health, life, joy and renewed ability. He used earthly blessings to prepare people and to lead them to receive the gospel of His grace.
His works were done to restore and heal, never to destroy, so the disciples recalled this verse when His curse on the fig tree and its withering seemed unlike His usual work as Restorer and Healer. His mission of mercy is joined with the warning of judgment and with God's justice. The parable of the barren fig tree illustrates this, for the tree that fails to bear fruit faces judgment and the warning that it may be cut down, yet is given time, care and a further opportunity of mercy.
Freedom From Force
Christ does not compel belief or force anyone to receive Him, and He does not force His presence on those who refuse Him but seeks to win them through mercy and love. His ministers are therefore to persuade and appeal rather than command or force, for He accepts only willing service and the voluntary surrender of the heart. When hospitality was refused, the missed blessing fell on those who would not welcome Him, while His followers were called to learn meekness, humility, and love rather than answer disrespect with violence.
The verse rebukes the desire to answer rejection, disrespect, or disagreement with punishment, harm, or destruction. It forbids a vindictive and overbearing spirit in dealing with others. Zeal for God must be tempered so that it does not express a harsh spirit that misrepresents His character, for a zeal that would call down fire and destroy lives must be corrected.
It forbids religious bigotry, persecution, oppression, disrespect, and revenge. Cruelty, torture, and murder are contrary to His spirit, whose love and sympathy stand in contrast to cruelty and coercion, and He does not condemn people to death for refusing to honor or accept Him. Consigning people to prison, rack, or death for refusing Him homage or for worshiping according to conscience does not reflect Him, whose life shows compassion for suffering people and readiness to relieve human pain. A power that persecutes and kills those who do not accept it manifests a spirit entirely different from His and cannot truly represent Him. He never killed anyone.
Persecution of people seeking liberty of conscience, and the desire to hurt or destroy those who reject one's work or disagree with one's ideas, come from the spirit of Satan, the deceiver and murderer, not from Christ. Every person belongs to God, Christ died to redeem all, and everyone who believes in Him is precious to His heart, for He identifies His interests with suffering humanity. Therefore harm done to another by words, actions, or conduct is counted in heaven as harm done to Him and as an offense against Himself, and bringing religious suffering on others is offensive to God. Those who would seek God's judgment on the disobedient must examine their own conduct and must not wish retribution on anyone who dishonors the truth.
Following His Spirit
To follow Him is to learn meekness, humility, and love instead of answering slight or disrespect with resentment, retaliation, or violence. Forgiveness replaces returning abuse, and jealousy, hurt pride, and self-interest are to be resisted. His followers rise above slights and supposed injustice, showing pity and sympathy even to those felt to have done injury, pardoning and being reconciled to a brother, and speaking only wise and gentle words. They are kind even to enemies, for His powers were used only to bless and never to hurt, His words, bearing, and work full of divine tenderness, with an absolute patience nothing could disturb and no vindictiveness aroused even by contemptuous sneers, bitter criticism, and marked hostility. Like John when corrected for wanting fire upon the inhospitable village, they are to be teachable and heed His instruction, accepting rebuke and learning from it.
With imperfect people they are to deal in His compassion, love, sympathy, and tenderness rather than hastily condemning them and ending their work. Harm is to be corrected without wounding the work or endangering souls. Reform and correction of others' habits are to be carried forward as a work to save and give a more secure foundation, not to ruin or destroy. Reformers are not destroyers but seek to save in kindness and love, drawing people through persuasion, patience, forbearance, and love, avoiding rudeness, bigotry, and domineering behavior and letting their own example support their teaching. Amid war and bloodshed they are not to imitate violence but to cooperate with God in the work of salvation.
That same life-saving work is to be done by the most simple means, by teaching families how to care for the sick, by reviving the hope of the gospel in men and women, and by drawing them to Christ as the great Healer. Physical healing is His best way to reach the sick and afflicted and draw them to Himself, and being cured of bodily suffering leads many to eternal life. It includes giving comfort, sympathy, and a helping hand to the poor who will never recover themselves without help. Physicians are to work intelligently by rational methods and not with drugs, and then by the prayer of faith to draw upon God's power to stay the progress of disease. This inspires belief in Christ and in the power of prayer and gives confidence in simple methods of treating disease, and so directs minds to the truth and is of great efficiency in gospel ministry.
The physician's work of relieving suffering and rescuing life reflects His purpose and must be done with reliance on Christ, who steadies and guides the physician. In the sickroom physicians and nurses are to reflect through words and actions that God is present to save rather than destroy. Ministers of the gospel are to come into close connection with Him as the divine Healer whose purpose is to rescue life and walk in His footsteps. They are to proclaim the message for this time in all large cities under the influence and leading of the Holy Spirit, uniting prayer and the healing of the sick with teaching soul-saving truths, so that healing accompanies and confirms evangelistic work with convincing power as it did the labors of Christ and His apostles.
The destruction of the Review and Herald office and the earlier destruction of the Battle Creek Sanitarium are corrective appeals from God. The workers' lives were preserved, defended, and spared so they could recognize the warning, repent, be converted, and return to Him. In this sparing of life while property was lost, He shows that He seeks to save life, not destroy it.