Jesus, knowing that it was almost time for Him to ascend back to heaven, He decided to set out for Jerusalem. So He sent some of His disciples ahead of Him to Samaria to prepare for Him a place (probably for the last supper). But the people of Samaria didin’t want to welcome Jesus (this is according to Luke’s account – Luke 9).
Being very upset with the Samaritan’s response, James and John suggested that Jesus would get even with those stubborn Samaritans.
Their suggestion was:
“Jesus, just like Elias, allow us to call down fire from heaven so we would wipe out these bad people from the face of this earth.” (My own paraphrasing of Luke 9:54)
If this doesn’t make you laugh or smile, I don’t know what will!
I mean, think about it for a second. Jesus came to save these very people but here they are, James and John, advising Jesus to get rid of them.
And get this: James and John, along with Peter, were the same James and John Jesus took with Him to the mountain and had them see the transfiguration. So, at this point, they had a pretty good idea as to who Jesus was. They knew that He was the Messiah but I wonder if they knew Him as the Lamb of God who came down from heaven to die on the cross for sinners, stubborn people like those Samaritans. Needless to say that Jesus had come down to save James and John too.
Just like James and John, some of us may not struggle to see Jesus as God, as the Son of God, but do we see Him as our Savior, not only a Savior of us from hell but also a Savior of us in our day-to-day lives, constantly and relentlessly saving us from our sick, wicked and cooked ways and leading us to life through the Holy Spirit?
Not seeing Jesus Christ as a Savior may make us judgmental, prideful, boastful and phony disciples of Jesus Christ.
You see, it is good, actually excellent to know Jesus as one of the Trinity, as the Son of God because He is; but unless we also know Jesus Christ as a Savior of sinners, it would be very tough for us to genuinely and lovingly follow Him.
Since we deal with sin on a daily basis, we need a close Friend, an Ally, a Savior like Jesus Christ who empathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrew 4:15), fights for and with us on a daily basis against our sin nature, Satan and this dark world and gives us victory over them all. Yes, Jesus is also with us to pick us up when we stumble and fall and run back to Him. May His name be praised forever!
How wonderful it is to follow the Victor of sin and death! How wonderful it is to know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us! (Romans 8:37)
Oh James & John! They blew it up, didn’t they?
If it wasn’t for Jesus, James and John would have made us all history; not only us but them too because “There is no one righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10) ///