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Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
- Luke 9:51-62
On Saturday, we read that it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain (of the Transfiguration), that a great multitude met Him. Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great." Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."
Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. We must remember where we are, exactly, in Jesus' ministry. He's revealed twice now to His disciples that He will suffer at the hands of the leadership in Jerusalem, and be killed, and on the third day rise. It seems that, in yesterday's reading, He was preparing the disciples to become the leaders of His Church that He will require after His ascension to the Father. Here is another example of preparation of these men. They do not know what manner of spirit they are of. His Kingdom isn't going to be ruled by a "worldly" sort of power, the manipulative power of destruction that signals a king capable of powerful warfare. Their emphasis will be to save. And so, they walk on, to another village that will perhaps be more receptive to the good news of the Kingdom, the gospel. The event referred to in which Elijah commanded fire to come down from heaven is to be found in 2 Kings 1:12.
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." My study bible notes here that there is a cost to discipleship. Jesus reveals three of them: (1) a disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security -- if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will the disciple. (2) Nothing -- and that means not even the honor that is due to parents -- can be an obstacle to serving the Lord. (3) A disciple can't delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands. We note that when Christ's commands are met with resistance in His followers, His response is to teach, to instruct.
Again Jesus' encounters serve to boost the faith of the disciples, or rather to teach them what kind of faith is going to be required of them as leaders of His Church. Each encounter serves as a signpost, a lesson, a kind of emphasis on what sort of men (and women, we remember, are also a part of this ministry) are required for this service, the spreading of the word of the Kingdom. Our security is in the serving of the Lord, and nothing else, as my study bible notes, can take away this top priority before all things. Christ Himself has no home; this king is far from a luxurious castle or landholdings, properties, goods, trade, military conquests. His is a different life, committed to a different sort of kingdom, one that is not seen but nevertheless known and built by faith. And it's that rock of faith that He's building up, that unbreakable bond between Lord and disciple, built on faith. And that's why nothing should get in the way of this bond, and everything must serve it: it's the root of all else to come, the confidence we build up in our lives, the one unshakeable thing. And this is what He wants from us, a kind of commitment that doesn't let anything else get in the way -- even a commitment in which there are no second thoughts, no hesitation after "putting one's hand to the plow." It reminds us of the story of Lot's wife, who "looked back" to her old life, and was turned into a pillar of salt. We could extrapolate from this example, and what it means to be a "pillar of salt," something lacking all moisture, the living water of the Spirit that we are truly "of." Jesus elaborates, in today's reading, what manner of spirit we are to be of: prepared, quick to respond to the commands of this Spirit and this Kingdom, fully in and committed, putting nothing else -- not even a memory of the past -- between us and our commitment to God and to the future He brings into the world, the life of the Kingdom. This may sound terribly harsh, but we remember what manner of spirit we are of -- this is the work of saving, not destroying. This is the work of the One who is love, who teaches love, who builds up a kingdom of peace. That's what we learn and where our faith must take us. As in the example of today's reading, it's not that kind of fire that destroys, but a kind of fire that saves that this Spirit will bring into the world, like the example of the bush that didn't burn when fire appeared to Moses. This is a spirit of fire that burns with love, that purifies in order to save. That is the fire in which we participate as those who live with faith in Him, His mission, His kingdom. It gives us strength, urgency, a confidence in which we serve that which burns in our hearts. Let us remember His words and His teachings, and what manner of spirit we are of.
Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. We must remember where we are, exactly, in Jesus' ministry. He's revealed twice now to His disciples that He will suffer at the hands of the leadership in Jerusalem, and be killed, and on the third day rise. It seems that, in yesterday's reading, He was preparing the disciples to become the leaders of His Church that He will require after His ascension to the Father. Here is another example of preparation of these men. They do not know what manner of spirit they are of. His Kingdom isn't going to be ruled by a "worldly" sort of power, the manipulative power of destruction that signals a king capable of powerful warfare. Their emphasis will be to save. And so, they walk on, to another village that will perhaps be more receptive to the good news of the Kingdom, the gospel. The event referred to in which Elijah commanded fire to come down from heaven is to be found in 2 Kings 1:12.
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." My study bible notes here that there is a cost to discipleship. Jesus reveals three of them: (1) a disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security -- if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will the disciple. (2) Nothing -- and that means not even the honor that is due to parents -- can be an obstacle to serving the Lord. (3) A disciple can't delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands. We note that when Christ's commands are met with resistance in His followers, His response is to teach, to instruct.
Again Jesus' encounters serve to boost the faith of the disciples, or rather to teach them what kind of faith is going to be required of them as leaders of His Church. Each encounter serves as a signpost, a lesson, a kind of emphasis on what sort of men (and women, we remember, are also a part of this ministry) are required for this service, the spreading of the word of the Kingdom. Our security is in the serving of the Lord, and nothing else, as my study bible notes, can take away this top priority before all things. Christ Himself has no home; this king is far from a luxurious castle or landholdings, properties, goods, trade, military conquests. His is a different life, committed to a different sort of kingdom, one that is not seen but nevertheless known and built by faith. And it's that rock of faith that He's building up, that unbreakable bond between Lord and disciple, built on faith. And that's why nothing should get in the way of this bond, and everything must serve it: it's the root of all else to come, the confidence we build up in our lives, the one unshakeable thing. And this is what He wants from us, a kind of commitment that doesn't let anything else get in the way -- even a commitment in which there are no second thoughts, no hesitation after "putting one's hand to the plow." It reminds us of the story of Lot's wife, who "looked back" to her old life, and was turned into a pillar of salt. We could extrapolate from this example, and what it means to be a "pillar of salt," something lacking all moisture, the living water of the Spirit that we are truly "of." Jesus elaborates, in today's reading, what manner of spirit we are to be of: prepared, quick to respond to the commands of this Spirit and this Kingdom, fully in and committed, putting nothing else -- not even a memory of the past -- between us and our commitment to God and to the future He brings into the world, the life of the Kingdom. This may sound terribly harsh, but we remember what manner of spirit we are of -- this is the work of saving, not destroying. This is the work of the One who is love, who teaches love, who builds up a kingdom of peace. That's what we learn and where our faith must take us. As in the example of today's reading, it's not that kind of fire that destroys, but a kind of fire that saves that this Spirit will bring into the world, like the example of the bush that didn't burn when fire appeared to Moses. This is a spirit of fire that burns with love, that purifies in order to save. That is the fire in which we participate as those who live with faith in Him, His mission, His kingdom. It gives us strength, urgency, a confidence in which we serve that which burns in our hearts. Let us remember His words and His teachings, and what manner of spirit we are of.
