"But
he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are
of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
And they went to another village."
{Luke 9:55,56} (KJV)
Please note I used the KJV
instead of the NIV. The NASB and NKJV agree with the KJV, the ESV and NIV add
the detail of the rebuke as a text note. This discrepancy is caused by the
translators’ use of different ancient manuscripts.
Our Lord’s
earthly ministry is over and He turns His face towards the cross. His three years
of pouring into His disciples is coming to an end. The two disciples that Jesus
aptly nicknamed the sons of thunder (Mk 3:17), ask if they should use their
faith to call destruction from heaven down upon these people who refuse to help
them. He rebukes them!
The mistake that the disciples made, is repeated over
and over again by disciples of Christ throughout all the generations of
Christians, including ours. We forget that Jesus came to save. We forget His
purpose is to save. We forget that this is the Day of Salvation. John reminds
us in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” But
we still forget.
Friend, may we accept the rebuke of our Lord this day. If we
have a condemning attitude towards people, if we think in our hearts that the
world would be a better place if some people were wiped off the earth, then,
friend, we have a different spirit controlling us then the spirit of Christ.
May God forgive us, and change our hearts and eyes, so that we see people as
our Lord sees people! People whom our Lord loves - people who need salvation!
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