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Luke 9:54

⁵⁴And 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?"

Upon Jesus' final trip into Jerusalem, the disciples went ahead to prepare towns to greet Jesus. The Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because He was going to Jerusalem. They believed Mount Gerizim was the proper place to worship. James and John had recently seen Jesus transfigured and interpreted that to mean Jesus was soon going to set up an earthly kingdom. They suggested that they call fire down from heaven to consume the Samaritans.

Jesus rebuked His disciples. Some later manuscripts add that Jesus told the brothers that they did not know of what manner of spirit they were. Jesus had not come to destroy lives but to save lives. We can't be sure that addition is authentic, but it has a ring of truth to it. Jesus was on His way to die for sin. Samaria would experience a great revival, and John would see them receive a different fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-15).

This gives us an example of the previous devotional. Many of the Samaritans had received Jesus (John 4:42). They still did not like the fact that He was going to Jerusalem and did not welcome Him at that time because of their disagreement over a doctrinal issue. They didn't try to convert the disciples to their way of thinking. There was hope for them that we see fulfilled in the book of Acts. Be slow to jump to judgment. Jesus would rather save lives than see them destroyed. Your patience today may provide an opportunity in the future.

Consider: When we condemn others for their minor doctrinal differences, we are of the same spirit as James and John. The Spirit of Jesus would have us be patient and watch for opportunities to share the good news more fully in His perfect time.