When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And 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?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village. (Luke 9:51-56 ESV)
One of the many lessons to be learned from this paragraph can only be understood in the flow of things Luke has recorded for us. Less than a chapter ago, Jesus had taught his disciples how to deal with those who would not receive them. Dust off their feet and move on. Yet now, his disciples want to go further than He commanded. They were obviously frustrated: they had not been able to heal the demon-possessed boy without Jesus around; others could do things they could; now, they can throw their weight around because Jesus was there, and He says "NO." How prone we are to go beyond what Jesus has told us, to think we understand the "spirit" of what He says, and add our two cents worth. How much we want to prove we are more "special" compared to others, ignoring the fact that He has already shown us how special we are. Let's really listen to Him.
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