Episode Transcript
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Josh.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: And I'm Gabriel.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: And today, on reading the Gospel, we're studying the event. A village rejects Jesus.
We're going to be reading from two Gospels today.
Gabriel will read from Matthew, chapter 19, verse one and two, and I will be reading from Luke, chapter nine, verse 51 through 56. So follow along with us as we begin in Matthew 19.
[00:00:51] Speaker B: Now, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: Luke, chapter nine, verse 51. When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And when 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 towards 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.
So Jesus is heading down towards Jerusalem. He's starting this journey, and Mark tells us he's teaching along the way, the crowds are coming. He's teaching. Matthew tells us he's healing. So this is typical Jesus, right?
And he's coming into this village, and this village rejects him. Why does this village reject him?
[00:02:12] Speaker B: It seems that this was a Samaritan village, and they had their own worship system. They had their own temple on Mount Garizim, and they saw Jerusalem not only as a fair competition, but as a threat, as a threat to their national identity, which was built about their religious system.
So this is a typical story when we see someone doing something different than what we do or when we reject someone because they might be a threat to us.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: And so we have this happening in our lives today, right. And again, we think that we are on the right path, that we have truth, that we're doing what's right, and we look around at everyone else and say, they're in the wrong. And even we have JAmes and John doing this, looking around and saying, these guys are in the wrong.
Lord, command us, and we'll call fire down from heaven to consume them.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: So it was a little bit justified, that behavior. I'm going to be that guy's advocate, right? Yeah.
Because Jesus Christ taught that multitude. And for sure, those teachings were spread in nearby villages. And also Jesus Christ healed the sick in the multitude. And news about healings were spread in nearby villages. So this village was exposed to the divine healing and teaching power of Jesus Christ. And they still rejected Jesus Christ from James and John, the sons of the thunder. It was too much in their mind. They crossed the line and they should be removed from among the living.
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Yeah, but Jesus doesn't do that.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Doesn't do that. So James and John do what sometimes we do today. We are not happy with someone. We see a bad behavior and we yell at that person, you go to hell.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Yeah. And in that way, we are almost standing in place of Christ. Right?
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's very interesting. The same John who seems to learn the lesson after being rebuked by Jesus Christ. By the way, the gospel uses this harsh word, rebuking when Jesus Christ rebuked Satan in that conversation with Peter, because the disciples appropriated to themselves what belongs to Christ. In John chapter Five, it says that all the judgment was given to Christ. And Christ multiple times said that he did not come to execute that prerogative at his first coming, but that will be executed at the second Coming. And here we have someone who offers themselves to be a substitute for Christ, like a substitute teacher. And later the same John, in his first letter before the Book of Revelation, says that whoever is or wants to be in the place of Christ, that is called Antichrist. Antichrist, coming from Greek, anti doesn't mean primarily to be against, but primarily to be in place of. To substitute.
So when we say to someone, you go to hell, we take something which was given to Christ alone, that office of judgment, and we become one of those AntiChrists. Because John talks about Antichrist in plural. Yeah.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: And Matthew also talks about at the end times that there will be those claiming to be Christ standing up and making that claim. And, yeah, we need to be very careful about the eternal consequences of our actions. We never know what will either draw people closer to God or what will drive people away. And when we stand up and we speak with a thus saith the Lord and condemn people, we need to make sure that that is actually coming from God and not just our own perspective and own prerogative. Otherwise, we find ourselves in that position of Antichrist standing in place of Christ. And that's a scary, dangerous place to be.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: And even if those words come from Christ and from the Bible, they should be always wrapped in love and should be used only appropriately at the right time as prompted by the Holy Spirit.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: And I'm always taken back to the parable of the debtors. The one who owed a little and he wasn't forgiven, the one who owed much was forgiven by the king. And then he goes out and tries to collect a debt from a little. And if I want God to offer me grace, I need to offer that grace to others. If I want God to be light on me in judgment, I need to be merciful and gracious to others around me. And I think this is the principle that we get.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like that old gospel song, I am a sinner saved by grace. Yeah. We have to have that perspective all the time.
And by the way, we may not send people to hell, but we might block people's access to heaven.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: I like to repeat this. We may not use those words to send people to hell, but by our actions and attitude, or neutrality, or lack of initiative or fear of sharing the good news that has transformed our life, we might be blocking some people's access to heaven.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: So what does this story tell us about God?
As I look, this story, verse 55, it says, but he turned and rebuked them and went on to another village.
I assume they'rebuking them is to James and John. Yes, they're wanting to call down punishment for this slight against God. These people have rejected Jesus and they're wanting them to face the consequences. But Jesus rebukes them for doing that.
He doesn't force himself. He doesn't say, you have to take me in. He goes to another village.
And God never forces us. God is always willing. But if we reject him, God gives us that opportunity, the ability to reject him. And I think this is what this passage is sharing with me about God, is that he does give us the freedom to reject if we choose.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: For me, I connect this story, what John and James said, it's a direct reference to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. So that was brought back to my mind when indeed God executed a judgment in history. Before the end of history a couple of times, right? God did that, but the Lord himself, together with two angels, they went to talk not only to Abraham, but to be eyewitness, practically to investigate the reality in Sodom and Gomorrah.
They spend a night there, they try to talk to people. Even before that, God intentionally placed Lot and his family in Sodom to be a light for that very spiritually dark world.
And I think what I learned about God is God always goes the extra mile to reveal himself, to share the good news about him, to invite us. Come to me and I will give the rest.
If there are a couple of moments of judgment in history, it is after God exhausted all other means of communicating his message, his will, and attracting people to himself. And even those events are just a few. It's the flood, the Sodom and Gomorrah is destruction of know, Anania and sapphire in the New Testament, and those events belong to God.
We should never think about executing a judgment in history. It is not given to us all. The judgment was given to Jesus Christ.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: How is this passage speaking to you today? And what are you going to do about it?
[00:11:43] Speaker B: On one side, I learned the lesson that I should never yell at anyone, you go to hell. I should never even think about that in my own mind.
And I should go even one step further.
I pray that I will not be a stumbling block for someone who is searching for truth. Would like to know more light about God's character. I should never block someone's entrance into heaven.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
As I look at this, I'm putting myself in the village of the Samaritans. The way this is speaking to me today is how am I opening or closing myself to different opinions that come in, to different concepts, to different beliefs?
When someone comes and they're not like me, how am I treating them? Am I rejecting them for the message, or am I treating them like a child of God?
In our life, we have opinions, and there are people with other opinions.
Would you allow someone to eat a meal at your table who doesn't have the right president's flag in their yard, or whatever the case may be, goes for the other sports team.
We're in Chicago, and we have the bears here, the football team. But if someone came with a Green Bay or a Detroit or a Vikings jersey and wanted to come, would you let them eat at your table?
And I think this is what's speaking to me, is what barriers am I putting up because of my own prejudice to ministering to people and accepting people for who they are?
[00:13:39] Speaker B: Beautiful. I like to just add one more aspect of this story.
We don't know God's intention with a specific person or groups of people.
If you have time, please read in the Book of Job, Chapter 33, starting with verse 19, when the Bible talks about rebuking a person, it is the work of God, not of John or James or their contemporaries today.
And in verse 29 says, behold, God does these things twice or three times with a man to bring back his soul from the pit that he may be lighted and with the light of life. And this two or three is the minimum, because in the New Testament, in the Gospel, Jesus Christ told Peter that he has to go not only two or three times, but 70 times seven.
The love of God is infinite. And we should never think that God's love has limits, and we should not set limits to the love of God.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Amen. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you that your love is limitless.
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: And I pray that as we present you to our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, strangers, that we won't present a God who has limited abilities.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: That we won't present you in a way that tears others down. That we won't be Antichrist standing in the way of the work that you want to do.
Father, I pray that you will open our minds. Open our eyes to be willing to accept differences around us. May we always be led by you. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
