Read Luke 9:51–56 James and John the sons of thunder wanted to destroy these people for turning away Jesus. They wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy them. But Jesus rebukes his disciples. Jesus sees the Samaritans and believes there are those who can be righteous there and he gives them grace and mercy. Jesus by doing this shows a shift in the way that the Lord is interacting with the world. The Lord in the Old Testament judged people who were lost and wicked and at times destroyed them but God in the New Testament spares them. God was always willing to show mercy if there were any righteous in their midst but since there were not any, like in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah he did not spare the wicked. But Jesus does thing differently because he knows that the gospel is going to go out to the whole world once he returns to heaven, and he is trusting that the gospel message will save even just one of these Samaritans who rejected him on his way to Jerusalem. Jesus knows that soon Holy Spirit will to be come upon believers and begin to draw lost people, including the Samaritans, to follow God.
Jesus later in Luke 19:10 says “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus does not come to kill those who do not believe in him, he came to seek and to save them.
Jesus helps us to see, by showing his mercy towards this Samaritan village, the importance of loving our enemies, even those who reject him.
So if this is what Jesus is trying to teach his disciples what does it mean for us? Are there people who are like the Samaritans in our lives in 2026? Are there those who deny Jesus and who are antagonistic towards believers today?
Sadly there are still so many groups of people who stand against true Christianity. From the atheist to the Muslim to the Scientologist to the Jew to the Latter Day Saint there are so many groups who oppose believers today. There are some believers who wish destruction on these groups because of their wickedness. However God has always desired to show mercy to any who would repent and follow him. It has always been his desire but far too often we only focus on the judgement of the wicked rather than the offer of mercy.
Instead of calling for the destruction of those who oppose God we are to go and share the gospel with them instead. We as members of the Body of Christ are being sent out and are to send out others to preach the good news so that the lost can be saved. We are to love the Samaritans in our midst and bless them and teach them the gospel so that they will not be destroyed but that they will be saved by calling on the name of the Lord.
Prayerfully consider the people in your life who don’t know Jesus Christ. What are you doing to bring the good news to them? Are you loving them? Are you praying for them? Are you spending time with them? Are you talking about your faith with them as the Lord directs? What are you doing to bring the good news to the Samaritans in your midst?
