I have found myself in a place of deep conviction that what we say is just as important as how we say it. I spend my life debating ideas, politics, and policy positions. As a pastor, I hold firm convictions about life, dignity, and identity. But, I have witnessed among the landscape of Christian advocacy a growing voice that looks far more like the world than like Jesus. Before the hate mail and pitchforks take their place, just hear me out. 

In Luke 9:51-56, Jesus is travelling toward Jerusalem. A Samaritan village refuses to receive Him. James and John respond as most of us would: “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 

Samaritans and Jews were enemies in almost every way. They had intense, long-standing historical, religious, and ethnic animosity toward each other. The disciples apparently thought they had an excellent way to convince Samaritans to stop opposing Jesus: If fire came down from heaven and wiped out the village that had rejected Christ, then word would get around, and Jesus and the disciples would have full attendance in the next village. James and John were defending the right thing, but with the wrong spirit. Because the village rejected Jesus, they felt justified. But, they fell into the ever-depending tar pit of being more concerned about winning than witnessing. 

Notice what Jesus does. He doesn’t praise them for their zeal. He doesn’t rile them up in anger. In Luke 9:55, we read, “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’” 

The Greek word for rebuke in Luke 9 is epitimaō, which is translated to mean to charge one with wrong. He then tells his disciples that they do not know what spirit they are of. James and John think they are defending Jesus. But that is what makes it so dangerous. Their religious passion was real, but it was influenced by the wrong spirit. 

We can be close to Jesus, and still hold a posture that is out of alignment with His character. If our first impulse is to burn the village, we have stopped sounding like Jesus, even if the village is wrong.

Don’t burn the village. Save it.