There have been people who spent much of their lives trying to help others but who have been misunderstood and rejected even by those they tried to help. Sometimes it is not until the person has died that it is realised how important his or her work was.
Be careful not to make the great mistake the Samaritans make in our story today. Be warned, because many people are making the same terrible mistake!
"The time approached for Jesus to be taken up to Heaven. He resolutely set out for Jerusalem and He sent messengers on ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him." 1*.
Jesus' public life and ministry throughout the land of Israel had left people without excuse for not trusting in Him. His birth had been unique, accompanied by the angelic announcement; 2*. and His miraculous powers over nature, disease and evil 3*. could only be explained by realising that Jesus truly was "God with us". 4*. The great authority in His teaching also testified that He was God. 5*. People were left with a simple choice - either to believe Jesus was indeed "God with us" or else to believe He was the greatest liar and deceiver that ever lived!
Now Jesus was heading for Jerusalem to accomplish the great climax of God's wonderful plan for our salvation; He was going there to be punished for the sins of the world.
When Jesus arrived at the Samaritan village "the people there did not welcome him, because He was heading for Jerusalem." 6*.
The Samaritan's culture and religion was quick to reject anything that had to do with the Jews or with Jerusalem. No matter how convincing Jesus' life and teaching had been they were not willing to accept Him because He was not of their culture or their religion.
Beware of making that same mistake today! The mistake of rejecting Jesus as your only Priest and Saviour because your culture or your religion has taught you to be content with some other way of salvation!
There is no other way of salvation! Jesus is the only way! 7*. ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son … Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." 8*.
When the disciples saw how the Samaritans rejected Jesus, the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, 9*. they asked, "'Lord, do You want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them?' But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village."
You see, Jesus had not come at that time to judge the world but to provide the way of salvation. How slow He is to bring judgement; but His day to bring judgement will surely come! 10*.
Jesus delays judgement against you to give you opportunity to repent and trust in Him as your only hope, your only Saviour.
Don't reject Jesus until it is too late and His judgement will no longer be held back from you as it was for these Samaritans in Luke's gospel chapter 9, verses 51-56.Bye for now, John Nixon, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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Bible quotations from N.I.V.
1 Luke 9:51-52.
2 Luke 1:26-38. 2:8-14.
3 Luke 4:28-44.
4 Matthew 1:22-23. John 5:31-47. 14:10-11.
5 Mark 1:21-28.
6 Luke 9:53.
7 Acts 4:12. John 14:6.
8 John 3:16-18.
9 See 1st John 4:14.
10 2nd Peter 3:7-13. Revelation 20:10-15.