57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:51-56 KJV)
A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus
This story is unique to Luke’s Gospel and follows naturally from the previous one, as it also involves Christ rebuking his disciples for misplaced zeal. Previously, they wanted to silence others for not being part of their group; here, they want to call down judgment on unbelievers. Both stem from a spirit of bigotry and harshness, which is contrary to the spirit of Christ.
When the time came for Jesus to be taken up, he resolutely set out for Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). He knew his death was near and faced it directly, not avoiding danger but embracing his mission. He looked beyond the suffering to the glory that would follow, seeing it as the moment of being received into heaven (1 Timothy 3:16). Like him, believers can view death as their being received into glory, and take courage when their time draws near.
Jesus deliberately chose to go to Jerusalem, even though it meant traveling through Samaria, where tensions with Jews were high. He sent messengers ahead to prepare for his arrival, but the people of a certain Samaritan village refused to receive him because he was headed to Jerusalem (Luke 9:52–53). The dispute over worship—whether at Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim—made them hostile toward him.
When James and John heard the news, they reacted with fiery anger. “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” they asked (Luke 9:54). They showed bold confidence in Christ’s power and a strong desire to defend his honor. They even appealed to the precedent of Elijah calling fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10, 12).
But Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:55). He said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you are of.” They misunderstood both the spirit they were showing and the spirit of the gospel. Christ had never encouraged violent retaliation, even when he was mistreated in Nazareth or asked to leave the region of the Gadarenes. Nor was it right to condemn a whole village for the offense of a few. Jesus had refused to perform signs from heaven when demanded by the Pharisees (Matthew 16:1–2), and he would not now approve of fire from heaven to punish unbelief.
Elijah’s calling of fire served a different purpose under the old covenant—a display of divine judgment against hardened rebellion. But Christ came to bring grace, not destruction. The gospel ushers in a kingdom of peace, not terror. Disciples of Christ must not use force or violence to defend the faith or punish those who reject it. “The Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:56). Jesus demonstrated this through countless healings and acts of mercy.
In response to the Samaritans’ rejection, Jesus didn’t retaliate or demand his right to pass through. He simply moved on to another village (Luke 9:56). Instead of fighting resistance, he avoided it, modeling a spirit of peace and humility. When we face rejection, it is better to respond with grace and seek out more receptive hearts than to return hostility with hostility.