Knowing Your Spirit (Lk. 9:51-56)

The scripture that we are going to cover today has been one of the most personally transformative pieces of scripture in my life over the past 10-12 years. Not only has it changed the way I think, but it equally resulted in a change of my heart and behavior. Like many of you, I have read these verses more than once, but after reading them again around 2014 I was struck by a revelation.

Let me give you a little backstory.

Recently I had the privilege and honor of speaking at the retirement ceremony of my good friend, Deputy Chief Tim Dorsey, who retired from the EPD after 37-plus years of service. As I recalled what our friendship has meant to me, I was reminded of how it all started.

I first met Tim in a moment when our country was in crisis. Michael Brown had been shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO and it seemed as though every day there was a different report of an officer-involved shooting and the person on the other end of the gun was Black.

As you might recall, that led to a lot of tense moments across the nation. Everyone handled the situations differently. One way was by having open and honest discussions about what was happening and trying to come up with ways to fix the problem. Tim and I got to participate in one of these panel discussions together. Another way was by pointing fingers at each other and blaming one another for what was going on. Protests and marches broke out all over the place. I participated in those as well. To some folks, law enforcement officers became public enemy number one. To others, the Black community filled that role.

It was during all of this that I read the words of Luke 9:51-56 with a fresh understanding which has helped to shape the way I enter and exit any situation where there is potential for further division.

Let’s take a closer look at those verses. Grab your Bibles and turn there with me.

Luke 9:51–56 NKJV

51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,
52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.
53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

For the past two weeks we have been challenged to make up our minds about who Jesus is to us personally, to make up our minds about how serious we are in our commitment to follow Him, and today we are challenged yet again. You’ve heard the old saying, don’t get mad, get even? Well, that's not the way of Jesus, not even a little bit. The disciples of Jesus are called to a higher standard than what the world suggests. As we’ll see today, Jesus confronts His disciples because they seem to have forgotten what spirit they belong to—and what they are truly made of.

Received (Luke 9:51)

As I mentioned last week, one possible reason for why Jesus “strictly warns and commands” His disciples not to tell anyone that He is the Messiah, was because of timing. Just as timing played a big part in His birth, so it was with His death.

Galatians 4:4 NKJV

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

And now, Luke tells us that the alarm clock of the Passion of Jesus has finally sounded.

Luke 9:51 NKJV

51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,

There’s a classic proverb that goes like this,

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re bound to get there.

But Jesus knew exactly where He was going, and that’s precisely why He was so intentional about His mission.

On the mountain of transfiguration, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus spoke together about the mission that lay ahead—how Jesus would give His life to break the power of Satan once and for all, to satisfy the wrath of God and fulfill every righteous demand of the law. They discussed how the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ would open one clear, irrevocable path for humanity to be reconciled to God.

Well, in today’s passage we find Jesus on His way to fulfill those very words. Before this point in the gospel, Jesus was in Galilee doing all sorts of miracles and teaching the kingdom of God. But Luke tells us that at some point Jesus made up His mind to go to Jerusalem. That’s what the words “set His face” means. It’s an ancient Hebraic phraseology for determination or dogged resolve. We have actually come across this language several times in the OT. In the book of  Ezekiel, Yahweh tells the prophet

Ezekiel 21:2 NKJV

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

Ezekiel 25:2 NKJV

2 “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them.

Through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, Yahweh spoke these words against King Zedekiah.

Jeremiah 21:10 NKJV

10 For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. “It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” ’

Finally, the prophet Isaiah, speaking about the coming Messiah and His suffering said,

Isaiah 50:7 NKJV

7 Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

So when Luke says that Jesus “set His face” toward Jerusalem, he means that Jesus had fully committed Himself to accomplishing the will of His Father. And He, unlike those disciples who wanted to say bye to their family, would not take His hands from the plow (Lk. 9:62).

His mission — the very purpose of His life — was to suffer, die, and rise again so that you and I would not suffer under the weight of sin, so that we would not die in our guilt, and so that we too could be raised to new life just as He was raised. By His grace and our faith in Him, we can be forgiven of sin, receive everlasting life, and join Him in His mission to redeem the world.

Chuck Swindoll says it this way,

He not only determined to make the journey; He resolutely tightened his lips, set His jaw, and fixed His eyes on the cross and His resurrection. Every story He told, every miracle He performed, and every conversation in which He engaged, from this point on, had the cross pulsating in the back of His mind.[1]

So He plugs in Jerusalem as His destination, He hits the road, and He never looks back.

Rejected (Luke 9:52-53)

Before Jesus takes off on the journey, He sends forerunners ahead to prepare the way for Him.

Luke 9:52–53 NKJV‍ ‍

52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.
53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

Before taking His leave to go into Jerusalem Jesus sends a delegation ahead of Him. Some of Jesus’ disciples are to secure lodging for the Master in Samaria. Here’s a little background for context.

Jews and Samaritans have historically had a very tumultuous sibling rivalry. According to 2 Kings 17:25-28, Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, sent people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to live in Samaria, which was the capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel at the time, and those foreigners intermarried with the Jews in the land. In Ezra 4:2-11 when this mixed race of people - the Samaritans - try to join their Jewish siblings in worship Zerubbabel and other Israelites, refused to allow them to worship as one people.

Ezra 4:3 NKJV‍ ‍

3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

This is why we have the exchange between the Samaritan woman and Jesus in John’s gospel about where one should worship God (John 4:19-24).

We’re really not all that different. We’ve launched “our” own ministries because we assume “those” people don’t want our help. We’ve gathered into comfortable little holy huddles to avoid the people who make us uneasy. And yes, we’ve built “our” own churches — not always to reach the world, but sometimes to keep our distance from “those” folks who don’t welcome us or don’t fit our expectations. In many ways we behave just like the Jews and the Samaritans.

All of this context really matters if you want to understand what’s going on in Luke 9:51-56. The Samaritans’ rejection of Jesus is deep seated. Therefore, because of a bad past and some hurt feelings, the Samaritans refused to let Jesus enter their land.

Again, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. This is no different than what many of you are doing today. The Samaritans rejected Jesus because they were hurt by Jews. Some of you listening to me today are rejecting Jesus because you have been hurt by Christians. You won’t let Jesus into your life because of what the “church” did to you. And I get it, but I want to encourage you today, don’t miss out on what the Lord has for you because of a few bad encounters.

Hear this my friends. In the book of Revelation Jesus said,

Revelation 3:20 NKJV‍ ‍

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone [Jew, Samaritan, American, Hispanic, Asian, South African, Haitian, educated, illiterate, wealthy, poor, White, Black, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat - if anyone] hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Jesus was at the door of Samaria, but they didn’t open it for Him. Today, Jesus is at the door of your heart. He has sent me and many like me to ask that you let Him enter. Don’t reject Him today. Do not turn the Lord away. Do not harden your hearts like the Samaritans! Now is the day of salvation. Let Him in!

Fire (Luke 9:54)

Luke 9:54 NKJV‍ ‍

54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

Because Jesus’ face is set toward Jerusalem the Samaritans aren’t happy with Jesus and they reject Him. Well, Jesus’ followers, specifically James and John, aren’t happy with the Samaritans either and these sons of thunder want to add lighting to their title by calling down fire on the Samaritans. James and John are not interested in shaking off the dust from Samaria, but rather reducing Samaria to dust itself.[2]‍ ‍

How quickly do we forget the words of Jesus when we are confronted by the world. How soon does our flesh rise up at the time of testing.

We’re fooling ourselves if we think discrimination is only a problem “out there.” It has shown up far too often among the people who claim to follow Jesus. Throughout history, the church has sometimes helped create or sustain systems that divide people — whether along racial lines, ethnic lines, gender lines, or economic lines. In many cases, instead of confronting these attitudes, the church has reinforced them. And when we do that, we reveal how little we understand the heart of the One we claim to serve. Since diversity is our core value for the month, let us hold each other accountable to live this out at every opportunity and to call each other out when we fail to do so.

When the Samaritans refused passage to Jesus and His disciples, here’s what those guys should’ve done.

Luke 9:4–5 NKJV‍ ‍

4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

Never does Jesus instruct them to harm anyone. If you look at the end of Luke 9:56 Jesus does exactly what He taught the disciples to do.

In the Gospel of Matthew we find these incredibly challenging words from Jesus. Challenging for those He first spoke to them, and as we’ve proven over and over again, challenging for us today.

Matthew 5:38–39 NKJV‍ ‍

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Matthew 5:43–45 NKJV‍ ‍

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

In Luke 9:54 we see a great opportunity for some bridge building, for some healing to take place, but instead of reconciling the disciples turn to retaliation by asking for permission to call down fire on the Samaritans. Plus, to really make their case, they reference scripture in order to justify their response. But, as James says,

James 1:20 NKJV‍ ‍

20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

There are two places in the Old Testament where Elijah called down fire. The more familiar encounter is in 1 Kings 18:20ff at Mt. Carmel where he stands against the prophets of Baal. The other, less familiar encounter, is found in 2 Kings 1 where King Ahaziah sent three delegations of fifty men each with their captains to arrest Elijah the prophet. Elijah called down fire on the first two groups and completely wiped them out. The third group humbled themselves and were spared. King Ahaziah was king of Samaria at the time.

Can you see how all of this is tied together?

When Elijah called down fire he did it to show Yahweh’s power and superiority. When the disciples asked to call down fire they wanted to show their own power and superiority.

“Those who resort to vendettas against enemies, whether by swords or by divine fire, [or by legislation, or by discrimination, or by weaponizing Scripture, or by refusing to forgive, or by refusing to bless when it is within our control], reflect the vengeful spirit of Satan, not the merciful spirit of Christ.” [3]‍ ‍

Jesus doesn’t give His followers power so they can abuse those who oppose them. He gives power for the extension of grace and the revelation of our need for Him. He gives power to heal; not to harm. James and John forgot that, and so do we sometimes.

Spirit (Luke 9:55-56)

Luke 9:55–56 NKJV‍ ‍

55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Did you catch that? Jesus was rejected by the Samaritans, but He didn’t say a word against them. The Apostle Peter, who was probably standing right there as this is going on, he tells us that

1 Peter 2:23 NKJV‍ ‍

23 when [Jesus] was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

However, when He was rejected by those who viewed Him as their enemy He said nothing, instead He focused His attention on the ones who should have known better. The ones who should’ve remembered,

Luke 6:22–23 NKJV‍ ‍

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

These are the ones who should’ve remembered to

Luke 6:27–28 NKJV‍ ‍

27 “...Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

So He turned to His disciples and said,

Luke 9:55–56 NKJV‍ ‍

55 ...“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

When the Samaritans rejected Jesus, the disciples got on their spiritual high-horses and tried to put the Samaritans in their place. They even used scripture to support their indignation. Doesn’t that sound familiar? But what the followers of Jesus failed to understand is that calling down fire is not the spirit of a disciple of Jesus.

Who are the people in your life that you have called down fire on? Of course you haven’t done this literally, but maybe you’ve done it in your heart. Maybe you’ve done it through avoidance and called it “setting boundaries”. Maybe you’ve called down fire with sharp words that cuts into the heart of another person wounding them in ways that it’ll take years to heal from.

Who is it?

Is it a parent who abandoned you and the scars still haven’t healed?

Is it a friend who betrayed your trust?

Is it a co-worker who just won’t give you the respect you deserve? ‍ ‍

What about an institution or system that is making life difficult for you?‍ ‍

Is it people on the other side of the political aisle?‍ ‍

Is it a business partner who has cheated you out of what you deserve?‍ ‍

Is it a neighbor who’s been unkind? ‍ ‍

Is it your spouse who keeps nagging you or ignoring your wishes?‍ ‍

We can go on and on with the examples. The point is that, somewhere along the road, we’ve all wanted to call down fire on someone else, and that doesn’t have to look like what Elijah did. ‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like harboring resentment.‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like wishing someone else fails.‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like wanting them to “get what’s coming to them.”‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like withholding good when you have the chance.‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like unforgiveness.‍ ‍

Maybe it looks like doing unto others as they have done to you.‍ ‍

But Jesus reminds us that this is completely out of character for those who have denied themselves to follow Him. So He says to James and John,‍ ‍

Luke 9:55 NKJV‍ ‍

55 “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.‍ ‍

Do you know what spirit you are operating from today?‍ ‍

A spirit of bitterness? ‍ ‍

A spirit of wrath? ‍ ‍

A spirit of vengefulness? Or elitism? Or pride? ‍ ‍

Or is it the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control?‍ ‍

In 2014 when communities of color and law enforcement were in a fierce battle, the Lord challenged me to be mindful of what Spirit I am operating out of in every situation. He reminded me,‍ ‍

Luke 9:56 NKJV‍

56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.‍ ‍

As followers of the Son of God, we too must bring life to the places we enter, and life to the people we encounter. Are you a life-giver or do you destroy men’s lives with hatred and rejection and retaliation?‍ ‍

The word of God reminds us that because we have been reconciled to God we are now to be reconcilers ourselves.‍ ‍

2 Corinthians 5:18–21 NKJV‍ ‍

18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.‍ ‍

Respond‍ ‍

So this morning, just like last week, I’m going to ask you for a response, not with good intentions, but in faithful obedience. ‍ ‍

For those of you who have not received Jesus as your personal Savior, now’s your chance. Luke told us that Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem in order to be received up.‍ ‍

He was received up on the cross. ‍ ‍

Up to the right hand of Father.‍ ‍

Up above every other name.  ‍ ‍

And He has set His face toward you - to be received up into your heart - if you will welcome Him in. ‍ ‍

Don’t be like the Samaritans who turned Jesus away because of a few bad encounters and hurt feelings. Welcome Him in today.‍ ‍

For the rest of you who have already placed your hope in Jesus, but you sense the Lord’s loving rebuke because you have not been operating in the right spirit - because you have allowed your hurts to shape your responses in ways that do not reflect Jesus - would you just repent today? Ask Jesus to use you to be a life-giver. As His followers, we are called to bring life into every place we enter, and every person we encounter. As the people of God, we have a great opportunity to shine our lights so clearly that people everywhere will see our good works and give God the glory He rightfully deserves!‍‍‍‍

‍Tre Clark

Britton Christian Church

8/06/2026

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[1] Swindoll, C. Living Insights: Luke, p277

[2] D. Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, 414

[3] D. Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, 415

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