Luke 9:54 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 9:54

Comments

This provokes a wrong reaction from the disciples. How reassuring it must have been for the disciples to be corrected by the one who always knew perfectly how to behave and what was the right response in every situation!James and John were zealous for the honour of the Lord, and felt responsible to uphold his honour. It was for speeches such as this that Jesus named them ‘sons of thunder’ (Mark 3:17). When people slighted him, they felt it fell to them to take revenge. This was a very important lesson for them, which would prepare them for the future. Often in the days to come, after Christ had returned to heaven and they were on their own, they would find their Lord and the cause of the gospel and their own persons treated derisively. How should they respond? Christ tells them here. God will defend his own cause, and the day will come when he will take vengeance on the wicked and on all who reject the Son, but that day has not yet come, and the church is not called to bring it on before the due time. Instead, they are to conduct themselves with the utmost patience, and to show mercy to all. They are to follow God’s lead, and to imitate that side of his character which is on display right now. That is, they are to be endlessly ready to forgive – who can measure the extent of God’s forgiveness – and to give sinners innumerable opportunities to turn again. It is the Father alone who sets a limit on his mercy, when he takes an unbelieving man or a woman out of this world, and end the day of grace for them. That is his prerogative, but it is not for us to hurry to do that work for him before he is ready to do it himself.

Application

This is very beneficial to us also. We are only too quick to move to revenge, and we are too easily confused about what is true zeal for the name of the Lord, and what is simply a reaction that comes from our pride. To guard against this while we are still in the flesh, still with a sinful nature within us, God tells us that we are to exercise endless mercy like our Father in heaven. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are to be careful to know ourselves, and not take personal offence when Christ is slandered, as if our own honour needed defending.

There are religions in the world which are honour religions. Their followers believe that it is their duty to rise to the defence of their deity, and that any insult or lack of respect should be punished immediately. There is almost a sense that if they do not take vengeance into their own hands, it will not be carried out at all. They will not for a moment allow that the honour of their deity is called into question or minimised. But that is not the Christian way of thinking. Our God is well able to care for his own honour, and ‘every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment’ (Matthew 12:36). But if, while the world continues, he has allowed a time during which men live in ignorance of him and even blaspheme his name, then it shows us his enormous patience. He is not anxious about such things. He knows that no one will finally get away with their sin. He is not really harmed by the dishonour he receives from the world. It is part of the darkness of this world, and light is coming which will dispel the darkness. Christ’s disciples must be of the same mind; they must be in sympathy with their Lord’s will.

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Luke 9:54 Commentary and Bible Study