They asked Jesus for permission to kill

In Mark’s gospel, when Jesus’ twelve disciples are first chosen, we find something curious…the first three listed all have nicknames:

Mark 3:14-17
He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons.  He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, He gave the name Peter; and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, He gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”)

Interesting name for James and John – “Sons of Thunder”.  I don’t believe this was necessarily a tribute to their father Zebedee, either.  In Luke’s gospel, we find a bigger clue:

Luke 9:51-55
When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem.  He sent messengers ahead of Himself, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him.  But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. 

When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

Whoa.  There’s a lot to unpack here.

You can understand why James and John are upset with the Samaritan village – after everything Jesus has done for this marginalized group during His ministry.  Jesus gave the Samaritans the clearest presentation of the gospel and had stayed with them before (John 4:1-43).  Later on, Jesus would use a Samaritan a the “good example” in one of His teachings (Luke 10:25-37), and He also had no issue healing them (John 17:11-19).  From these examples, we see Jesus’ heart toward this group of people that mainstream Jewish society routinely excluded, sneered at, and generally despised.

When Jesus’ kind feelings and actions were not reciprocated, James and John became indignant.  They wanted to administer justice, right then and there.  Even go so far as to make “an example” out of this hard-hearted town.

Did you notice whom they wanted to hand out the punishment?  They didn’t ask Jesus to do it for them.  Instead, the Sons of Thunder asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”  They had every confidence in their ability to do this.  Jesus had previously given them the ability to heal and to cast out demons, so, in their minds, they were good to go, just like the prophets of the Old Testament, as soon as Jesus gave the word.

Instead of giving permission, Jesus gave them a reprimand:

Luke 9:56
But He turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.

Jesus shut down their request, removed them from the situation, and made them walk it off.

Put yourself in Jesus’ sandals for a moment.  Two of your three top lieutenants just tried to wipe out an entire town, and do it under your authority.  How would you be feeling toward them, especially when you think of their next assignment? 

Do you still have confidence in them to represent you well, if they were out on their own?
Would you consider firing them?
Do you feel at least a little wary or guarded? 
Would you consider assigning some extra supervision before you can trust them again?

That’s not the approach Jesus took:

Luke 10:1
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go.

They were rebuked, but they were not kicked off the team.  They messed up, but they weren’t demoted.  Jesus still included them in His plans.

How often does the church side-line someone, especially someone in their teens or twenties, the moment they “mess up”?  They get treated like a child and barred from helping in any major capacity again. 

But is that what Jesus did?

Nope.  Instead, He gave them more responsibility at the next opportunity.  He sent them out to essentially be His PR Crew – and without His direct supervision!

So, come on, Church.  Give the next generation a place to lead – and possibly fail.  If/When a failure occurs, it’s on us older believers to straighten them out, pick them back up, and help them get back in the game as soon as possible.

Christ didn’t give up on James and John when they failed, and He hasn’t given up on us when we have failed Him, either.  So, let’s follow His example.

Keep Pressing,
Ken