AUG 10

Luke 9:51-56
Memorise Romans 12:21
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good”

In Luke 9:51-56, Jesus entered a Samaritan village while making His way to Jerusalem. He had wanted to stop by this village to spend the night and rest before continuing with His journey with James and John. However, the Samaritans knew from their intention to get to Jerusalem that they were Jews. Simply because of this, Jesus, James and John were not welcome to stay.

At that time, the Jews and Samaritans considered each other as enemies. The Jews looked down upon the Samaritans as half-breeds who were “impure” as they originated from Israelites who married foreigners. They were also looked upon with disdain by the Jews due to their idolatrous practices. The attitude in those days was that no decent Jew would have any dealings with the Samaritans. In response to this, the Samaritans hated and resented the Jews. Of course, this did not stop Jesus from coming into contact with them. Indeed, Jesus desired to share the good news of the Gospel with them in spite of this culture of mutual hatred between the two peoples.

Angered and vengeful, James and John wanted the village destroyed. However, Jesus rebuked them for having such an attitude and taught them that His purpose was not to destroy those who opposed Him but rather to save them.
Quite naturally, most people would respond towards hostility by reciprocating it. They have a tendency to be unkind to those who had treated them unkindly. In contrast to such behaviour, Jesus taught His disciples not to retaliate against those who reject them. In the example above, He simply chose to walk away.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke against retaliation and during His crucifixion He even prayed for the forgiveness of those who tortured and tormented Him. If we are to follow His example, we would not take a vindictive attitude towards those who despise and abuse us but rather we should glorify God by behaving lovingly and with kindness towards them.

Thought: Turning the other cheek would be impossible but for the Holy Spirit’s enablement.
Prayer: Forgive me Lord for the times when I have been vengeful towards others.