4.12.2024
Luk 9:51-56 And it happened in the fulfilling of the days of His taking up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. And seeing, His disciples James and John said, Lord, do You desire that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? But He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save. And they went to another village.
Jesus was not accepted by the Samaritans. The reason mentioned for not receiving Jesus here is religious
“Because His face was going toward Jerusalem.”
Even though the Samaritans belonged to the tribes of Israel, the dispute among them on worship started during the time of Rehoboam. The kingdom was divided among Rehoboam and Jeroboam, who was the servant to Solomon. He set up two calves in Bethel so as to arrest people going to Jerusalem to worship God.
1Ki 12:26-28 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom shall return to the house of David! If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
1Ki 12:32 And Jeroboam ordered a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah. And he offered on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
In that day, there was a great dispute in Israel, the nation chosen by God, about who was to become king. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, was rightful heir to the throne and reigned after Solomon’s death. Jeroboam was a servant who rebelled against Solomon.
The 10 tribes of Israel made Jeroboam king and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with the Levites, remained with Rehoboam. The split was prophesied by the Lord (1 Kings 11:11-13, 29-39) because of Solomon’s sin.
The northern 10 tribes kept the name of Israel. The once unified tribes of Jacob were now two nations. They were two houses, or two brothers if you will, that had become enemies.
The prophets wept over her fate. They were a people of God after all. But their pride and hunger for power took over.
This way the 10 tribes of Israel started a different worship i.e. worship of calves in the same month, on the same day like the same feast. The same kind of altar was made. Sacrifices were offered. This way the enemy won in starting a false worship. This also grew and spread into many countries including India.
We see throughout the rest of the Old Testament how these two nations fought with one another. They each became strong and independent and created two distinct lineages in history. Each had their own kings, and even their own prophets.
Sadly, also both Israel and Judah fell into captivity, although to different powers and at different times. God sent the Babylonians to capture the House of Judah, and He sent the Assyrians to conquer the House of Israel.
And while the Babylonian captivity of Judah lasted for a period of 70 years, Israel never fully came out of the Assyrian captivity. The Samaritans were considered half-breeds from the House of Israel. But many tribes were considered lost.
At first, they were known as the “diaspora”, which is a common name for the Jewish people who live away from their land. Eventually, the northern tribes became the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.”
Today also the war of God’s true children is not with non Christians. But with the various denominations of Christians who have changed Christian worship into a routine lifeless ritual.
Samaria was the capital of Israel who worshipped the calves. They did not accept Jesus because He came in the tribe of Judah as the descendant of David.
And Jesus sent messengers to pass through a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. Since Jesus wanted to go to Jerusalem, the place of real worship, Samaritans did not accept Him.
The Apostles John and James who were with Jesus became angry at this and they wanted to use the power and authority of Jesus to bring down fire upon the village. They asked Jesus permission to do so. Jesus rebuked them.
Today Troop Church soldiers have to fight with the different denominations of Christianity in order to get the Troop Churches (the real worship) established . When these traditional Christians questions our creed, faith, credibility etc. we should not become impatient. One day they will realize that we were right and they were wrong.
One of the chief Pastors of the main Pentecostal Church made a declaration that “Troop Churches are the right kind of Churches. “A day will come when all the other denominations including Pentecostal will disappear from the earth and this Troop Church which resembles in every way the early Christian Church only will survive.”
But the wife of this same pastor (Both are no more in this world today) admitted that “All the pastors of our denomination approached my husband, (the founder of that Church) with a request to stop the all AOJ Trainings which are going on in their Church immediately with a threat of all leaving the Church. Hence even though I am very much convinced about the truth & the teachings of AOJ, I will have to pay a heavy toll in the form of dispute, or divorce from my husband, Please excuse me; Let me not get involved in any AOJ activities”.
AOJ soldiers need not worry about such threats, remarks, questions or people leaving AOJ for fear of family disapproval, opposition from Pentecostal or denominational Churches today.
The same disciples, John and James who asked Jesus to bring down fire on them became shepherds of the same people and gave even their lives for Jesus. The very same Apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit have written part of scriptures, which are very much edifying encouraging, comforting rich in love, longsuffering and patience.
Another point to be noted here how Jesus dealt with them.
But He (Jesus) turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save. And they went to another village.
Jesus discerned the spirit in them and exposed it. The disciples even though had received the calling directly from Jesus, and were with Jesus, they were still in flesh. Their attitude, dealings with others, tit for tat mentality, reflected it. Jesus corrected them. Jesus came to this world to save lives. Destroying human lives, killing them and stealing are the works of the enemy.
Troop Church soldiers have to be employed and appointed wherever the enemy has done the works of stealing, killing and destroying.
“They went to another village”. We need not linger in the places where we are not accepted. The whole world is open in front of us. The harvest is plenty. We can go to any place where people are thirsty and hungry to receive the Word of God.