THE BOANERGES BROTHERS,ME AND HAMAS: An admirable loyalty but a deplorable devotion.

An elderly, supposed-to-be-mature believer and avid Israel supporter recently approached one of my colleagues after a sermon with these words:  “I hope all  Palestinians burn in hell”

At first, I was appalled.  “How deeply un-Christian” I thought.  But then I recalled two other supposed-to-be-mature Christ-followers in the bible who shared a similar attitude: the BOANERGES BROTHERS, James and John, the sons of thunder.  They both displayed an admirable loyalty but a deplorable devotion.

Luke 9:51-56

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.  And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them.  Then he and his disciples went to another village.

Don’t we just love to love the people we love to love?  And don’t we just love to be with the people we love to be with? Our bubbles are continuously saturated with those who share our values, our beliefs and our prejudices.  Not that this is wrong, but this attitude is not what defines us as followers of Christ – the God who broke the mold by sitting with sinners, dining with outcasts and touching the untouchables.

Natural instincts demand that we stick to those who are shadows of ourselves.  Common sense and mutual interest direct us to it. To do good to those who do good to us is a common trademark of humanity.  That is our natural bubble-default. To do good to those who seek to harm us and bless those who curse us are the signs of true worship

“Don’t the pagans do the same?” was the question Jesus asked his disciples in Matthew 5:46-47.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?   The Lord was explicitly dealing with the bubble mentality of His followers.  There was a new principle that had to be taught:  while everyone will render good for good, we must render good for evil.  This exceeds all levels of human nature.  To escape our bubbles of conformity we should frequently ask ourselves this question, “What do I do more than others?  What excelling virtue do I display outside my bubble that is different from others?”

The distinctive virtue of those who confess Christ as Lord and Master is whether we can find it within ourselves to love those whom we find difficult to love.  Those who live outside our bubbles of commonalities . Those who evoke a natural response of animosity. Think about the Jew and the Palestinian, the Republican and the Democrat, the catholic and the protestant, the woke and the conservative.

In Mark 3, Jesus calls twelve men to be His apostles. Among them are “James son of Zebedee and his brother John.  To them he gave the nickname Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder (verse 17). This is the only place in Scripture that mentions the designation of the sons of Zebedee as the Sons of Thunder, and there is no stated explanation as to why Jesus named them this, but we can certainly make our assumptions, especially after the hospitality incident in Samaria.  In one vivid incident of indignation and anger, we see that James and John possessed some truly thunder-like qualities.

Put yourself in James’s shoes for a moment. 

You have the distinction of being one of the first of the twelve disciples. You see yourself as an elder amongst the group and do not take this responsibility lightly.  The Master needs loyal followers, and you intend to be one of them.  When Jesus called you and your brother, John, you were mending your nets on the boat.  Without thinking twice, you immediately packed up your gear and left everything that were dear to you; home, work, family and friends to follow this young rabbi.  Your loyalty came at a price.  It was not an easy decision or a cheap allegiance – something many people who just follow Jesus for miracles and power would never understand.  You proved this later by being the first disciple who was martyred for following Him.

You know all too well that your strength is also your weakness.  You are not one to beat around the bush.  What people see it what they get.  You say it like it is.  Jesus knows this and values your devotion.  He rewarded you by inviting you to witness events that no one else saw: the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead, (Mark 5:37-47),  the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3), and the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-37).  You had a special place within the inner circle of three – you, John and Peter.   You cherish this intimacy with the Master and will not let anybody or any incident undermine it.  You do understand however that sometimes you love the lord so much that you despise those who do not?   This is when strength becomes a weakness and devotion an obstacle.

Oh boy, and then came the incident in the Samaritan village.  To start off with, to put it mildly, you just can’t stand the Samaritans.  You know Jesus said you need to love your enemies, but He never said you need to like them.  And you simply, for the life of you, can’t find the strength to like them; culturally, politically and especially religiously.  They are backwards, arrogant and egotistic.  Something you don’t like in other people.

Combine this dislike with your weakness to speak without thinking and you have a small explosion in the waiting.  Today was one of those occasions.  You remember how Jesus jokingly gave you and your brother John the nickname “The Boanerges Brothers” and how your fellow disciples would often say “there they go again, the sons of thunder.”  You shamefully remember that one incident where your mother overstepped her bounds, asking Jesus to grant you special positions in his kingdom.  “There they go again” everybody said “the sons of thunder are at it again.”

Well, you were at it again.  You were traveling through Samaria on your way to Jerusalem when you ran into trouble. Jesus attempted to find accommodation for the night in one place but was met with opposition from the villagers, simply because His destination was Jerusalem—a result of Jew-Samaritan prejudice.  This really ticked you off.  How dare they reject the Master with such arrogance and ignorance.  Do they even know who they are talking to?

For the sake of His honour and integrity you feel the need to intervene.  You feel the resentment welling up in you and nothing will satisfy your anger more than seeing Sodom’s doom upon this village.  You took offense on behalf of the Lord.  That was your first mistake.  You then reacted in the flesh instead of responding like Christ.  That was your second mistake.  But the biggest mistake of all was making your previous two mistakes public by raising your voice.  “Lord,” you say  “give us permission to command fire to come down from heaven, not to frighten them only, but to consume them.”

Your first thoughts are that the Master would recognise your great confidence in His power and your great zeal for His honour.  But the disappointment in His eyes brings you back to reason why you follow this Man in the first place.  You feel convicted but not condemned.  Jesus sees it and the gentle rebuke that follows is as gentle as the rebuke for the Samaritans.

He shows you the general design of the new teachings He imparted to you since day one of your training.  You realise anew that Jesus did not come to judge and destroy men’s lives, but to save them. His commandments are new and designed to promote a holy religion by love and sweetness, and everything that is inviting and endearing, not by fire and sword, and blood and slaughter; by miracles of healing, not by plagues of destruction, as Israel was brought out of Egypt. Christ came to slay all enmities, not to foster them.  He came to remove the bubbles of animosity not by destruction, but by acceptance and reconciliation.

But what really stood out for you of that day in Samaria, was His retreat from this village. Christ the Lord, with all supremacy in heaven and on earth and power to punish those who seek to harm Him and with authority to judge His opposition, would not only not punish them for their rudeness, but would not insist upon his right of travelling the road.  He would not attempt to force his way, but quietly and peaceably went to another village, where they were not so stingy and bigoted, and there refreshed Himself, and went on his way.

Forgiveness is His design; grace is His default; love is our devotion

Do you sometimes love the lord so much that you despise those who do not?  Do you despise those outside your religious bubble; the unbeliever, the different believer or the wrong believer?  Then prepare for a gentle rebuke

As I reflect on this story, three questions arose:

Firstly, I wonder what Jesus might choose as a nickname for me. Would it be serious? Or whimsical? What would Jesus see in me that he’d like to capture in a name:

• Would I be seen as one of the Boanerges brothers, always ready to condemn and judge.  Having a devotion that destroys.
• Or would I be called Barnabas[1], someone who is always ready to uplift and encourage.  Having a devotion that builds
• Or how about a new name like Joshua[2]?  One who saves.  Having a devotion that brings life and gives hope.

So, what would your nickname be?

Secondly, what is your “Samaritan village” that evokes a desire for fire and destruction.

• Do you find it justifiable to pray for the destruction of the Palestinian people or the death of Hamas leaders?
• Do you think the ANC and EFF in South Africa or the Democrats or Republicans in the USA deserve God’s judgement more than you do?
• How about Putin, Trump or Netanyahu?  Do they live in your Samaritan village with a need to be subjected to your desire for destructive devotion.

Remember, as Billy Graham declared, it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and our job to love.

Finally, whatever you do, ask yourself this question “don’t the pagans do the same?”

• What do I do more than others? 
• How do my conversations bring hope and life and differ from all the other voices?
• What excelling virtue do I display that is different from others who pursue hatred and destruction?
• What solutions do I offer that are different from those around me?

[1] Acts 4:36  Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”)

[2] Numbers 13:16  These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)