Today we're looking at the Apostle John in our series about the 12 Apostles. Like Peter, much is written about John in the Gospels. So for the sake of time, we're going to just look at John in two parts, looking at two themes from his life. Our first reading is from Mark chapter 3 verse 17, where we read the words, “And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:” (Mark 3:17). So, James and John were brothers in the fishing business. And when Jesus called them, he surnamed them Boanerges, meaning that was their character. They were like thunder, like lightning, like destructive thunder and lightning.

And we see that in their nature, as we see three events where they acted against the spirit. and grace of the gospel. And these three incidences are when they wanted to sit on the right hand and left hand of the Lord, the second occasion when John forbade a man who was casting out demons, and the third occasion when James and John wanted fire to come down from heaven and burn up the Samaritans. So we're looking at these three incidences that showed them as the sons of thunder, but by God's grace, John became the apostle of love. The Lord worked in their lives and changed them from what they were. But on these three occasions, we have lessons for ourselves today.

1. John Seeks Greatness

Firstly, James and John seek greatness. We look at the first occasion where they acted against the spirit of humility in the gospel in chapter 20 of Matthew, verses 20–23. Here we read, “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (Matthew 20:20-23). The Lord had just spoken about the disciples sitting on twelve thrones in chapter 19, verse 28 of Matthew, where we read, “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28).

This prompted the mother of James and John to take liberties and ask for further honours, as if sitting on twelve thrones was not enough. She wanted not just them sitting on twelve thrones, but the thrones right next to the Lord, on the right hand and on the left. Her name was Salome. We know this from the list of women given to us in the Gospels who stood at the cross of the Lord Jesus. She was a godly woman. And she had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee with her two sons, James and John. She was one of those women who ministered to the Lord. So she was always there on the Lord's journeys. And in typical motherly pride, she wants her sons to have the best place at the right and left hands of the Lord.

Well, Mark's gospel also records that not just the mother said this to Jesus, but also James and John said, as we read in Mark 10 verse 35. “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire ..…” (Mark 10:35-37). So, prompted by the mother, they also told the Lord and gave him that request. They were mistaken. They were thinking they could have a crown. They can have the highest place, the highest honors, and the highest blessing without a cross or suffering. You know, it's a sad commentary on human nature, on our own nature. But the Lord had just spoken about His death, and all they could think of was themselves. In verse 18 of Matthew 20, we read, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,” (Matthew 20:18). The Lord had spoken of His own sufferings and death, but all they could think of was themselves. They wanted the highest place. at a time when the Lord was going to take the lowest place.

In the Old Testament, we have an illustration of someone who didn't suffer but wanted to reign. And that was Jonathan. He said one day to David, When you are king, I'm going to be a right-hand man. Of course, he was a close friend of David and loved David as much as his own soul. but it wasn't to be. He went back home to the palace with his father, Saul. He did not suffer like David. David suffered and suffered so much, and in the end, David was on the throne. It was not for him to say who'd be next to the new king. Men much humbler than him and much lower than him will one day take that position. Without suffering, there cannot be glory. This self-seeking caused division and strife because we read in the account in Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, verse 41, that they were very angry. “And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.” (Mark 10:41).

The reason is that they wanted a place for themselves; that's why. They were all the same when it came to self-seeking and wanting to be the greatest. Well, James and John glibly said, Oh yes, we can drink from the cup. They didn't realise what that cup involved. They were not even aware of how great that suffering would be. The Lord said, You'll indeed drink of the cup. James died at the hands of Herod Agrippa. Acts chapter 12 verse 2 tells us that while John did not die a martyr's death, he lived a martyr's life. Suffered in exile. Unlike the other apostles, who were imprisoned and persecuted, And there he was alone on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation chapter 1. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:” (Revelation 1:17). Then John was an old man and saw the Lord in his glory. He did not seek to sit next to him, but fell at his feet as a dead man. This is the place we deserve to be. John says in Revelation 1:17 that he had learned many lessons in the school of Christ. Having been the son of thunder, he became the apostle of love and a humble man who fell at the feet of Jesus, not seeking any great place for himself.

Beware of Devils Shortcuts

This leads us to a very important lesson for ourselves. And I've entitled it Beware of the Devil's Shortcuts. The greatest temptation the devil tried to give to the Lord was when he put him on the top of a mountain. Matthew 4 verses 8 to 10. “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:8-10). The devil, in his audacity and arrogance, thought that his own creator, when he was Lucifer before he fell, was created by the Son of God.

Now has the audacity to think that the very creator of his can bow before him and worship him. It was a powerful temptation. Those three temptations were the most powerful. that the devil has been used on men for centuries, and they work every time. This was the most powerful. You might think, How can it be so powerful? If the devil came to me and said, Bow and worship me, I would not worship him. No believer would accept that temptation, would they? Think again. The choice the devil was given by the Lord was this: You can go to the cross, suffer, and receive your kingdom. Or you can have it the easy way without any suffering; you can have everything. Just bow down and worship me. No suffering was involved. That was the devil's shortcut. You know, when men are given the choice, men, women, or anyone else is given the choice.

On one side, you're going to get blessings, honour, and glory, but there's terrible suffering and persecution involved in that pathway. Terrible death, terrible agonies, terrible pains. On this side, easy way with no pain or suffering, almost every single person on this earth would choose the easy way; nobody wants to suffer pain and agonies, and that's the devil's way; god's way is through suffering and then glory, and that's the way the Lord Jesus chose, even though it meant the cross and suffering, because he would not sin, and he could not sin, he would not do what the devil said to him; he told her to get thee hence. Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. How wonderful of our Lord to choose such a path! There would be so much suffering he would go through that he might be glorified.

Peter wrote these words, “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1Peter 1:11). The sufferings of Christ and the glory that shall follow, which should follow. So we must understand that when we're given a choice in the Christian life, we want to see blessing, we want to see, we want to do something for God, and we're given a choice of two ways. One way is so easy; everything's smooth, and everything goes wonderfully. The other way is hard: discouragement. Depression, disappointment, rejection, persecution—choose that way because that's God's way.

Don't choose the easy way; that is the devil's way. So when you've got a choice in life, when you're in the Lord's work and ministry, always choose what looks to be difficult, painful, and harsh, because that will be God's way to blessing. When things are too easy, beware. Ask yourself, Am I on the right path? Because God's path is not an easy path; it's not a smooth path; it's always a difficult path. So you cannot be on the right hand and the left hand of the Lord without first having suffered. And that's an important lesson for us. Beware of the devil's shortcuts. Beware of choosing an easy way, because that's often not the right way.

2. John’s Sectarianism

The second occasion was John's sectarianism. In Luke chapter 9, verse 49, the second occasion where he acted against the spirit of the gospel. “And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” (Luke 9:49). Here's another aspect of pride, very similar to the one where the disciples were seeking to be the greatest. In Luke 9:46, we read, “Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.” (Luke 9:46). So they individually wanted to be the greatest, and it was pride. But now there's another danger. Not just the danger of exalting yourself, but the danger of exalting a company, a group of believers. We are special. We are close to the Lord. We belong to the Lord, not them. They're not with us. That's another form of pride.

When a group of Christians, an assembly, or a church of Christians, thinks they're superior to other Christians, they're closer to the Lord than other Christians. Now this man was using the name of Jesus to do this miracle—the miracle of casting out devils. So he was clearly a believer. He was not against the Lord; he was for him. And he was successful. He was actually casting out demons. And God's power was clearly seen operating. They forbade him, they forbade him, and they discouraged him. They did not say that because he did not follow Jesus. They said because he followed us, not us. The man was not in their circle or close to the Lord. They felt they had a monopoly on the Lord. They were special. They were us, and he was not with them. Sectarianism, like pride, is in the human heart. Thinking we're the only privileged ones. and special ones who belong to Christ and not others who also love Him. Or that we are much superior because of our perceived closeness to Christ and others.

We know the Bible better. We've been brought up in the right background, in the right family. We've been brought up in the right church. We're brought up knowing all that we know. We know how to say prayers better than other people. We know the Bible better than other Christians. and soon that sectarianism and pride take over, they are not with us. What a dreadful thing that they were forbidding a man from delivering people from hell! They would rather people go to hell, possessed by these demons, than be delivered by this man just because he was not with us. How low can believers sink? Well, we can sink very low. not just these apostles; they're a lesson for us. We would hinder others from doing God's work because they're not with us, not with our group, not with our circle. There are many who try to create sectarian groups amongst believers, and it's a grief to the Spirit of God.

They forgot their failure

They forgot about their own failure. It's one thing saying, he shouldn't be casting out demons, but could they cast out demons? No. Look what happened in the previous chapters, Matthew 17, verses 14–17, where we read, “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.” (Matthew 17:14-17). Our Lord was so grieved with the nation and its unbelief and also so grieved with his own disciples.

Now Mark's gospel reveals another thing. Not just their lack of faith, but their lack of faith caused this man. to doubt whether the Lord could do anything. He said this in Mark 9:22, “And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” (Mark 9:22). No one ever said words like that to the Lord. Often, they would say, If you are willing, not if you can, and they never doubted his ability. They realised He has the power—almighty power—to heal. But they doubted whether he was willing to be gracious to them as a sinner. But this man actually doubted whether the Lord can; if you are willing, if you can, he said. He realised who the Lord really is—that standing before him was the creator of the universe, God incarnate—and he would never have said if. But why did he talk like this?

Well, it's because of the behaviour of the disciples. because they were so hopeless, useless, and faithless that the Lord was so grieved with them that this man thought if they couldn't do anything, maybe their master couldn't do anything either. That's why the Lord was very grieved because the apostles gave him a bad testimony by their unbelief. What a solemn lesson for us today: that by our very failures, we can put others off trusting in the Lord Jesus. When Peter spoke about false teachers, he said this: that in 2 Peter 2 verses 1 and 2, he said, Peter prophesies of the false teachers who because of their followers and their behaviour, “… the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” (2 Peter 2:1-2). Because of their followers and their behaviour, the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Because of their behaviour, the truth will be spoken f as evil. However, this man did confess his weakness, faith, and unbelief. We read this in Mark 9, 23, 24, and then 25.

We read these words. “ Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:23-24). “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” (Mark 9:25). He wouldn't have had that unbelief were it not for the behaviour of the apostles.

Jesus Command

Then Jesus commanded them. In Luke 9.50, “And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9:50). They were not to stop him from doing the Lord's work. He was not against them. He was for the Lord. He was on the Lord's side and on their side. Well, John learned his lesson eventually. He went on to write in 3 John, verse 8, “We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” (3 John 1:8). We see a similar example just quoting from you, Eldad and Medad, who prophesied in the camp in Numbers 11 verses 25–29, and Joshua wanted to forbid them, but Moses had a big heart for all of the Lord's people. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:25-29). He had no sectarianism in his heart at all.

D.L. Moody was like that—the great Christian evangelist of the 19th century. He could hold a crowd in the palm of his hand. He was a terrific preacher, very simple and powerful, and thousands were saved. Yet he never, despite establishing several religious institutions, Bible colleges, and so on, displayed the sort of pompousness and self-importance that so many famous evangelists of his day did. He was quite a tolerant and understanding man who really criticised other believers. When someone would come to him with some slander against another evangelist, worker, or believer, he would say, Right now, I'm having so much trouble with DL Moody that I don't have time to find fault with the other fellow. He was truly a humble man. James and John's sectarianism. What a lesson it has for us today! Not to look down upon other believers and believers in other churches and denominations who are genuinely saved by our brothers and sisters. Not to look down upon others in our own assemblies, thinking we're superior, that we're somewhat privileged and special. The Lord is very grieved by that kind of attitude.

3. James and John want the Samaritans Destroyed

Thirdly, and finally, we look at James and John. wanting the Samaritans to be destroyed. On the third occasion, they acted against the spirit and grace of the gospel. Luke, chapter nine, verses 54 to 56. “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” (Luke 9:54-56). The incident referred to took place in 2 Kings chapter 1, verses 9–12, where two captains of fifty were burned up by fire from heaven at the command of Elijah. They were sent by wicked King Ahaziah, who fell down from his window and sought help from Baal. And when he rebuked him, he sent captains to have him arrested. But each captain was burned up with fire from heaven, except the third one, who humbled himself.

So they wanted that to happen to the Samaritans because they were refusing the Lord Jesus. Burn them all up! Send them all to hell! It tells us in this verse that we read, But he turned, but he turned. Jesus turned. They were behind him. He turned behind them and rebuked them. They were following the shepherd as his sheep and speaking to him behind him. They were following the shepherd, but they did not have a shepherd's heart themselves. The Lord had a love for lost sheep. He was here to seek and save what was lost. And he was patient and long-suffering, even with those who initially rejected him. Later on, they would turn to Him and be saved.

Jesus Rebukes Them

So the Lord sternly rebuked them. They were ignorant of his grace. This was not the day of judgement, as the Lord made it very clear in the synagogue at Nazareth that He had come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4 verse 19. When the Lord quoted Isaiah, He deliberately left out the next sentence, which said, and the day of the vengeance of our God, He left it out because He had come not to bring vengeance to this earth, He had come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Yes, in the Old Testament, when the Jews were under the law, they were punished severely when they broke God's laws and sinned against Him. But this was the acceptable year of the Lord. The Lord had come to save the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles—the whole world. John learned his lesson, and he wrote in 1 John 4 verse 14. “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” (1John 4:14).

In the Moody Bible Commentary, it is written that the lesson for these disciples was this: those who reject Christ are not the enemy; they are the mission field. must not look at them as the enemy just because they initially reject Christ. They are a mission field. The Lord Jesus said, He came not to destroy men's lives but to save them. And how did John feel? He must have felt very humbled when, after the day of Pentecost, many, many Samaritans came to the Lord. The very ones he wanted to see were all burned up and sent to hell. They came to Christ. And we read this in Acts chapter 8, verses 14–15, “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 8:14-15).

He must have been so rebuked, so humbled, and so joyful that the very people he thought deserved to be destroyed because they initially did not receive the Lord, now he saw them in their thousands turning to the Lord. and he prayed for them. He put his hands on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. You know, he went on to write. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” (1John 3:1).

Now, in a similar incident many, many years ago, when I used to give out gospel literature outside our hall, one day a man came up to me, and I gave him a booklet on the prodigal son, a gospel booklet. And he looked at it, and he asked me, What is this? So I explained to him that there's a heaven, there's a hell, and the Lord Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, and he started to get very angry and started to blaspheme. I've never heard a man blaspheme like him, cursing God and saying horrible things. So I warned him, if you're going to go down to hell and judge this guy, and he went even worse, blasphemies. He started uttering even worse blasphemies. So he went away, shaking that book at me, cursing and shouting.

The following week, I saw him coming again. I was so worried that I thought, Oh no, I'm going to get the same again. But he came up to me to apologize. He said, You know, I'd like to apologise for the way I behaved last week. I was drunk. He said, I read that booklet you gave me. Is it true? Can Jesus save me? He asked me. And he was really genuine and sincere, wanting to know, Can Jesus save me? And I shared the gospel with him and the love of God with him. And I left him. I don't know what became of him. That was nearly 40 years ago. I don't know what became of that man. I'd love to think that he was saved. But it just shows how easily we can think—oh, what a terrible blasphemer! What a Christ-rejecter! He deserves to go to hell, we can think.

But yet, God worked in his heart, and God made him realise he was wrong. And he began to read the gospel about wanting to be saved. So let us not be like James and John, just because unbelievers are so hard. We feel that; leave them. Who cares? We shouldn't care about them. We should still love them and still pray that God will open their eyes to the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless this study in our hearts. Amen.