When the Samaritans refused to receive him what was said?
Luke: “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” ([ix, 54–56]).
It is conceded by the best Christian scholars that the words “as Elias did” and all that follow, excepting “he turned and rebuked them,” are spurious.
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What did Jesus say to the multitude concerning John the Baptist?
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence” ([Matthew xi, 12]).
The words, “from the days of John the Baptist until now,” signify that a long period of time had elapsed since the days of John. Yet, on the very day that Jesus is said to have uttered them, he received a visit from the disciples of John, who was still living ([Matthew xi, 2, 3]).