I assume James and John had Elijah on their minds. In Luke 9, Jesus sends messengers ahead of him into a Samaritan village. It probably didn't surprise the disciples when the people do not welcome him. To them, those were Samaritans, after all. Their rejection stirred a memory of how others rejected God's word and power.
"Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
That's something Elijah did. Twice.
Now, they wanted to defend Jesus with that same divine force they thought they could control. But Jesus rebuked the brothers.
In scripture, fire coming down from heaven is a sign of God's power and approval. Fire came down on Elijah's drenched offering to show that "you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all things at your word" (I Kings 18). Later, the Lord directed Elijah to speak against King Ahaziah. The king sent men up to Elijah and commanded him to come down. Notice the up and down play on words. But Elijah anticipated that fire would come down again.
And it did.
By the way, the king was in Samaria.
James and John remind me how so many times we want to put people in their place. Especially when they reject what we believe. But Jesus didn't call down fire. He called his disciples to follow a different way.
Remember that Jesus said his followers would do greater works than he did. And after his resurrection, they did. In Acts 8, Philip preaches in a Samaritan city and the people receive the good news. As a result, "There was great joy in that city." 
That is the greater work. Not destruction. Joy. Healing. Peace.
Not fire from above. Love lived below.
We don't need to bring people down to prove we're right. Jesus shows us a better way to be prophetic. By laying down our power for the sake of his love.
Stay blessed...john | 
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