READ Luke 9:41b-56
One of the Bible verses I find most meaningful is Luke 9:51: When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.
That verse marks a turning point in Luke’s story of Jesus. Jesus had been teaching, and healing, and training the disciples. He had been primarily up in Galilee in the north, but from this point on, Jesus’ objective would be to go to Jerusalem.
Why do I find that verse meaningful?
The verse says that Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem. He was determined. He would not be dissuaded. He had made a decision. It is as if Jesus put His shoulder back, took a deep breath and said, “OK, let’s do it!”. Other translations say that He set out resolutely for Jerusalem.
Jesus knew what was ahead of Him. Just a few verses earlier (9:44), He had said to the disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands”. Earlier in the same chapter (9:22) He had said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life”.
Jesus knew exactly what was ahead. He knew there was to be terrible suffering, but He said, “OK, let’s do it” and He would not be dissuaded.
Doesn’t that reveal the incredible obedience of Jesus? He came to die. We know that He didn’t want to die. We know how much He later suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, pleading with God that this cup might be taken from Him. And yet, He took that deep breath and turned towards Jerusalem. And, in the Garden He also prayed, “Yet not my will but Yours be done”.
he humbled Himself and became obedient even to the point of death; even to the point of death on a Cross (Phil 2:8). This was the ultimate act of obedience; of self-sacrifice. Jesus setting His face towards Jerusalem means a lot to me…
…especially when I think about what motivated that determination. Jesus’ turning towards Jerusalem is an expression of love. He was willing to sacrifice Himself – at huge cost – for us. As John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend”. Jesus made that decision to lay down His life for us.
Of course, His obedience also reveals Jesus’ love for His Father. He and the Father worked perfectly in harmony. This was their plan to rescue the world – to rescue each one of us. It would be extremely costly for Jesus, but He knew this was the Father’s will. There was no other way for us to be reconciled to God. The world has turned away from God, but God has never turned away from the world. God never stopped seeking to bring us back. It is our sin that separates us from God. Somehow the price of our sin had to be paid. Jesus would pay that price. Luke 9:51 was the moment He began that walk to the Cross.
That one deep breath speaks to me of tremendous obedience motivated by tremendous love. As we approach Easter, I think again of Jesus’ willingness to die for me and I am filled with gratitude and praise.
Let’s go back a little bit in the story. I have already mentioned that, just prior to this, Jesus had spoken of His suffering in Jerusalem. The disciples did not understand.
They sure didn’t! Just after Jesus’ spoke about His coming suffering, the disciples got into an argument about who was the greatest. Jesus was modelling humility and self-sacrifice but the disciples were revealing their pride; their desire to be honoured. Followers of Jesus are meant to be like Jesus. The disciples were the opposite of Jesus. Jesus must have felt very alone and very misunderstood.
He asked a child to stand beside Him, and said, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For whoever is least among you all is the greatest.” (9:47-49). In that society, children had no standing; children could be ignored. But Jesus said the one who humbly acknowledges, and welcomes, a child is the greatest.
What was the disciples’ response? They had seen someone driving out demons in Jesus’ name and they told Jesus they had tried to stop him. It was as if they had not even heard what Jesus had said about being humble. Why did they want to stop that man? Was it because they wanted to keep the glory of driving out demons for themselves? Was it pride again?
That was when Jesus said, “OK, this is it” and set out for Jerusalem. He would die for these disciples. He would die so that their sinful pride might be forgiven. He would die for them even though they seemed little concerned for Him – even though they seemed to be as lost in their sin as ever.
He sent some messengers ahead, into a Samaritan village, to get things ready for Him. But the people there did not welcome Him. More rejection. Rejection would be a theme. Jesus would be rejected by the leaders of His own people. They refused to acknowledge Him as Messiah. They hated the attention He was getting from ordinary people, and they would ultimately decide to do away with Him. He wasn’t understood by the disciples; He was rejected by the Samaritans; He would be rejected by everybody – even His disciples would desert Him. He loved them; he would die for them; they didn’t care.
James and John wanted to call down fire to punish those Samaritans. That is a little ironic given the disciples had also not understood Jesus. How come they thought they were in a position to condemn others? It is also ironic that their reaction was to bring judgement. Jesus’ motivation was mercy. Jesus would die so that people would be forgiven, not judged. They didn’t get it.
Jesus then talked to the disciples about the cost of discipleship. Following Jesus isn’t about being the greatest or about receiving all the glory, or about judging others. Following Jesus is about following Jesus – being like Jesus. It is about humility and self-sacrifice. Followers of Jesus also take a deep breath and say, “OK, let’s do it! Let’s walk the path of obedience”.
Jesus’ last words in this chapter were, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God”. Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem; followers of Jesus are also asked to choose to follow and not look back.
What if we fail? This whole episode is about people failing: the disciples’ lack of understanding, lack of concern for Jesus, their pride and desire to see other judged. Sometimes we too act in ways that are a rejection of Jesus.
But the wonderful thing about this passage is that Jesus was determined to die for these very people. He wanted them to be forgiven and reconciled to God. He wanted them to have eternal life in the presence of God. Despite the way they ignored Him and rejected Him, He took that deep breath and set His face towards Jerusalem.
Lent is a traditional time of reflection –pausing to ponder Jesus’ willingness to die for us, and confessing again our gratitude that Jesus was willing – no, was determined, to die for us that we might be forgiven, and that we might be like Him.
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