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The New King James translation of Luke 9:51 says “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Jesus to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9(1) was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him. No matter what was on His “to do list,” His face was always set, His eye was always focused, and His stride never wavered from His ultimate purpose.
Sometimes, as we remember the events of Holy Week, we can fall into a trap of thinking that Jesus’s crucifixion was the result of Judas’s betrayal, the Sanhedrin’s envy and hatred, Pilate’s spinelessness, and the soldiers’ cruelty. We can be lulled into thinking His death was involuntary. And salvation was the result of God taking something that the enemy meant for evil and using it for His glory and our good.
Now, don’t misunderstand me, the enemy had evil intentions. But Jesus’s death on the cross was not God’s afterthought resulting from the enemy’s plan. The cross was a part of the Father’s redemptive plan from the very beginning. As John Piper wrote, “Jesus was not accidentally entangled in a web of injustice. He was the very embodiment of His Father’s love for sinners.”(2) And the cross was to be the instrument of that mission.
Luke tells us that Jesus knew that the time was drawing near, and He “steadfastly set His face” toward thatmoment that would occur at that place. Jesus later said, “No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily…. For this is what My Father has commanded.”(3) His face was set to fulfill the mission that the Father had given Him.
In the course of this particular journey in Luke 9, Jesus and His disciples were taking the direct route through Samaria. In previous posts, i have talked about the enmity that existed between Samaritans and Jews, and the normal practice for Jews to bypass Samaria in their travels. But Jesus was not making any detours. Obviously the Samaritan village He was approaching was not Sychar (the village in which he had previously encountered the woman at the well). If it had been Sychar, they would have rolled out the red carpet of welcome.
But this unnamed village in Samaria would do no such thing. Jesus’s fame was spreading throughout the region, including reports that He was the Messiah. The Samaritans who lived in this particular village apparently thought that Jesus “was on His way to Jerusalem” (the location of the Jewish Temple) to establish His kingdom – an earthly kingdom. They took offense that He did not plan to establish His kingdom in Gerizim (the location of the Samaritan’s temple). Therefore, they had decided they would not show Him any hospitality in their village. Thus they refused to grant Jesus entry.
James and John, the “sons of thunder,”(4) took this affront toward Jesus very personally. Bear in mind that the two of them, together with the rest of the disciples, still also thought Jesus was going to declare Himself an earthly ruler and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem. Though Jesus had already told them about His upcoming death, the disciples still did not understand.
For James and John, this particular journey to Jerusalem was a victory march. The Conqueror was going to Jerusalem to claim His reward – and the disciples were part of His conquering army. Who did this insignificant Samaritan village think they were – and how could they possibly treat the Messiah in such a way? James and John were ready to wipe them off of the face of the earth! Quite possibly they even thought that word of the village’s destruction would get to Jerusalem before they arrived—and Jerusalem would tremble! Great plan… only, it was the wrong plan, and Jesus rebuked them, before they simply went to another town.
Let’s stop and apply this. The disciples had a mistaken view of what their journey was all about. They still had a wrong view of the Kingdom and of Jesus’s mission. Therefore they had a wrong view of their role as His disciples in the Kingdom. If Jesus’s mission was to judge, then the disciples’ role would have been to execute judgment. However, if His mission was to be a sacrifice for the salvation of the lost, before He comes again to reign in glory and in power, then their role was to follow Him and be His witnesses for the salvation of the lost. The former road leads to position, prestige and power; the latter to the glory of the Father by way of Calvary.
What James and John had to learn, you and i must also learn. Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem is our journey. If He has set His face to that mission, we must set our face to follow Him in that mission. Be careful that you don’t get lulled into a notion that Jesus suffered and died so that we might have comfort, treasure, and privilege on this side of eternity. Earlier in Luke 9, Jesus had already taught, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.”(5)
Following Jesus is a journey on the Calvary Road. As John Piper also wrote, “When Jesus set His face to walk the Calvary Road, He was not merely taking our place; He was setting our pattern. He is our substitute and our pacesetter.”(6) The Calvary Road is not the road of material prosperity; it is a road of selfless sacrifice. It is a road on which we are to follow Him wherever He leads and however He leads. It is a journey that is characterized by loving our neighbor – whoever they are – and making disciples – wherever they are… and all else is loss.
We must be careful that our hearts haven’t become hardened like that village in Samaria, failing to grant any room or place in our lives to Jesus. But also, we must make sure that our focus is not like James and John, sanctimoniously conveying judgment and spiritual piety – and failing to be about the Father’s business. Let us set our faces like the Master on His mission and follow Him on His Calvary Road.
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As i’ve already mentioned, you can read about these particular events in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
This post is taken from chapter 41 of my book, Walking With The Master. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Luke 9:51-56 (NLT)
As the time drew near for Him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for His arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because He was on His way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village.
(2) He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem by John Piper
(3) John 10:18 (NLT)
(4) Mark 3:17
(5) Luke 9:23-24(NLT)
(6) He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem by John Piper
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