Luke 9:51-56

Posted by DJL on Sep 28, 2013 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

This is a, and perhaps the, turning point in the story Luke tells. It occurs right near the middle of the narrative, when Jesus, fully aware of the timing of his destiny, sets his face to go to Jerusalem.

If this were a film, there would be a certain amount of everyday hubbub going on around Jesus when all of a sudden he hears something no one else can hear and all grows quiet as he turns his head and looks down the long road toward Jerusalem while the camera telescopes across the miles until we can see the city and just beyond it, outside its gates, a hill with three crosses on it.

That’s the drama Luke intends that we sense in this pivot point in the story. And lest we miss that, he then shares a scene where Jesus travels next to a Samaritan town where all the people are ready to receive him but don’t because they sense his determination. He will not be deterred; he will not be delayed – he has set his face for Jerusalem.

The reaction of James and John is simultaneously tragic and predictable. Tragic because, full of their recent successes, they imagine they have the capability to destroy and are eager to exploit it, predictable because power often leads to exploitation.

Jesus’ response is important to note: he rebukes him. The work he was sent to do would not be, could not be, accomplished by violence. For to bring in God’s kingdom by violence is to betray the character of that kingdom. It was true then; it remains true today.

Jesus is on the road. He has set his face. He is marching to meet his destiny. There is need for nothing more. Except, perhaps, our attention.

Prayer: Dear God, fasten our eyes on the pilgrimage of your son from Galilee to Jerusalem, from heaven to earth, from his glory to our sin, from life to death…and through death to life again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.