He Set His Face To Jerusalem

In the Gospel of Luke chapter nine, Jesus is traveling south with the disciples after finishing his Galilean ministry. He had preached in many synagogues, taught in many towns, and performed many miracles. He had spent every day of the last year and half to two years with his twelve disciples. His words and teachings would become the doctrinal foundation of Christianity. He is now in the last six months of his life. The time has come for him to journey back to Jerusalem to be crucified, and so "he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." The Latin Vulgate says he "strengthened his face." This denotes courage, boldness, and firmness of mind.

We often minimize the fact that Jesus was wholly human as well as wholly God. We think that He was probably not as troubled by sin, temptation, and selfishness as we are, and living in this world was easier for him. But Jesus was as human as we are and he had to choose to obey his Father just as we do. He made the choice to go to Jerusalem with full knowledge of what awaited him there. It was not an easy choice. It was hard. He knew what going to Jerusalem meant. He predicts in Luke 18:32,

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him…"

When Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, he set his face to die. He willingly chose to go to the cross for us---to take upon himself our sins, our shame. He states in John 10:18, "No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." He knew God's purpose for his life and he was committed to carrying it out at all costs. His disciples were still ignorant and unaware of Jesus' true purpose. While traveling to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples took the shortest route, through Samaria, even though the Samaritans and the Jews despised one another.

They had journeyed through Samaria before. John chapter4 tells of Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman. The woman became a believer as a result of her encounter with Jesus Christ and John 4:39-40 says, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified…So when the Samaritans had come to him they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed two more days. And many more believed because of His own word."

However this time, Jesus and the disciples did not get a warm reception. "But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for Jerusalem." (Luke 9:53)

Public opinion of Christ was already changing. His rejection by the people had begun. His disciples, James and John, wanted to destroy Samaria because of their rejection. The "sons of thunder" lived up to their reputation.

"And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.' For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.. And they went to another village." Luke 9:53-56

Jesus' message to his disciples and to us in this passage is clear. You too will be rejected by men. To be a true disciple of Jesus is to be an imitator of Him. He calls us to follow him down Calvary Road to Golgotha. We must crucify ourselves, our selfish nature, and our wishes for a comfortable life. We must allow the light of God's Word to penetrate the darkest parts of our sinful hearts. We must be ready to give up our desires and wishes to serve God and one another. This is true discipleship ——to be ready and willing to "set our face to Jerusalem."

Tell Me A Story

When my mother passed away five years ago, I had the task of going through her photos and mementos. As I delicately and lovingly looked at all her things, I discovered a woman I did not know. This young woman was adventurous, a risk taker, and loved to have fun. Her best friend, Lottie Mae said, "Bettie Jane and I made our own fun wherever we went." Bettie loved to travel and saved many of the mementos from those travels. She saved a paper placement from a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, which was a long way from Lawrence, Mississippi. She saved her citations and her letter of commendations from her commanding officer when she was discharged from the Army at Fort Lawson, Washington, 1947. I read a love letter addressed "My Dearest Darling" and signed "all my love to the sweetest girl in the world" from my father. I never heard my father call my mother "darling. When my mother died, the untold stories of her life also died. My father, now in his eighties and in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease remembers them no more. I am sad for myself and for my children that I did not take the time to ask my mother or my father to tell me their stories, especially their stories of faith. I hope to not repeat this mistake with my story.

Stories are the fabric of our lives. It is through story that we learn about good and evil, love and hate, gains and losses. Stories feed our soul. We learn about life through story. We learn from William Wallace in Braveheart that freedom is costly but worth fighting for. We learn from Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings Triology that true friendship is a treasure, and everyone has a journey to complete.

The Bible also teaches us through story. Seventy percent of the Bible is written as a narrative; as a story. We learn about forgiveness through Joseph's story. We learn about waiting through Abraham and Sarah's story. Through the story of the woman at the well, we learn that everyone has a past.

God is telling the world a story through you. We are invited to be a part of the story. If you want to get to know someone you need to know their story. If you want to know yourself and your place in this world you need to examine your own story.

Proverbs 16:19 says "The mind of Man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." How has God directed your steps along your journey? Who has he used to draw you to himself? What other characters are instrumental in shaping your story. In the Lord of the Ring series one of the main characters, Sam, talks about the power of story. He then turns to the hero of the tale, Frodo and asks "I wonder what sort of tale we have fallen into?" Sometimes our lives feel like something we have just "fallen into". But the Master Storyteller is weaving his tale of grace, love, redemption, and rescue throughout our lives. We need to take the time to look for that golden thread weaved into our story.

Your story has the power to glorify God, and heal others and yourself. Tell it, share it, write it, examine it, and look for the amazing fingerprints of God on your life, for God is telling His Story through you, and it is the Greatest Story Ever Told.