Jesus Christ, 4d
Setting His Face Toward Jerusalem
A decisive turning point in Jesus' ministry occurs when Luke records that "as the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). This was no casual travel decision. Jesus knew that Jerusalem meant suffering and death, yet he moved toward it with unwavering purpose. The Greek phrase suggests a fixed determination, a face set like flint (echoing Isaiah 50:7).
Jesus first attempted to pass through Samaria, but a Samaritan village refused to receive him because he was headed to Jerusalem (Luke 9:52-53). The centuries-old hostility between Jews and Samaritans surfaced immediately. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven in the manner of Elijah, but Jesus rebuked their vengeful impulse (Luke 9:54-55), demonstrating that the kingdom of God advances through mercy, not destruction.
This rejection in Samaria redirected Jesus' route through Perea, the region east of the Jordan River, where he would conduct a significant ministry during his final months.
The Mission of the Seventy-Two
Before entering the Perean territory, Jesus took the significant step of sending out seventy-two disciples ahead of him (Luke 10:1-20). This mission paralleled the earlier sending of the twelve apostles (Luke 9:1-6) but on a much larger scale, indicating how much Jesus' following had grown. The disciples were sent in pairs to every town and place Jesus intended to visit, with instructions to heal the sick and announce, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9).
Jesus' instructions were urgent: travel light, accept hospitality, and move on quickly from towns that reject the message. He warned that cities which witnessed his mighty works but refused to repent would face a more severe judgment than ancient pagan cities: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago" (Luke 10:13).
When the seventy-two returned with joy, reporting that even demons submitted to them in Jesus' name, Jesus responded with a remarkable declaration: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). Yet he redirected their focus from power to relationship: "Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).
Parables and Teachings Unique to This Period
Luke's account of the journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27) contains a treasury of teachings found nowhere else in the Gospels. Many of Jesus' most beloved parables belong to this section:
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) answered the question "Who is my neighbor?" by making the despised Samaritan the hero, shattering ethnic and religious prejudice. The story was prompted by a lawyer's attempt to justify himself, and Jesus turned the question around: instead of defining who qualifies as a neighbor, he asked who acted as a neighbor.
The parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) warned against greed and the illusion that material security equals spiritual safety. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15).
The Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Prodigal Son (Luke 15) form a trilogy about God's relentless pursuit of the lost. These parables were told in response to Pharisees who criticized Jesus for eating with sinners, and they reveal the heart of God as a seeking, celebrating, welcoming Father.
The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) addressed the consequences of ignoring the poor and the finality of death as it relates to one's eternal destiny.
Encounters and Conflicts
The journey to Jerusalem was marked by intensifying conflict with the religious establishment and by encounters that revealed people's responses to Jesus' claims.
Jesus dined at the home of a Pharisee and pronounced a series of woes against the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy (Luke 11:37-54). He warned his disciples against the "yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1).
He healed a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years on the Sabbath, provoking outrage from the synagogue leader. Jesus responded, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?" (Luke 13:15), showing that the Sabbath was made for liberation, not restriction.
When warned that Herod Antipas wanted to kill him, Jesus replied with defiance and sorrow: "Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'" He then lamented over Jerusalem: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing" (Luke 13:32-34).
The Approach to Jerusalem
As Jesus drew closer to Jerusalem, his teaching became increasingly focused on the cost of discipleship and the coming crisis. He warned that following him required counting the cost (Luke 14:25-33). He taught about the kingdom's unexpected nature, comparing it to a mustard seed and yeast (Luke 13:18-21).
The raising of Lazarus in Bethany (John 11:1-44), which falls within this final period, became the decisive event that moved the Jewish leadership to plot Jesus' death: "From that day on they plotted to take his life" (John 11:53). The miracle that demonstrated Jesus' power over death became the catalyst for his own death.
Jesus' entry into Jericho brought the encounter with Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus's home, provoking grumbling but producing genuine repentance: "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor" (Luke 19:8). Jesus declared, "Today salvation has come to this house... For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:9-10), a summary statement of his entire mission.
Biblical Context
This period of Jesus' ministry is recorded primarily in Luke 9:51-19:27, often called Luke's 'Travel Narrative' or 'Central Section.' Parallel accounts appear in John 10-11 (the Feast of Dedication, the Good Shepherd discourse, and the raising of Lazarus). Matthew includes some of the same teachings in different contexts (Matthew 18-20). The journey culminates in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-44; Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-19).
Theological Significance
Jesus' deliberate journey to Jerusalem reveals the voluntary nature of his sacrifice. He was not a victim of circumstances but a willing participant in God's redemptive plan. The parables of this period reveal God's character more fully than perhaps any other section of the Gospels: a God who seeks the lost, welcomes sinners, demands radical generosity, and warns against complacency. The mission of the seventy-two demonstrates that Jesus' kingdom ministry extends beyond the twelve apostles to all his followers. The intensifying conflict with religious leaders exposes the danger of religion without compassion.
Historical Background
Perea (meaning 'beyond') was the region east of the Jordan River, governed by Herod Antipas alongside Galilee. It was predominantly Jewish in population and served as an alternative route from Galilee to Jerusalem for Jews who wished to avoid Samaria. The Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) mentioned in John 10:22 commemorated the rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 164 BC. Jericho, where Jesus encountered Zacchaeus, was a prosperous city that Herod the Great had rebuilt as a winter palace complex, the remains of which have been extensively excavated. The road from Jericho to Jerusalem, the setting of the Good Samaritan parable, was notoriously dangerous, descending through barren, rocky wilderness.