Luke 9:51

‘And it came about, when the days were well-nigh come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.'

We have already seen in Luke 9:22; Luke 9:31; Luke 9:44 that Jesus' destiny is to die in Jerusalem. We are now told that the remainder of Luke's Gospel is to be read in that light. All that is said from now on is to have as its background His coming death and resurrection. Note how by implication His death and resurrection are seen together. This was specifically so in Luke 9:22, it is shown to be so in Luke 9:44 by the use of the term ‘exodus' as a synonym for ‘death and what lies beyond', and here by the description of His being ‘received up' (compare Luke 13:33). The two terms used in the latter two cases connect Him to Moses and Elijah, for Moses led the Exodus of God's people out of Egypt and Elijah was ‘received up' into Heaven. ‘Received up' here must include His death, for His purpose in going to Jerusalem is to die (Luke 13:33; compare also John 12:32), but the comparison with its use of Elijah (2 Kings 2:10 LXX) suggests that it also includes His resurrection.

The previous section to this has concentrated on Who He is, culminating in His Transfiguration, and is now behind us. From now on concentration is to be on His teaching, His warnings and His response to His enemies in preparation for the final climax. This will then result, in Acts, in the spreading of the Kingly Rule of God throughout ‘the world'. And in order to concentrate our minds on the cross in relation to it Luke depicts all that follows in terms of His ‘set purpose to go to Jerusalem' to die. All that He does and teaches from now on He does against the background of the cross.

As usual Luke achieves his impression by silences, a typical Lucan approach. Jesus actually visits Jerusalem three times during the course of these Chapter s, but Luke deliberately passes over the fact so as give the theological impression of one drawn out journey to Jerusalem. For he wants us to see that from this moment on Jesus is heading towards His death in Jerusalem.

He does, for example, draw attention to Jesus going through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem in the verses immediately following this verse, after which He almost certainly visits Jerusalem in Luke 10:38, for Mary and Martha lived at Bethany on the outskirts of Jerusalem (John 11:1). But he describes it merely as ‘a visit to a certain village'. He does not want to disturb the idea that Jesus is ‘on His way to die in Jerusalem'.

He is probably also in or near Jerusalem at the time of Luke 13:34, compare Matthew 23:37, for Matthew's context for that saying is Jerusalem, and Luke 13:22; Luke 13:33 in Luke appear to be building up to being again at Jerusalem. Yet in Luke 17:11 He is passing between Galilee and Samaria ‘on the way to Jerusalem'. A number of visits to Jerusalem in fact ties in with John's Gospel, which depicts precisely that. But Luke wants us to recognise that in all this journeying His eye is on His final entry into Jerusalem to die and on His final triumph there, and he therefore refrains from mentioning actual visits to Jerusalem before that. Theologically from this point on He is making one long ‘ journey to be received up in Jerusalem'.

Matthew and Mark both only deal with this period briefly. Having led up to the recognition of Jesus as ‘the Christ' by His disciples, and the revelation then made that He must suffer, they move swiftly on to that suffering (especially Mark). Luke has the same pattern, but expands the period over which it is revealed that He will suffer. Thus Luke emphasises the cross more than all.

The following verses reveal this progress towards Jerusalem:

· ‘Who appeared in glory, and spoke of His exodus which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem' (Luke 9:31).

· ‘And it came about that when the time was come that He should be received up, He set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem' (Luke 9:51).

· ‘And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He was going to Jerusalem' (Luke 9:53).

· ‘And Jesus answering said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead” ' (Luke 10:30).

· “Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, do you think that they were sinners above all men who dwell in Jerusalem?” (Luke 13:4).

· ‘And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying towards Jerusalem' (Luke 13:22).

· “Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).

· “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Luke 13:34).

· ‘And it came about that as He went to Jerusalem, He was passing through the midst of (between) Samaria and Galilee' (Luke 17:11).

· ‘Then He took to him the twelve, and said to them, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished” (Luke 18:31).

· ‘And as they heard these things, He added and spoke a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingly rule of God was about to immediately appear' (Luke 19:11).

· ‘And when He had thus spoken, He went on before, going up to Jerusalem' (Luke 19:28).

Now while the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30) does not depend on His being near Jerusalem, for a priest and Levite required such a background wherever He was, the parable certainly makes better sense as being given there, and this is especially so as it is followed immediately by His visit to Bethany which is on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The same applies to His reference to the Tower of Siloam in Luke 13:4, while Luke 13:22; Luke 13:33 equally give the appearance of an immediate approach to Jerusalem culminating in His cry over it. After that we then have the further approach in Luke 18:31; Luke 19:11; Luke 19:28. So each approach towards Jerusalem is to be seen as part of the one final great approach when He enters Jerusalem in triumph to die.

This also explains why He can here approach Jerusalem through Samaria in the following verses in this chapter, and yet can later approach it through Peraea. This first visit is from Luke's point of view a ‘non-visit', for it is not with a view to His death.