Facing the Cross
On Sunday, April 17, 2022, Christians around the world will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each year true believers celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as the greatest single event in human history. While the resurrection is a matter worthy of reflection, my attention, on this day, was directed toward the disciple-making process.
The biblical text for my devotion came from chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel. In my opinion, Luke 9 is a transitional chapter. In prior chapters, Jesus is the primary focus, His ministry, teaching, and miracles. Chapter 9 begins a focus on Jesus’ turn toward Jerusalem. Jesus remains the most important character, but the development of His disciples was my central focus. Jesus is preparing them to walk in His footsteps.
As you know, there is a vast difference between hearing and actually doing it yourself. The disciple-making process Jesus used involved both instruction and hands-on experience. Chapter 9 begins with Jesus calling the disciples together for the purpose of giving them power and authority over all demons, healing diseases, and then sending them out on the mission field (Luke 9:1-2).
While I think it is possible to make the case that all of Chapter 9 has much to say about disciple-making, that’s not my intention here. While I was considering the disciple-making process, the Holy Spirit redirected my chain of thought. I want to focus on the six verses where the Holy Spirit grabbed my attention, Luke 9:51-56.
It was in these six verses that the Spirit showed me something I had never considered before. That is, as we look ahead in anticipation of Easter 2022, two thousand years ago, Jesus was thinking about His journey to Jerusalem and the cross.
51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56And they went on to another village. (Luke 9:51-56 ESV)
These six verses are packed with revelation, and more than one blog is required to unpack the truth they contain. I plan is to focus only on verse 51 here and cover the remaining five verses in later posts. Let’s begin by looking at the context surrounding these verses.
Chapter 9 begins with Jesus calling His disciples together for a team meeting. He intends to initiate the next level of discipleship training. Jesus prepared them with all the power and authority they needed to cast out demons and cure diseases. Then, He sent them out with His authority to proclaim the Kingdom of God and with the power to heal all diseases (Luke 9:1-2). Before sending them out, Jesus gave specific instructions for how they should travel (Luke 9:3-6).
The disciples rejoined Jesus upon their return. He took them to a quiet village called Bethsaida, where they processed their mission experiences. Jesus, the master teacher, used their experiences as a teaching tool. But when people realized where they were, huge crowds followed. Jesus spent an entire day speaking about the kingdom of God and healing people (Luke 9:10-11). This, too, was a training exercise.
Let’s skip over a few verses and focus on the text, Luke 9:51-56, where the Holy Spirit began to redirect my thinking. Eventually, we will look at all six verses, but I want to begin with verse 51. The Spirit pointed out that, although Jesus was surrounded by people, He was alone with His thoughts about what He would face in Jerusalem.
51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
During these days, Jesus trained His disciples, healed the sick, and fed the hungry. All the while, only Jesus was thinking about what will happen in Jerusalem in a few short weeks. While the disciples and the crowds were oblivious to His future, Jesus knew what was coming. In just a few weeks, He would suffer pain and death for their benefit. Jesus, alone, knew what was coming!
Jesus tried to prepare His disciples, those closest to Him, for coming events, but His reality fell outside their range of thinking. Consider verses 21 and 22.
21And he (Jesus) strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke (21-22 ESV)
Jesus told His disciples about the events that would soon come to pass, and they failed to understand. Then, in verses 43 and 44, He tried again.
43And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marveling at everything He was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Once again, the disciples had no idea what was about to happen to Jesus and the suffering He would endure. Some biblical scholars propose that the disciples were even in a celebratory mood as they turned toward Jerusalem. After all, Jerusalem was the place where kings were crowned.
It was at this point that the Spirit interrupted my thinking about disciple-making. The people were not only unaware of the agonies Jesus would face in Jerusalem; they were numb to the sins that made it necessary for Him to die for them. The Spirit pointed out that while the world kept on turning, the greatest event in human history was about to take place. God’s plan for redeeming Creation was about to break into reality. Even the people closest to Jesus had no idea what He was about to do for them.
Now, as we look forward to celebrating Easter 2022, we must not forget that the cross came before the resurrection. Jesus shed His blood and died upon the cross of Calvary as payment for the sin of the world. You and I must never forget that these historical events are personal too. We have reason to celebrate because Christ’s sacrifice paid the sin debt for you and me.
Hanging there on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “Forgive them” is all-inclusive. The prayer to forgive them includes you and me. While we didn’t personally hammer the nails into His hands and feet, and while we didn’t physically raise Him on the cross, He suffered and died for your sins and mine.
Look at verse 51 again. We read that Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem. He was resolute in fulfilling His destiny in God’s plan of redemption. Look carefully at part “a” of verse 51. Jesus knew He would face suffering and death in Jerusalem, but His focus was on life after death. He looked past death and resurrection to His ascension, being taken up into Heaven. When death was defeated, His work on earth was complete, so Jesus looked toward His heavenly reward.
It was prophesied long ago that the coming Savior of the world would suffer and die as an atonement for sin. Only weeks before His crucifixion, the masses failed to fully understand their need for a Savior. While many were convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, they were not looking for forgiveness of their sins.
As we look forward to the Easter 2022 celebration, I pray that we can see past the distractions of colored eggs, candy, and bunnies to celebrate what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Remember, the cross came before Easter. Don’t forget that Jesus had you in mind when He “set His face to go to Jerusalem”
In the next blog, I will continue to unpack Luke 9:51-56. We will consider the unrepentant culture of the day.