Luke 9: 51- 62

51.   When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

NIV: As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

This is the beginning of the section of Luke’s gospel when Luke describes Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. (9:51 – 19:10).  Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, to his death.  He has ‘set his face’ to go there.  It seems that he made a conscious decision, knowing what he was headed towards, but he was firm in his decision to go, because he knew it was the only way to complete the work of the Father that he had been sent to do.

New Bible Commentary, p 997. We get the impression of a journey to Jerusalem which lasts throughout this section (cf much more briefly Mark 10), but it is unlikely that all that is recorded here took place on one trip.  Some of the incidents and sayings here may have belonged to Galilee or Jerusalem.  Probably Luke has gathered together material from various periods in the work of Jesus and groups it here because it fitted around various themes.  … 

The ‘journey’ theme suggests a parallel with the journey of the people of Israel through the desert with Moses when they received much instruction about their way of life.  It may also suggest a parallel between Jesus journeying to the cross and the disciples walking a similar path in life.  The general themes of this section are discipleship and opposition, and we are not allowed to forget that the disciples are accompanying Jesus on his way to the cross.

Jesus taught his disciples by his example, and we are also taught how to do God’s work by looking at the way he approached his task – by ‘setting his face’ to it, by being resolute, even though it was going to be difficult to face.  Being a disciple of Jesus is not always an easy decision to make or to keep.  Even in our country today it can, at the least, place us in uncomfortable situations where we have to make decisions about how we will act and then stick to them.  In some parts of the world, being a disciple can mean deprivation and danger.  It reminds me of God’s instructions and promise to Joshua when he took over leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses: “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

52, 53.   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 toward Jerusalem.

Just as when a monarch or an important person travels, someone goes ahead to announce that he or she is coming and to make suitable arrangements, some of Jesus’ followers went ahead to prepare the Samaritan village for Jesus’ arrival.  But the Samaritans were not happy to make things easy for a Jewish rabbi on his way to worship at the temple in Jerusalem.  The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other passionately.  The Samaritans were descended from gentile immigrants into the area who had intermarried with Jews.  As a mixed race, they were not welcome in the temple as Jews, so they had set up their own temple at Mt. Gerizim.

Jesus apparently frequently took the route through Samaria from Galilee to Jerusalem rather than a longer route, which skirted Samaria, and intended to spend some time in a Samaritan village, maybe an overnight stop.  In his gospel Luke mentions several incidents where Jesus showed tolerance and concern for non-Jews, including Samaritans.  This is not surprising in a book written by a follower and companion of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, but it emphasises that people who follow Jesus must show the same tolerance and concern for those whose nationality, race and religious beliefs are different from our own.

Quest Study Bible note p 1470.  The Samaritans were descendents from foreigners brought to the region centuries earlier to replace the ten tribes of Israel deported by the Assyrians.  The foreigners had intermarried with the remaining Israelites, leaving behind a mixed race that worshipped God, but according to their own traditions rather than the Word of God.  To Jews, the Samaritans represented the downfall of their nation and also represented forbidden intermarriages between Jews and Gentiles.  The Samaritans set up a rival religious system, claiming God should be worshipped on Mt Gerizim.

Baker Theological Dictionary, p 497:  As a gentile, Luke stresses the universal scope of Jesus’ ministry as Saviour of all humankind, not just the Jews; he frequently points out the ethnic-national background of persons.

54.   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?"

James and John – and probably the other disciples – were annoyed that Jesus had been slighted by the Samaritan village.  Perhaps they were offended because they felt they also had been treated with a lack of respect.  I wonder if they were taking it as a personal slight, as we so often do when we don’t take the time and effort to understand where other people are coming from. They remembered the story in their Scriptures about how the prophet Elijah had called down fire to burn up Samaritan soldiers who had been sent by the king of Samaria to bring Elijah to him after Elijah had criticised the king for consulting a pagan god rather than the God of Israel. [2 Kings 1: 2-16]  It seems that the disciples’ remembering or understanding of the story was not very accurate.  They conveniently interpreted it as Elijah calling down fire on the soldiers because they were Samaritans rather than as people who were treating God with contempt.

How often in the history of the Christian church have Christians mis-interpreted the Scriptures to provide reasons for prejudice, intolerance and sometimes downright injustice in their treatment of non-Christians or people of different race?

55.   But he turned and rebuked them.

Jesus rebuked the disciples for their attitude and he will rebuke us today when we are self centred, intolerant and uncaring.  

56.   Then they went on to another village.

Just as Jesus told the twelve [9: 4] and was to tell the seventy disciples [10:10,11] not to waste time where they were not welcomed when he sent them out in pairs to proclaim the good news and to heal, here he demonstrated that principle.  We are not to waste valuable time and energies trying to convince people about the gospel who do not want to hear.  We can pray for them, love them and care for them when that is appropriate and wait for the Spirit to work in their lives.  Convincing people of the truth of the gospel and their need for Christ is not our responsibility; that is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit.  I find this thought immensely freeing.

The next three incidents remind me of the story Jesus told of the seed sown in the different kinds of ground where some flourished; some took root, but withered quickly; some was eaten by birds; and some just didn’t even germinate, but simply dried up.  Here we have three people who had an opportunity to follow Jesus and who were challenged by Jesus to think carefully about making such a decision.  We don’t actually know what decision they eventually made.  It is left to us to think about our own decision in the light of Jesus’ challenges. 

57, 58.  As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Here is a person who, presumably, has become enthused by hearing or seeing Jesus in action and who wants to be part of the action.  Jesus was a charismatic personality, in the sense of being a person who aroused the interest of others and drew people towards himself.  He was someone to whom people responded strongly, one way or another.  There are always people who just want to be seen to be near someone like that and wanting to be thought of as part of the in-group, without necessarily wanting to accept any responsibilities. 

Jesus’ reply let him know that following Jesus is not necessarily ‘all beer and skittles’; it’s not fun and games and can result in great hardship.  Being an obedient Christian means that there are times when we must be prepared to be uncomfortable and insecure in order to do God’s work.  We set ourselves out of the natural order of things.  Life as a Christian can mean we stand up for unpopular causes, put ourselves out on behalf of other people and place our own security and interests, and sometimes that of our families, second.

59.   To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

Here was a person Jesus saw and in whom he recognised potential.  He offered an invitation to follow Jesus.  This person had responsibilities that were considered very important.  Burying relatives who had died was a top priority in Judaism where family is all-important.  Any Jewish person would have considered the request of this person to be very reasonable, especially if the father had recently died.  That may not have been the case, however.  The person would have had responsibility for caring for his/her father in his old age.  This also would have been seen as an acceptable reason for delaying the acceptance of Jesus’ invitation to follow him.  This person was potentially an ideal church member who was conscious of his/her responsibilities and willing to accept them and to carry them out properly.  But that would interfere with any task that Jesus might give him.  His own family came first.  Many Christians do the same.  They place their family responsibilities ahead of their response to the claims of Christ on their lives, and few people would criticise them for this.

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60.   But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

For Jesus, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God comes ahead of any other responsibilities, even those that are considered most important by the community we live in.  This seems a hard request that Jesus makes of us.  It involves complete trust in God to make sure that our families and loved ones are cared for while we are busy with God’s work.  God may not ask us to leave our family responsibilities to others, but if he does, Jesus said that is what we are to do.  Anything else means that we are not trusting God to love our families as much as we do.  As Christians, we are to have complete trust in God who loves far more than we will ever be able to love and who has the welfare of our families even more at heart than we do.

61.   Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."

Another seemingly very reasonable request.  This person appears to understand the implications of following Jesus and is willing to take any risk to follow him.  He/she just wants to take a short time to say goodbye to family and friends and possibly to make any emergency arrangements so everything is left in order.  This also is in effect displaying a lack of trust.  If it is just a need to say goodbye, it may mean that loyalties are divided. 

62.   Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

When we follow Jesus, a complete commitment is required with no other loyalties.  We cannot be wondering what is going on at home if we are out on a mission for God.  God asks for our complete attention to his work.

What kind of commitment do we ask of people who join our churches?  The ordained clergy are asked for a strong commitment of their lives, but increasingly today, even they seem to be at times unwilling to minister in areas where the schools are not ‘right’ for their children, or there is no work available for their spouses, or there is some other condition that they believe is not best for their families.  For most people in our communities, these considerations are not unreasonable.  But when we look at what Jesus says to these potential followers in this passage, are such considerations reasonable for any Christian?  Are we as the Church watering down commitment to Christ as Lord when we accept ‘reasonable’ excuses from members for not being available to take on tasks for which they have appropriate gifts?