"Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem..." (Luke 9:51).

The day had finally come for Jesus to be received up to heaven, and knowing this He set His face to go to Jerusalem. It had been three long years of teaching and training His disciples the work of ministry. Our Lord had gone from town to town preaching the Good News of the kingdom, and calling all men everywhere to repent of their sins. He had dealt with constant rejection from most of the house of Israel and the Gentiles, and our Lord has also dealt with the continual ignorance and bickering of His disciples. Luke tells us in verses 41-49 that the Lord was growing weary of the faithlessness of the people of His day, and He expressed His anger at their lack of faith when He said in verse 41: "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you." We see that Christ was disappointed and angry that the father of the demon possessed boy had no faith in the power of God. He was angry with the Pharisees because they were probably ridiculing the disciples instead of having pity on the boy while Christ's disciples tried in vain to cast out the demon. And lastly our Lord was disappointed with His own disciples as they too lacked faithful prayer to cast out the demon. We then read that the disciples did not understand the words of our Lord when He spoke to them concerning His impending death. He even told them plainly to "let His words sink down into their ears." Nevertheless, Luke tells us these sayings were hidden from them so that they did not perceive the words of the Lord Jesus.

Shortly after this, we find that the disciples argued on the road among themselves about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And then they went so far as to rebuke a man who was casting out demons in Christ's name because he didn't follow after them. What longsuffering the Lord demonstrated to His twelve disciples at their constant failures! What love and commitment He displayed to them and also to us, despite our failings and sinful behavior, when He directs His path to go to Jerusalem!

Our Lord Jesus Christ knew full well of the mocking, beating, slandering, and ultimately the cross, which awaited Him in Jerusalem. Jesus was fully aware from the time that He began His ministry that these things awaited Him and that the people would reject Him and that His own disciples would not understand His going to the cross and therefore would forsake Him even in His darkest hour. Nevertheless, our text tells us in verse 51: "When it was time for Him to be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." And so we must pay careful attention to our text as Christ begins His March to Glory. And we will consider this theme under three headings: Christ's Appointed Time; Christ's Appointed Path; and Christ's Steadfast Determination

Christ's Appointed Time

"Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up..." This phrase should catch our attention: "When the time had come." Literally this verse reads when "the day had fully come that He should be taken up." On this day the Lord Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem. Our text tells us that the Lord Jesus was fully aware of the timing of His mission. He knew from the start what it was that He was called to do, and He was also aware of the fact that He would face much disappointment on the way. Everything in the life of our Lord happened according to the divine plan, even down to the exact day, as our text shows. We have often read of the times when Christ was threatened by the mobs who were desirous of throwing Him over a cliff, but He walked right through their midst "for His hour had not yet come." And in another place when his brothers told Him to go up to the feast, Jesus said, "My time has not yet come." We are also reminded of the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee when the mother of our Lord said to Him, "They are out of wine", and Jesus replied, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." Many times in Scripture we read the Lord Jesus repeating this phrase, and we need to realize that the Lord Jesus came to fulfill the plan of God right down to the exact minute. As Jesus said in John 4, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." Nothing in the life of our Lord happened by chance. Quite the opposite; everything was directed by the hand of His heavenly Father. From the time of His birth to the time of His death and resurrection, everything was going exactly according to schedule. This is something we need to be aware of because it's a fact that Luke was very zealous to communicate to Theophilus, "that (he) might know the certainty of those things in which (he) was instructed" (Luke 1:4).

Think of how many times you have read in Scripture of some event that took place without consciously being aware that it happened according to the will of God. Think of Jesus' birth and how this was a fulfillment of what was written in the Old Testament Scriptures. Think about how His name would be called Immanuel, "God with us" in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Or when Joseph was told in a dream to depart to Egypt in order that Hosea 11:1 might be fulfilled, which reads, "Out of Egypt I called my Son." In the same manner we read in our text, "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up..." This is a transition point in the ministry of Christ. All the time prior to this point focused on Christ's coming, but now the focus shifts to His ascension-His returning to His Father. It has already been revealed to His disciples that Christ is the coming One-that He is in fact God incarnate, the One whom Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms had written of, but now our Lord must teach the twelve concerning His returning to the Father. He must teach them that before the glory and exaltation there must be suffering and a cross, and this is something the disciples did not comprehend. Christ now began to teach the disciples of His imminent death "as He sets His face towards Jerusalem."

Christ's Appointed Path

This was the appointed path of our Lord's journey as He himself had said, "For it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem." His path was one of suffering for the sins of His people, and He was fully conscious of this impending suffering and death as He said in Luke 9:22, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." This He must now begin to teach His disciples.

This teaching concerning His death begins in chapter 9, and is carried on through chapter 19, as they are moving towards Jerusalem. This takes many months even though Jerusalem is only a few days walk from where they are. However, they don't go directly to Jerusalem but wind in and out of the different villages until the appointed time, of which Christ was fully aware. Nevertheless all the wandering is focused on Jerusalem and the Passover time of Christ's own execution. It is important that we realize how our Lord was spitefully treated as He walked this path of suffering. Our text says that as He journeyed towards Jerusalem He "sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem." Why is it that these Samaritans would not receive the Lord? Simply because His face was set towards Jerusalem! The Samaritans were offended that Christ was going to Jerusalem to worship. They despised the Jews and their beautiful temple in Jerusalem, and so when they learned He was heading for Jerusalem they rejected Him, and in so doing they missed their opportunity to hear the Gospel call. Despite this treatment from the Samaritans, Christ continued to journey towards Jerusalem. He continued His march to the cross in order to die for the sins of His people, some of whom included the very Samaritans who previously rejected Him. Oh, what love is this that our Savior would continue to proceed towards Jerusalem to die for the sins of many who treated Him shamefully, and had rejected Him at His coming, as we read in John 1:10-11: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."

Beloved in Christ, do we understand that we were some of those people who at one time despised the Lord Jesus? Do we realize there was a time before we came to faith that we also rejected the only hope of salvation and spurned the only Savior Jesus? Are we aware of the fact that we despise our Lord every time we reject His Word at some point and choose to go our own way? Oh, what love is this that our Lord should continue His steadfast march towards Jerusalem to die for the sins of His people! And this happened, beloved, in order that we might not be despised and rejected by God. Christ was rejected and despised by the very ones He came to die for, which also fulfills what is written in the Old Testament. "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:3-6).

And this was exactly according to the plan of God. Not only that, but Christ's will was in perfect harmony with this divine plan. Though the contemplation of the indescribable bitterness that lay ahead meant nameless agony for Him, as we read in Luke 12:50 where Jesus said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!" Nevertheless, Christ was fully determined to accomplish "the work which the Father had given Him to do." As He said to His disciples in John 12:27: "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour."

Christ's Steadfast Determination

And for this reason our text says, "That He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." Let us notice in this verse the steadfast determination with which our Lord regarded His own crucifixion and death. Despite His being continually rejected and ridiculed by the people, despite His being continually disappointed, and at one point even deserted by His disciples, the Lord sets His face to go towards Jerusalem in order to die for the sins of His people. His heart was set on paying the price for our redemption, and even plunging into the depths of Hell on the cross and before for our sins. He was full of tender love for sinners. It was the desire of His whole soul to procure their salvation. As it is written, "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

People of God: how many of us would ever think of doing such a thing? How many of us would do something for our friends if we knew ahead of time it was going to cause us pain, heartache, and ultimately death? How many of us would set our face like stone to accomplish such a task? I dare say that not many, if any, of us would endeavor to take on such a task that would be attended by such misery. But this is what our Lord did. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:7-8: "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Scripture says that Jesus despised the shame of the cross because He knew this was the will of His heavenly Father to justify many. Even though Christ was rejected by the Samaritans and grieved by His disciples' zeal to call down fire on the Samaritans - Christ remained steadfast to the course; nothing would be able to turn Him from His path to Calvary. When Peter tried to hinder our Lord from going to the cross, Jesus said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matt. 16:23). Jesus would not turn to the right or to the left, but would remain true to His heavenly Father. Therefore He set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem. As it is prophesied of Him in Isaiah 50:6-7: "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed."

The Lord Jesus knew that all those whom the Father had given Him would come to Him. He also knew that it was the will of His Father that He should lose none of those who were given to Him, but should raise them up at the last day. He knew that God had sworn with an oath that He would not leave His soul in Hades, nor would He allow His Holy One to see corruption, but would raise up the Christ to sit on the throne of David. And therefore our Lord set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem. You see, there was no other way for the Lord Jesus to become the Surety for His people, but by atoning for their sins. Christ was made sin, by imputation, and became a curse for us and in our stead in order that He might make satisfaction to the divine justice on our behalf. The only way for Christ to reconcile His people to the Father was to despise the betrayal, the unjust trial, the mockery, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the spitting, the nails, the spear, and the agony of spiritual death on the cross-all were doubtless spread before His mind like an enormous picture. Yet we read that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. Jesus never flinched for a moment from the work that He had been given to do. Christ must become a curse for His people. He must bear all the sins of all His people by imputation. He must receive the malediction in order for His people to receive the benediction. Christ must be forsaken by the Father as the sin-bearer of His people. He must become their scapegoat in order that He might not lose any of them whom the Father had given Him. And the only way for Him to accomplish this was to go to the cross and so it is written: "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." And it is for this very reason that our Lord rebukes His disciples at their zeal to call down fire to devour the Samaritans because as Jesus said, "the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

Beloved in Christ: let us not think that it was an easy task for our Lord to go to the cross. Yes, He did despise the shame and the sufferings that came along with it. Yes, He resolutely headed for Jerusalem in order that He might disarm all principalities and powers, and make a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them with His cross. And for these very reasons we can easily lose sight of the fact that it was the hardest task this world has ever seen. No one in the history of mankind has ever accomplished such a work. Forever let us bless God that we have such a ready and willing Savior who "always lives to make intercession for us" (Heb. 7:25). Forever let us remember that as He was ready to suffer, so He is always ready to save. The one who comes to Christ by true faith should never doubt Christ's willingness to receive him. The mere fact that the Son of God willingly came into the world to die, and willingly suffered, should silence such doubts forever.

People of God, do you lack assurance of the salvation which Christ has wrought for you? Are you struggling with carnal doubts that Christ might not welcome you with open arms because of your sins? Do you wrestle with the lust in your heart and fear that God could never love such a sinful one? Well then, let us forever remember that, "the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." Let us rejoice that it was the will of our heavenly Father to save sinners. And let us rejoice that Christ willingly and steadfastly set His face to go towards Jerusalem in order to reconcile us unworthy sinners to the Father. Let us forever praise God for Jesus Christ, the wonderful Savior of sinners! Amen!