Bible Study series: Luke 9:51-56. He was resolved to move on and accomplish his mission. On to Jerusalem!
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 9:51-56
51 It so happened that while the days of his being taken up were to be accomplished, he was firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem.
52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. They went and entered a village of Samaritans, to prepare for him. 53 They did not welcome him, because he was firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem. 54 On seeing this, the disciples James and John said, “Lord, you want us to speak fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?” [2 Kings 1:10, 12] 55 He wheeled on them and rebuked them.
56 They went to a different village. (Luke 9:51-56)
Comments:
51:
Jesus could sense that it was his time to go up into Jerusalem. His days were about to be accomplished or fulfilled. What days? The next word answers that question.
“taken up”: it is a noun that means “taken up.” But what does that refer to? His ascension. The word does not often refer to death, but Jesus was so full of faith that he knew he was going to be raised up from the grave and then rise to be with his Father. Perhaps the word refers to the entire sequence of events in one package in Jerusalem: his death-birth-resurrection-ascension.
“firmly resolved”: it literally reads, “he hardened his face.” I translated it like that at first, because I like the image. Athletes have to develop the “hardened face” right before game time or the race or the boxing match. But that is a Semitic expression for “firmly resolved.” So I went with the nonliteral translation.
Bock: “The Hebrew idiom ‘to set one’s face to go somewhere’ indicates a determination to accomplish a task (Gen. 31:21; Isa. 50:7; Jer. 21:10; 44:12; Ezek. 6:2; 13:17; 14:8; 15:7; Dan. 11:17-18 …)” (p. 968).
52:
“messengers”: it is the noun angelos (pronounced ahn-geh-loss, and the “g” is hard as in “get”), and we get our word angel from it. Angels are really just messengers, but here these messengers are just human messengers. Who were they? Part of the seventy-two, whom Luke is about to introduce in the next chapter? Were they the women, like Joanna and Susanna, who were following Jesus and provided for the men out of their own resources? We don’t know, but it is likely. In any case, even though Jesus was firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem there were way stations along the road to his destiny. And one station on the way is this village of Samaritans. Practical things of life must be taken care of on your road to God’s plan for your life. We must plan our way, but the Lord directs our steps (Prov. 16:9; 19:21).
It is known from other passages that Jews and Samaritans did not like each other (John 4:9). In fact, some extra-devout Jews walked around the entire region instead of passing through it. But what was so despicable about the Samaritans? They were remnants of Israelites who were not deported when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. They were also foreign colonists who were imported from Babylonia and Media by the Assyrians into Israel (in the north), so the newcomers would be loyal to Assyria. So these two groups intermingled and became unorthodox in their beliefs and mixed in their ethnicity, by the standard of “pure Jews.” Many Jews of Galilee and especially Judea and Jerusalem avoided the region of Samaria and Samaritans.
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
The fact that Jesus was willing to relate to them shows his openness to speak to these unacceptable rejects. He was not above asking for their help as he was resolved to go to Jerusalem
53:
Those who live rejected lives often come across as angry and defensive. As the old saying goes, “Hurt people hurt people.” They took one look at Jesus and saw that his “face” (again) or demeanor was to go to Jerusalem. They did not like his focus. Did they want to take him captive, keep him for themselves? No doubt they heard about his miracles, so why wouldn’t they want to keep him for themselves? Whatever the case, his “resolve + Jerusalem” riled them up. They rejected him.
54:
How did three persons handle the rejection? James and John, two brothers, hatched a plan. They intended to call down fire from heaven, much like Elijah did (1 Kings 18:20-40; 2 Kings 1:10-15). The Greek says that James and John asked whether they should tell or speak to the fire to come down. Elijah spoke and the fire came. They could do the same. It is odd or shocking that James and John were two of the twelve who had been commissioned or sent to various towns and villages to heal the sick and cast out demons (vv. 1-6). If a village rejects them, they were to shake the dust off their feet. Now James and John are angry enough to ask permission to call down fire from heaven. That’s far different from shaking dust off their feet in a symbolic gesture. How long it takes for our character to change! No wonder they were called “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). But later John preached love, in his Gospel and first epistle. (James died early, as a martyr, seen in Acts 12:2).
“The allusion to what Elijah did highlights the popular misunderstanding about Jesus’ identity. The disciples reported that some of the crowds mistook Jesus for Elijah (Luke 9:8). The disciples are also mistaken about Jesus here. They must assume that a ‘man of God’ (2 Kgs 1:10, 12) will wreak divine vengeance on the stubborn and unrepentant. But Jesus is the ‘Son of God,’ who teaches a new way that renounces vindictive violence. The incident makes clear that the disciples still have much to learn on the way with Jesus” (Garland, comment on 9:54).
Here is how Jesus handled rejection, in the next verse.
55:
This is a short verse. Jesus turned around and rebuked James and John. The word for rebuke is the same as in v. 42. It is not a good thing for Jesus to rebuke you as he did a demon! No, they were not prompted by a demon—or maybe they were, much like Peter was rebuked, “Get behind me Satan!” Jesus said (Matt. 16:22-23).
“wheeled”: It can also be translated in some contexts as “repent” or “turn.” Or it can mean physically “to turn” (see Luke 2:20, 43, 45). Here it means to physically turn, not repent.
Jesus defended the Samaritans, probably because he saw their need. They were rejected, and now they are turning the unrighteous table and rejecting Jews. Jesus looked past all of that.
56:
This is even a shorter verse. I get the impression that this was another village in Samaria. How did Jesus overcome rejection? He just moved on and found a village that was not so touchy. When you are rejected, move on. Move past your past.
GrowApp for Luke 9:51-56
1. Jesus expects us to set our face or firmly resolve to follow him. Has your resolve been easy or difficult?
2. Have you been rejected by friends or family? How have you handled it?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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