Daily Devotion: Setting His Face Toward Jerusalem
The Other Six Daily Devotion - Luke 9:51
“Setting His Face Toward Jerusalem”
“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
Have you ever known something difficult was coming—and there was no way around it?
- Maybe it was a hard conversation you had to have.
- Maybe it was a diagnosis, a loss, or a major life change.
You knew it was coming, and you had to face it.
Most of us, when we know something painful is ahead, try to avoid it. We delay it. We distract ourselves. We hope maybe it won’t be as bad as we think.
But Jesus does something very different.
Luke tells us that He
“set His face toward Jerusalem.”
That’s a powerful image.
Jesus is not wandering aimlessly. He is not being swept along by events outside His control. He is moving forward with purpose, with determination, with full knowledge of what lies ahead.
And what lies ahead is not just a difficult conversation or a challenging moment.
It is betrayal.
Suffering.
Rejection.
The cross.
Jesus knows all of it. And He goes anyway.
Why?
Because this is why Jesus came.
Jesus is not going to Jerusalem by accident. He is going there to accomplish your salvation. Every step He takes is a step toward the cross where He will bear your sin, your guilt, and your punishment.
He is walking toward suffering so that you might receive forgiveness. He is walking toward death so that you might have life.
That changes the way we see this journey. This is not just a sad road. This is a saving road.
As we begin this our journey towards Holy Week and walk with Jesus toward Jerusalem, we are reminded of something important.
Our salvation was not an afterthought. It was not a backup plan. God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 4:1) Now, Jesus sets His face toward the cross for you.
- Even when it meant suffering.
- Even when it meant death.
- Even when it meant being forsaken.
“Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
He did not turn away. And because He did not turn away, neither will He turn away from you.
Whatever you are facing right now—whatever hardship, fear, or uncertainty—Jesus is not distant from it. He is the One who walked straight into suffering and overcame it.
And He walks with you still.
That is where this journey begins.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, who set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross for us. Help us to see His love and His purpose as we walk with Him in these days. Strengthen our faith and remind us that our salvation was accomplished through His willing sacrifice.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
- Your family
- Your local church
- Your pastor
- Some of your fellow church members
- The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
- Your country and her leaders
- Your community
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
This passage is both a difficult and freeing passage. I remember when I was in middle school I was bullied a bit by this one kid. He never actually hit me, but he tried to intimidate me and provoke a fight. I guess he figured if he could get me to throw the first punch, he wouldn’t get in trouble for beating me up.
Pray about it and think about Jesus.
This is a little tricky at first, but it makes sense if we keep the two kingdoms separate and consider our vocations, or roles. Each of us has multiple roles (vocations). As Christians, we are called not to resist evil against ourselves or seek revenge. We love others and seek their good, even when wronged.
So, for example, you could hate your brother and harm him in certain ways, but not kill him and you’ve still followed the 5th commandment.
It has to be said that the Bible also tells us to speak the truth in Ephesians 4:15, but adds that it should be done in love.
For a long time in the U.S., the divorce rate was increasing. Between infidelity, no-fault divorces, a more secular society, and a general loss of reverence for the institution of marriage, people had less and less of a problem divorcing. People were taking the life-long commitment of marriage less and less seriously.
Throughout the Bible, God uses marriage as an analogy for His relationship with His people, whether Israel or the church. Here, too, sin is a problem. Here, too, love and forgiveness is the answer; not our love and forgiveness, but God’s.
We walk around the sanctuary greeting each other and sharing the peace of Christ with each other. If you’ve gone to church for long time, it probably feels normal and natural, but to someone who hasn’t been in church before, it actually can seem like a very strange and disruptive practice.
God’s love and forgiveness compels us to love and forgive each other.
In our previous devotion, I wrote about how the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day had lost the real meaning of the Law. The Law had, to them, become a list of very specific rules to follow. They had lost the heart of the Law, that we are to love God and love our neighbor.
But I learned through experience that it’s not true. You’ve probably learned that lesson, too. Words can hurt…badly. In fact, bones and bruises heal in a few days or weeks, the damage from words can last a lifetime.
There’s an old song from the 1960’s called, “I Fought the Law and the Law Won”. I was reminded of that song when I read Matthew 5:17-20, today.
We are forced to respond like the disciples in Matthew 19:25,
Have you ever seen the moon when it was so bright it was almost difficult to look at?
Jesus is the light that came into the darkness. However, in the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew 5, Jesus is telling us that we are the light of the world.
Maybe someone misunderstood something you said.
A Great Reward