Will You Set Your Face to Follow Jesus?

He Set His Face Towards Jerusalem

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, and 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. – Luke 9:51-54 NKJV

Have You Ever Set Your Face?

Have you ever set your face in determination to do something that must be done?

Jesus did.  And the Scriptures tell us he accomplished what He set our to do.

Luke’s record of Jesus’ approach to Jerusalem in Luke 9:51-54 is set in the context of Jesus’ personal journey to the cross. Earlier in the chapter Luke recorded Jesus’ prediction of His own crucifixion and suffering (Luke 9:22) along with a clear admonition for the disciples to embrace the same determination in their own lives if they want to follow Him (Luke 9:23-27). When we come to Luke 9:51-54 it is clear that Jesus is going to Jerusalem and no man can turn Him from that goal and that He is going to suffer and die in Jerusalem.

He Set His Face

…when the time had come…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. – Luke 9:51 NKJV

Luke 9:51 must be understood in the context of Luke 9:21-27. Jesus had already embraced the suffering and rejection that would come when He entered Jerusalem. He knew what was going to happen when He entered Jerusalem and He was determined to enter the city.

The suffering and agony of the cross could not deter Him from His Father’s will. Doing His Father’s will was His primary consideration, not the shame and suffering of the cross. Nothing could deter Him. This is why He called His disciples to have this same sort of resolution in their hearts and follow His heart posture (Luke 9:23-27). He did not just follow the Father’s will fatalistically, but He approached Jerusalem with determination.

Jesus understood the shame of what He was about to do. In this context, He called the disciples to not be ashamed either of Him or His words. He knew His words about embracing the cross were offensive to men. He knew that what He was about to do in Jerusalem would be humiliating and that men would be forever ashamed of the idea of God hanging naked and humiliated on a cross as the means of cosmic redemption. In that context, Jesus spoke very direct and serious words – we are not to be ashamed either of Him or His words. Instead we are to set our face like Him (Luke 9:23).

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed…” – Luke 9:26 NKJV

Luke’s description of how Jesus set His face and His heart (Luke 9:22,51) reveals how fierce His dedication was to entering Jerusalem and securing mercy on the cross.

This gospel is all about commitment. Jesus was committed to his father’s will and he expected that same commitment from those who would work with him in proclaiming the kingdom of God. Commitment is not a popular word or concept these days. Keeping one’s word is more and more difficult. It’s easy come and easy go.

Will You Set Your Face to Follow Jesus?

I’ve heard it explained this way; we are a throw away society, nothing is meant to last, everything has its own built in obsolescence, there is always a new and improved product coming down the line. We trash things and then we end up trashing relationships. Things are disposable, people are disposable. A valid question is, can anybody say ‘forever.’

Jesus was committed to doing his father’s will and he demanded that same commitment from those who wanted to be his followers. He warned them it would not be easy, he told them it would mean taking up the cross every day, in some way or other.

May we set our own faces to the task of living for Jesus.  May we do the things He calls us to do in this time and place.