Pastor Scott Andrews | May 4th, 2025
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Luke 9:51-56
For many chapters, Luke has been asking and answering the question, who is Jesus? You see, it served his stated purpose in the first few verses of the book: I’ve investigated everything carefully from the beginning concerning the life of Jesus, to write it out for you in orderly fashion, Theophilus, [why?] so that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. So that you would know for sure the things you have believed. In other words, what we believe is true.
From there, for the first few 3 or 4 chapters, Luke began retelling the circumstances of the birth of Jesus – both through His miraculous conception in chapter 1 and His amazing birth in chapter 2 – heralded by angels – O little town of Bethlehem. Mary, the One conceived in you by the Holy Spirit will be great will be called the Son of the Most High. You see, Luke’s readers are given a sneak preview to answer the question, who is Jesus? After His birth, He was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem on the eighth day, just like He was supposed to be. And there were two special people there – Simeon and Anna – who also heralded His birth, suggesting this little boy was the Lord’s Messiah. The readers receive a little more.
Later in that same chapter, Jesus stays behind after the Passover, dutifully observed by His parents, Joseph and Mary. When they discover He was missing from the family group that had attended the festival, they hurry back to Jerusalem – only to find Jesus at the Temple, talking with the learned Jewish teachers, who were amazed at His understanding. Mary, no doubt hands on hips, said to 12-year-old Jesus, where have you been – we’ve been worried sick? To which this boy Jesus, responded, somewhat cryptically, you didn’t know where I was? Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house? The readers receive a little more.
In chapter 3, John the Baptist begins his ministry – that of preparing the way of the Lord per Isaiah’s prophecy – and baptizing people upon repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus shows up one day, is baptized by John, at which point the Spirit of God descends upon Him in the form of a dove – something John had been told to look for – and the voice of the Father came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” And the readers receive a little more.
From there, Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the freshly-descended Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Three times, He withstood the vicious attacks and temptations of the evil one. This now thirty-year-old man was ready to enter His public ministry. No one was there with Jesus in the wilderness for those forty lonely days – but now, the readers know – there was something about this Jesus to cause the devil himself to launch such an attack.
He returned to Galilee, entered His ministry in the power of the Spirit; news about Him spread – His teaching, healings and exorcisms attracting quite the attention. He went to His hometown of Nazareth. Now these people – they thought they knew the answer to the question, who is Jesus? Why, He’s the carpenter Joseph’s son, Mary His mother. He grew up right down the street. Jesus went to their synagogue – no doubt the one He’d grown up in – and with His reputation preceding Him, was asked to read from Isaiah. He selected chapter 61, the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free the oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. Then He told them, incredibly, today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. You think you know who I am – you don’t. We readers – we’re starting to get an inkling.
They tried to throw Him off a cliff, so He left for Capernaum, which became His ministry center in Galilee. He was healing and teaching everyone and everywhere. Which brought us to chapter 5 and the miraculous catch of fish. You remember that story – after fishing all night, some fishermen – Peter and Andrew with their partners, James and John – had caught nothing. After a little teaching, Jesus told them to push out again into the water and cast out their nets. After a little grumbling, they did, and caught so many fish their boats began to sink. Why, they’d never seen anything like this. Peter fell down at Jesus’ feet – right there in the boat – and said, go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Peter seemed to understand Jesus was different, but he didn’t quite know how different…yet. It’s okay Peter, from now on, you’ll be catching men.
A little later in the chapter, Jesus healed a paralytic – a man unable to walk lowered through the roof of a house where He was teaching. He looked at the man in the presence of some onlooking, opposing Pharisees and said, your sins are forgiven. Well, those Pharisees were incensed – who is this guy? Who has the authority to forgive sins except God? Exactly. While they are decrying Jesus actions, the readers are raising their eyebrows, hmm, who can forgive sins but God? But then Jesus told the man to get up and walk – and he did. The case for the reader that Jesus is really something is building.
Several more stories – I’ll skip over them – the call of Matthew and the subsequent party further irritating the Pharisees. In chapter 6, Jesus claiming to be the Lord of the Sabbath – the Jews most revered day. Choosing the Twelve, the Sermon on the Plain, further healings, raising the dead, causing people to declare Him to be a prophet. But we, the readers, are beginning to understand He may be just a bit more than that.
Very interestingly, in chapter 7, after John the Baptist had been arrested and imprisoned, he sent a deputation to ask Jesus the question, who are You? Are You the Expected One, or should we look for another? Jesus let loose with a few amazing miracles and told the deputation to go back and tell John what they had seen. What we’ve seen and heard in this book. The identity of this Person is starting to come into focus for the readers.
Then, in chapter 8, after some teaching, Jesus and the disciples get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and run straight into a massive storm – so big these seasoned fishermen who’d spent their lives on the sea began fearing for their lives. They woke Jesus up – who seemed to be unconcerned – and He stood up and rebuked the storm and it became immediately calm. And now the disciples are amazed even further, ask the question, “Who then is this, that He commands the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” It’s the question Luke is seeking to answer.
I’ll skip the further amazing miracles in chapter 8 – Jesus casting out a legion of demons from a crazy man; healing a woman with a flow of blood for 12 years; and raising a 12-year-old girl from the dead. Is there anything this guy can’t do? This is God-level stuff.
Which brought us to this amazing chapter 9. We’ve been in it for months – let me point a few quick stories. First Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, who keeps hearing about Jesus, asks the question, who is this man about whom I hear such things? Next is the feeding of the five thousand, found in all four gospels, followed by Jesus and His disciples traveling north to Caesarea Philippi for some respite – to get way from the ever-present crowds.
And now, Jesus asks the question to His disciples – who do the people say that I am? After some guesses – not quite right – He looked at them and said, final exam time, who do you say that I am? It’s the question Luke is attempting to answer, and by now we, the readers, have a pretty good idea. We’re holding our collective breath; jumping up and down hoping someone gets it right. And someone does – Peter, answers for them all – You are the Christ of God – You are the Son of the living God.
And what we as readers suspected is confirmed. We know who He is. But then, Jesus tells them and us something we never expected. Now we know, because we know the end of the story. But put yourselves in these disciples’ sandals. They had no idea.
Now that you know who I am – let Me tell you what I came to do. The Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed – but be raised up on the third day. The apex of human history – and they were stunned. Again, as we’ve read the ending, maybe we’re not so stunned, but should be. No one expected this. The Messiah, the Christ, is going to die? But then Jesus lowers the boom. Not only that, if anyone wishes to come after Me, He must deny himself, take up his cross – he must die – then he can follow Me.
We go on in chapter 9. Jesus took His inner circle – Peter, James and John – up to a high mountain. There, the veil of His flesh was peeled back, and they caught a glimpse of His glory. Two ancient heroes of the faith – Moses and Elijah – appeared to Him to encourage Him – they were speaking of His departure – His exodus which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. And the voice of the Father heard at His baptism was heard again, just in case we have any remaining doubts, This is My Son, My Chosen One. It’s clear by now – the disciples, and we are convinced of who He is. But, we’re still a little confused about what He came to do.
Understand, they’re way up north – perhaps at the top of Mount Hermon. They make their way back to Capernaum, and Jesus tells them again – a second time – the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. Further, we just heard – a hint – that His departure was going to take place at Jerusalem. And so, we arrive at Luke 9:51 – I told you last week, a significant verse – a turning point in the book.
Why do I tell you these stories, besides the fact that I love them? A couple reasons – first, to be reminded of Luke’s purpose – to demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus is who we believe Him to be and to be encouraged that our faith in Him is well-placed. And second, we arrive at a critical turning point in the book. You see, to this point, don’t miss it, Luke has been proving who Jesus was in His coming. Now, we will focus on why He came, and not His coming, but His going. Everything to this point – has been His coming. Now, starting with His soon departure discussed on the Mount of Transfiguration, now will be His going, after accomplishing what He came to do. Read the text with me – Luke 9:51-56.
You remember, after Jesus told the disciple’s the second time why He came – and they didn’t understand it – they began arguing on the way to Capernaum about which one of them was greatest. While He was talking about giving up His life, they were talking about promoting theirs – lifting theirs up. His would be lifted up in a different way.
After Jesus corrected them by giving them an object lesson on greatness, with a child, John then told them about what he perceived to be a competitor. Someone was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but he wasn’t one of us. He wasn’t part of our little band, so we told him to stop. It was yet another self-focused, self-aggrandizing action on their part. Jesus simply said – this isn’t a competition – if they are not against you, they are for you. Leave him alone. They still have much to learn, and Jesus has little time left to tell them. His departure – His exodus – was near.
Verse 51 – When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem. A major turning point in the book. In fact, another reason I reviewed what we’ve seen so far is so you’d know where we are. I shared this outline of the book with you almost two years ago:
I. The Prologue (1:1-4) – where Luke shared his purpose in writing.
II. The Birth Narratives (1:5-2:52) – where Luke gave us a sneak preview of who Jesus is.
III. The Preparation for Ministry (3:1-4:13) – His baptism, His temptations.
IV. The Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50) – His two-and-a-half-year ministry in Galilee where we finally saw who He was. The question asked by many – answered definitively by the disciples, and the Father – He is the Christ, the Son of God.
V. The Travel Narratives (9:51-19:48) – Which brings us to the trip to Jerusalem.
VI. The Passion of Jesus (20:1-23:56) – The purpose for which He came, when He will suffer, be delivered over, and killed.
VII. The Exaltation of Jesus (24:1-53) – But that’s not the end of the story. It will lead to His exaltation, when He will be raised from the dead and ascend to the Father.
So, as I’ve said, we reach a significant milestone – a major section of 10 of Luke’s 24 chapters. As you know, while Luke is one of the synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – 40% of Luke is not found in the other two. In fact, much of the first two chapters, much of the last chapter, and most of this section we start today are unique to Luke. Teaching, parables, stories that only he tells. In fact, I shared this list with you in our introduction, again, almost two years ago, that are found only in Luke:
• The birth narrative of John the Baptist.
• The birth narrative of Jesus – namely, Gabriel’s appearing to Mary, Mary’s Magnificat, the birth in Bethlehem, the visit of the shepherds, the angelic choir, the dedication at the Temple, the prophecies of Simeon and Anna.
• The boyhood of Jesus – at least the story of His time at the Temple when He was only 12.
• The parable of the Good Samaritan – without Luke, lots of you would need new jobs.
• The parable of the lost things, to include the prodigal son.
• The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
• The story of the rich man and Lazarus.
• The story of Zacchaeus.
• The thief on the cross.
• The story of the two on the road to Emmaus.
• The names of many of the women who ministered to and with Jesus. Luke was really big on elevating women at a time when they were devalued. So very important.
We get to cover that in the months ahead. This morning, let’s look at true greatness as Jesus determines to go to Jerusalem, and then the reminder that greatness is not found in condemnation – which actually dovetails with His purpose – with His going to Jerusalem. Now remember, the disciples were arguing about which one of them was greatest, so Jesus set a child before them and said – this is true greatness in My kingdom. Did they get it? Apparently not – they still had lots to learn. Last week, greatness is not found in competition, this week, greatness is not found in condemnation. That’s not why I came. Let’s start by looking at this transition verse, “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.”
When the days were approaching – it was time. They had tried to take Jesus’ life many times – Herod when he had the babies killed in Bethlehem; the people of Nazareth when then they tried to throw Him off a cliff; the Pharisees when they tried to stone Him at least a couple of times. But it wasn’t His time, nor the way He would go. Now it is; the days were approaching. Notice, the days – not day. You see, He ascended on one particular day from the Mount of Olives right to the east of Jerusalem. But the days refer to everything that would take place in Jerusalem – what He had already told His disciples – His suffering, being handed over the Sanhedrin, His being killed – He will eventually tell them by crucifixion. To be followed by His resurrection – all summed up in His ascension – His work, now completed – He will return to the Father.
It’s what He talked about with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. He knew what awaited Him. This time, there wouldn’t be any walking away like before. Listen to what Philip Ryken writes:
“There was danger for Jesus in that great city. Jerusalem was the city where many prophets had gone to die. Thus for Jesus to go there was to face mortal danger. In Jerusalem people plotted against him. In Jerusalem he was betrayed with a kiss, arrested by the temple police, and abused by soldiers. In Jerusalem Jesus was brought before the Jews on false charges, taken to Pilate the governor, and on to Herod the king, before being sent back to Pilate. In Jerusalem an angry mob called for his crucifixion, until finally the governor gave in to their violent demands. In Jerusalem his disciples left him. And in Jerusalem Jesus was stripped naked and nailed to a cursed tree—in Jerusalem he was dead and buried. Jesus knew all this when he was still in Galilee, at least in general terms, if not in precise detail, and it was with all this in mind that he ‘set his face to go to Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:51).”
Just a side note, the word ascension is used only here in the NT. However, the verb form of the word is used three times by the same author in Acts 1 to speak of Jesus ascending back to the Father. The time had indeed come for His ascension, but the time would take Him through the cross. Why? The next story reminds us.
You see, they headed south from Galilee to Jerusalem in Judea. It’s a long, circuitous trip – most suggest the next ten chapters take six months – six months until Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey. It’s actually difficult to trace the route since Luke only gives a few geographical markers. But they head south, interestingly, first through Samaria.
Now, many of you know the Jews and Samaritans were avowed enemies. You see, centuries before, the Assyrians had conquered Samaria, which became the name of the region between Galilee and Judea – and also the name of their capital city. The Assyrians deported many of their people, and imported people from other conquered nations. These imported people brought with them their pagan worship and intermarried with the remaining Jewish people of Samaria. Now eventually, the Samaritans renounced their pagan idolatry – but their hostility with the Jews to the south was deeply entrenched. So instead of traveling to the Temple to worship as required, they built their own place of worship on Mt. Gerizim in 400 BC. They also developed their own perverted Judaism – for example, they only accepted the first five books of the OT. It was a disaster.
To make matters worse, the Jews, under the Maccabean ruler John Hyrcanus, had destroyed the Samaritan place of worship about one hundred and fifty years before this. There’s much more – suffice it to say, the Jews and Samaritans hated each other. In fact, often when the Jews of Galilee would travel south to the Temple in Judea, they would avoid Samaria – they would cross over the Jordan and travel through the Decapolis and Perea and cross over the Jordan again at Jericho. It was better to be with unclean Gentiles than be polluted by those dirty Samaritans. If they had to go through Samaria, they carried their own food – and it was dangerous.
Yet here, we see Jesus traveling through Samaria, as He had done back in John 4 to meet the woman at the well. There is the first clear declaration of who He is – the Christ, the Son of God, to a Samaritan woman. Now, at this time, there is an entourage of people with Him – at least the Twelve, and likely the women who traveled with Him. It could have been a couple dozen people, or more.
So, Jesus sent messengers ahead to one of the Samaritan villages to make arrangements for His arrival – probably to provide the necessary food and shelter. But notice, they did not receive Him because He was traveling toward Jerusalem – these avowed enemies. Not because He was Jesus – there’s no indication they knew of Him. Not necessarily because He was a Jew, but I’m sure that played into it. But because He was headed to Jerusalem, the temple. If only they knew the temple was with them in the person of Christ. But, they rejected Him, not terribly unexpected.
When His disciples – James and John specifically, who earlier had received the name Sons of Thunder, likely because of their volatile nature – when they heard this, they were incensed, and asked this shocking question, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” That’s interesting – do You want us – still stuck on themselves – to call down fire from heaven – as if they could.
Now, before we’re too hard on James and John, there was a biblical precedent for their question. There’s an interesting story back in II Kings 1. The wicked King Ahab of the northern kingdom, with its capital city in Samaria, had died in battle. King Ahaziah, his son, became king of the northern kingdom and followed in the footsteps of his father. He was seriously injured when he fell through a lattice in Samaria, and became ill. He sent messengers to Ekron to inquire of Baal if he would recover from this sickness.
Elijah met the messengers and said to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re going to Ekron to inquire of Baal? Tell your boss, he’s gonna die. Then he left and sat down on nearby hill. Ahaziah was a little irritated when he heard the news, so he sent a captain with his fifty men to go bring Elijah back – clearly to do him harm. So the captain went with his men and told the seated prophet, O man of God, the king commands you to come down.
To which Elijah responded, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your men. And it did. So the king sent another fifty with the same result – fire from heaven came down and consumed the men who opposed the man of God. The third group of fifty were a little more respectful – frankly afraid. This time, Elijah went with the men, appeared to the king and gave him the same message. And Ahaziah died.
The point is, there was biblical precedent for what James and John asked to do. But notice how Jesus answered – He turned and rebuked them. The word rebuke is a strong word – usually reserved rebuking demons. This was a strong rebuke. Now, why didn’t Jesus say, If I am the Son of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume this miserable village. By the way, the words recorded here that Jesus said are not in the earliest and best manuscripts – likely someone added them later – but they do probably capture the intent of what Jesus said.
Luke simply says, after the rebuke, they went on to another village. What’s the point? Jesus had just determined – set His face – to go to Jerusalem. To do what? To finish the work God gave and sent Him to do. What was that? To die for the sins of people, and be raised again the third day for their justification. To be clear, Jesus didn’t come the first time to judge and condemn the world – but that the world might be saved through Him. This was not a time for judgment – this was a time for mercy. Did the people of this village deserve to be consumed? You bet. Did you? But now was not the time. Now was the time for mercy and grace – grace is receiving won’t we don’t deserve – namely, the forgiveness of sin and everlasting life – mercy is not getting what we do deserve – namely, condemnation and the everlasting fires of hell.
Listen, this is what He came to do, the first time. When Jesus took on flesh to die in the flesh while bearing the sins of the world on the cross. But there will also be a second coming – and that will be the time for judgment. For believers, it will only matter that we know Jesus – more, that Jesus knows them. For unbelievers, it will be a time of unmitigated judgment. What does all this mean for us today?
Well first, obviously, it means we should know Jesus – by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ and submission to His lordship. God has given you time – just like He did when He didn’t send fire from heaven to consume these Samaritans. He hasn’t consumed you yet, even though deserve it. Why? Mercy. Did any of these Samaritans ever come to faith in Jesus? I don’t know. But He showed them mercy so that He might extend everlasting mercy. The same way He showed us mercy. We have not received what our sins deserve. If you know Jesus – He met the penalty for your sin. If you don’t know Jesus, you will one day be judged and meet the penalty for your sin. So again, the very fact that God has not yet consumed you is proof of His patience, kindness, love and mercy. Believe the gospel, because judgment is coming. But now is the time of salvation.
But that leads to the second and final thing I’ll say this morning. As His followers, we should be people of mercy. He rebuked James and John – they were calling for judgment – He’s calling for mercy. Jesus expects His followers to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Let’s be people of mercy, extending mercy and grace to undeserving sinners, like Jesus did to us. Today is the day of salvation through God’s rich grace and mercy.