Luke is such a LONG but wonderful gospel. I love how much teaching Jesus does, but how much ministry is coupled with that. He heals, he casts out demons, and performs miracles, but the thing that caught my attention most in Luke was his journey to Jerusalem. At the end of chapter 9, verse 51 says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
There are only 9 chapters in Luke about his birth, entering ministry, and then a little bit of his three years of ministry. After that, from 9 to 19, Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem, knowing he is headed to his death. I LOVE this about Luke. From 9 on to 19 everything Jesus does, I see as a man who is walking closer each day to death. What a powerful story for Luke to map out for us. The majority of Luke is centered around Jesus death. Starting in 9 the journey begins, then 19 to 21 he’s ministering in Jerusalem and in 22-24 is the crucifixion story. Luke caps it off then with Jesus’ resurrection in 24, but again, it’s amazing how focused Luke is on the story of Jesus death.
This journey towards death adds so much more weight and meaning to the things that Jesus said, and dealt with on his way to Jerusalem. He knew very well his time with the disciples was coming to a close and he was teaching and imparting the essentials, the foundations, and the example of Kingdom living.
I wonder what I would do if I knew my time on earth was drawing to a close...
Who would I spend time with? Would I focus all my time on enjoying my friends? Would I seek to minister and give as much of myself as possible? It's an interesting challenge that Jesus lays out before us.
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