Words of Reflection
“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”—Luke 9:51 (NRSV)
It is perhaps the most significant turning point (literally) in Jesus’ three years as an itinerant rabbi. After months of teaching and ministry in Galilee he turns south and “sets his face” towards the city of Jerusalem. It’s an image, not just of intention, but of resoluteness, like that of a prophet given an urgent message to deliver to the people (Ezek. 21:2).
Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem. Earlier in Luke 9 he warned his disciples exactly what would happen when they get there. He will suffer. He will be rejected. He will be killed. Yes, he even lets them in on the greatest secret of all, the truth that he will be raised. The greatest glory will be revealed, but not before the greatest suffering. Jesus is well aware of this. He knows the terrible things that lie ahead, and yet he goes. He sets his face to go to Jerusalem. He has heard God’s call, and he answers with a single word.
“Yes.”
During Lent we, too, “set our face to go to Jerusalem.” We walk with Jesus to the cross of Calvary, where we will be invited to reflect on his death and what it means for us. But we do not travel merely as spectators. As we make our way to Holy Week we are reminded that ours is more than a journey of observation—it is also a journey of identification. We identify with Christ as we consider his command to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Each step we make towards Jerusalem becomes an opportunity for self-reflection, allowing the Spirit to find those places within us where we have not fully trusted Jesus or died completely to our own desires. As we walk with Christ, we are made to be more like Christ.
In a way, our Lenten journey echoes the words of Ruth chapter 1:
“Where you go, I will go, where you stay I will stay. Where you die, I will die.”
This is our invitation, and it’s not an easy one. The journey to Christlikeness is a constant revelation of our need, but it is also a constant revelation of God’s power to transform. What he asks of us is the willingness to lay our lives down at the foot of his cross, then to take up our own as we seek more and more what it means to identify with our Savior. May we, too, answer with that single word:
“Yes.”
Scripture for Meditation:
“Then he said to them all, ‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.’”
—Luke 9:23-24 (NRSV)
Song: You Have Our Yes (lyrics here)
Questions for Reflection
What does it mean for you to say “yes” to the journey of the Cross? How are you creating space during Lent to reflect on that invitation to take up your cross and follow. Jesus? How has he been meeting you there?
What in your life has the greatest power to divert you from the road to the cross? How can you regularly offer that to God, asking him to rob it of that power?
What does it mean for you to know that Jesus invites you to walk this path with him? Imagine it’s a literal journey and ponder what you’d like to talk with him about as you make your way to Jerusalem together. What questions would you ask him? What would you hope to hear from him?.