Luke 9:51-56
Chapter 9
51
As the time approached for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, he decided to go to Jerusalem.
52
He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare lodging for him.
53
But the people refused to welcome him because he was on his way to Jerusalem.
54
Seeing this, James and John, his disciples, said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?”
55
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
56
and they went on to another village.
Commentaries
The Way to Jerusalem.
Luke marks the start of a new phase in Jesus’ public ministry. From a human perspective, this beginning could be seen as Jesus’s slow decline, as he becomes more isolated and fewer people surround him. He is even refused entry into a Samaritan village (53), and Herod seeks to kill him (13:31-33). At critical moments in his life, even his own disciples—those he had chosen for himself (5:1-11)— abandon and deny him (22:56-60). However, from the divine plan’s perspective, it marks the beginning of the road to glory. Jesus does not seek pain or suffering, but he does not avoid them. He faces them knowing he might be defeated, but also knowing that if he doesn’t, stubbornness and evil forces will continue to control humanity.