On the Way to Easter

“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for Him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.” 

Samaritans had their historic tensions with the Jews and vice versa. Neither approved of the other.  Samaritans’ law, temple location, and part-Jewish, part-Gentile ancestry repulsed the Jews, and Jewish elitism infuriated the Samaritans. Jesus was not welcomed to step foot within Samaritan borders if that prominent Jewish city with its Jewish temple was His final destination. They didn’t want to play any kind of support role in the direction He was going, but they never imagined that His destination would be the source of their redemption. 

The reaction of Jesus’ disciples to Samaritan rejection proves how quickly the simmering hostilities could boil over: 

“And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But He turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.”

If the Samaritans or the disciples could have had their way, they would have stood in Jesus’ way; their stipulations, prejudices, and preconceived ideas had drawn certain boundary lines about what was acceptable for Jesus. 

“Those people, that place, doing such a thing as that? Unacceptable!” Declared both sides about the other.

But a passive “No Trespassing” sign couldn't deter Jesus. An aggressive “Hellfire and Brimstone” judgment call wouldn’t distract Him. He quietly detoured around the Samaritans and verbally rebuked His followers. He was on His way to redeem the world, and He would do it in spite of them all. His face was set toward Easter.

Like the Samaritans, have I passively set up barriers for Jesus, because my role in His plan hinges on certain conditions?

Like the disciples, have I aggressively preferred judgment over redemption in certain cases? 

Will I have a part in Jesus’ redemptive work in someone’s life or will it happen in spite of me on the way to Easter?

For more, see Luke 9:51-56; Luke 10:29-37; John 4:1-30