Jerusalem Journey Introduction (Luke 9:51-19:44)

Luke now arranges his material into an overarching theme. Jesus is determined to head towards Jerusalem. Much of Jesus’s ministry bounced back and forth to Jerusalem from Galilee. So, He was often headed to Jerusalem and the events recorded here are acurate. However, thematically, this is a reminder that all of Jesus’s ministry is headed to and destined to end at the cross. Everything we read in Luke is to be read in this mindset. All of the many teachings given to the followers of Jesus in this section are to be framed within the gospel message of the cross.

The other overarching thought to be maintained in all of Luke, but especially in this lengthy middle section, is: people are always trying to save themselves. Self-justification is our great and universal lie. We want to be our own god, we want to solve our own (self-made) problems. In the end, we fail or we give up and surrender to the only One who can really justify us. That too is a message pointed directly at the destination of this journey… in Jerusalem on a cross.