Background

Luke chapter 9 verses 51 to 56 - When the days were approaching for his ascension, he (Jesus) was determined to go to Jerusalem; and he sent messengers on ahead of him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. But they did not receive him, because he was traveling toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."] And they went on to another village.

In the previous study we considered why there was a delay by Jesus before going to Jerusalem. However, this was not open-ended, there was also some urgency that he felt. He had a clear aim termed his ascension and the days were fast approaching (Luke chapter 9 verse 51). Much was needed to be done before then. This involved a lot of raising up.

Ascension means being raised up. Jesus was to ascend to heaven, seen by his disciples as disappearing into a cloud (Acts chapter 1 verses 9 to 11). The commentary of two witnesses confirmed what was happening. The witnesses may have been Moses and Elijah, as there are similarities to the event on the mount of Transfiguration (Luke chapter 9 verses 28 to 31), where Jesus was raised up on high ground. There is mystery about the deaths of both Moses and Elijah, both were raised up at the time, Moses after going up a mountain (Deuteronomy chapter 34 verses 1 to 6) and Elijah in a whirlwind (2 Kings chapter 2 verse 11).

Before his ascension Jesus knew that he would be raised up on a cross, on a hill at Jerusalem (Luke chapter 23 verse 33).

Jesus, being raised up on a cross resulted in his death and resurrection (chapter 24 verses 1 to 7), also meaning raised up.

The impact was that his resurrection and ascension resulted in Jesus being raised up above all (John chapter 3 verses 14 to 15;12 verse 32; Acts chapter 2 verses 29 to 36; 5 verses 30,31; Ephesians chapter 4 verses 7 to 10; Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 to 11).

The purpose of Jesus being raised up overflows to humanity. Jesus becomes the first of a new humanity, raising humanity to a new level, giving purpose and the ability to fulfil it’s potential.

The ascension was also referred to as his departure (Luke chapter 9 verse 31) in his discussion with Moses and Elijah, the same meaning as exodus. The exodus by the people of Israel with Moses was about going from slavery into the promised land, new life, resurrection. As the people travelled through the wilderness they were learning lessons. Luke compares this period with Jesus to that time. He states that Jesus sent messengers ahead, where the wording is actually ‘before his face’ (verse 52). Moses said “the Lord has set the promised land ‘before your face’; go up, take possession … (Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 21). The people had to pass through land owned by others and were respectful of them avoiding provocation (Deuteronomy chapter 2 verses 1 to 5, 26 to 28). Jesus is similarly respectful with the Samaritans (Luke chapter 9 verses 52 to 56). Jesus can be very provocative, but when he is it is very specific in its target and purpose. Here the reason for their objection was not specifically to do with him, it was just that he was a Jew. He was probably as frustrated as them with the historical reasons and did not want to cause provocation without good grounds.

This calm response contrasted with that of the disciples who referred to Elijah who commanded fire to come down from heaven (2 Kings chapter 1). Interestingly, this story related to Azariah, the king of Samaria. However, in that case the king, who should have appealed to Elijah about healing from God, decided to go to another god, resulting in judgment. The story ends with salvation where the captain of his soldiers appeals to Elijah with the phrase ‘let my life be precious in your sight’. Jesus picks up this element of the story in his response to the disciples. He has no intention of destroying the Samaritans because of their rejection, but wants to bring about their salvation (Luke chapter 9 verses 55,56). The soldier who went up the hill, ascended it, to see Elijah, trusted in his God and was saved (2 Kings chapter 1 verses 9, 13 to 15).

Unlike most of the content to this point, where similar episodes can be found in other gospels, much of the next section written by Luke (from the end of chapter 9 through to chapter18) is unique content to his gospel. This includes many of the most well known parables. Luke seems to group together the extra elements of teaching that Jesus wants to impart. He wants to enable an exodus of humanity from slavery to freedom with an understanding of, and the ability to experience, and pass on, a new way of life.