Determination

Every culture and people group has “code words” that they know the significance of, and to outsiders, they seem nonsensical. For the English-speaking community, “Romeo and Juliet” conjures the imagery of love, “Judas” the imagery of betrayal, and “Pilate” the imagery of refusing to accept responsibility.

The Greek word Exodus reminded the Hebrews of a significant event – their foreparents leaving slavery in Egypt. Their Scripture read,

“On the first of the third month of EXODUS of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt – in that day – they went into the wilderness of Sinai.” (Exod 19:1, LXX)

Although exodus was a common word for any “exit” (still used in Greece), it had an emotional meaning for the Hebrews. Now, the disciples would again face another exodus, which would affect them significantly.

A few days earlier, Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and three disciples on a mountain and planned Jesus’s exit strategy (exodus), which would materialize in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). They were in Galilee. So, it was time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem for his exodus.

“When the days [of his ministry in Galilee] finished and for Jesus to be taken up [to his Father] came, Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. He sent two messengers ahead of him. They entered a Samaritan village to prepare it for his arrival. But they did not receive him because his face was set to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51–53)

The term “Samaritans” refers to two groups of people. One was the native Samaritans (they came from two distinct eras – from the Babylonian Captivity and the Hasmonean Rule). The other was a group of Jerusalemites who were disillusioned by the Pharisees’ liberal teachings, separated themselves from Jerusalem, and started worshipping YHWH in Mt. Gerezim, where Moses read the law to the Israelites. They called themselves Shamaritans (with a “sh”) since the Hebrew word shamar (שמר) meant “to separate.” They considered themselves Jacob’s descendants, read only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch), and waited for Moses or the Messiah to come and explain everything to them (John 4:12, 19, 25).

After Jesus’s initial contact with them, through a woman at the well (John 4), the Shamaritans believed perhaps Jesus was their anticipated Messiah (John 4:39–42). They would have welcomed him greatly if he was heading their way. Instead, he was determined to go to Jerusalem for his exodus. That troubled them. So, they didn’t want him to visit them.

Jesus understood their emotions and wasn’t troubled by their rejection. He chose to go through another village (Luke 9:56). But his disciples, Jacob and John (perhaps the two that went to that village), wanted to bring fire from heaven and destroy them as if they were Elijah (Luke 9:54).* They remembered Elijah’s visit and thought it was time for destruction, forgetting Jesus had come to save, not destroy. The Lord rebuked them, but not the Shamaritans.

The Lord Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem and face his death and exodus because, ultimately, it had good news – his resurrection that started all future resurrections. So, when opposition came, he went around it to accomplish his mission, leaving us an example of determination and getting around obstacles.

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*I will come to these verses later.