J. Albrecht…Lent 3…March 8^th, 2026…Luke 9:51-56…Setting Our Eyes on Our Savior…

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

⁵¹ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And 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, just as Elijah did?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ⁵⁶ “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

INJ Whose eyes were set on Jerusalem so that we can set our eyes on Him for salvation, DFR:

There are a few characters that come to mind when you think about choosing to go towards danger even when given the option to avoid it. Officer John W. Perry is one of those people. On the morning of September 11^th, 2001, Officer Perry was filing his retirement paper work at the precinct to then pursue a career as a malpractice lawyer. When he heard about the World Trade Center attacks, he sprinted several blocks in order to help with the rescue. Upon arriving, he helped a woman who had fainted, then quickly sprinted into the South Tower shortly before it collapsed. Officer Perry had every motive to avoid the danger he knew awaited him that morning, and yet he firmly set his face towards the danger to fulfill his duty as an officer of the NYPD.

Jesus also knew the danger that awaited Him in Jerusalem. Shortly after His transfiguration, only in about a week’s time, He would be betrayed, stripped, beaten, mocked, humiliated, and crucified. Upon His crucifixion, He would suffer the greatest torment anyone could possible endure – hell for every single person in the world. Jesus knew He would die and the excruciation pain and agony that awaited Him. He had every right to turn away from the cross and spare Himself the suffering, but He doesn’t. He sets His face towards Jerusalem – that is to say, He was determined and committed to fulfilling His mission as Savior of the world. And this small encounter with a Samaritan village tells us why: Jesus set His eyes to Jerusalem so that we can fix our eyes on Him – the certain hope of our salvation; and the reason we can focus on the Gospel today.

May the Holy Spirit bless our study of these, His Words, Amen.

There is quite a bit of background that plays a role in this near-fatal encounter with a Samaritan Village. The first is why the Samaritans did not receive Jesus. In John 4, Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman near the village of Sychar. It was a strange encounter because there had been centuries of animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritans were half Jew and half Gentile, descendants of those brought into the land by the Assyrian Empire after Israel was scattered. As a result of this, the Samaritans formed a mirrored version of the Judaic religion. They worshiped Jehovah, but they refused to worship at the temple in Jerusalem; instead believing that one must worship at Mount Gerizim. Thus the Jews despised the Samaritans, often refusing to even pass through their lands, and vice versa.

Jesus was different, and He showed that. He didn’t avoid the Samaritans, but purposefully went through their lands in order to share the kingdom of God with them. With the woman at the well, it was met with great success. The whole village of Sychar believed in Him. But this village was different, and we aren’t exactly told why.

⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

The most likely reason the Samaritans rejected Jesus was because He made clear His intention to go to Jerusalem for the Passover – something the Samaritans viewed as wrong since true worship must happen at Mount Gerizim. They rejected Jesus as being the true Messiah. In their eyes, the true Messiah would come to their holy place (much the same way the Jews felt the true Messiah would come to bring glory to the temple and not destroy it and rebuild it in three days as Jesus had said He would). And that prompted James and John’s response – the second piece of background we must consider.

⁵⁴ And 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, just as Elijah did?”

In 2 Kings 1, King Ahaziah of Israel lay sick in bed. He sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover. The Lord tells the Prophet Elijah to intercept the messengers and tell them that Ahaziah will not recover but will die. This angers Ahaziah, who sends a captain with fifty soldiers to bring Elijah to him.

When the captain confronts Elijah, he shows disrespect and challenges him to come down from the hill where he was staying. In response, Elijah calls down fire from heaven, consuming the captain and his fifty men. This happens two more times with a total of three captains and their soldiers being consumed by fire. Finally, the angel of the Lord instructs Elijah to go with the third captain to deliver the message to Ahaziah that he will die because he sought counsel from a pagan god instead of from the Lord.

The question is why would God do this and what do James and John mean by their request of Jesus?

The simple answer is that it was what the Law required. In the Old Testament, God gave the Law in order to preserve His chosen people as a nation “set apart” for Himself, that is, holy. When Ahaziah sent to inquire of a false idol, when he knew the prophet of the LORD was in Israel, it showed disdain and a total rejection of the true God. Ahaziah was opening the door and inviting a false religion in to consume God’s people, leading them into terrible sins. God showed His power and His seriousness about seeking after other gods.

Now, what did James and John mean by it, well, Jesus tells us. ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.

James and John were thinking according to the spirit of the Old Testament Law. Their intention came our of deep love and reverence for Jesus. They didn’t want to stand by and see Him be rejected like that. Such a bold flare up is why they were called the “sons of thunder.” But, here’s the problem. Jesus is bringing an end to the Old Testament Law. It’s not that God no longer cares who people put their trust in, He does and will always care about that. But Jesus coming to fulfill the Law changes how God operates. In the Old Testament, it was keep pagan nations out. In the New Testament era that Jesus is bringing in, the message of salvation is to go out into those nations that they may hear of the great works of God’s grace, believe, and be saved.

This spirit of the Law is alive and well in our day today, isn’t it? It’s the desire to seek after justice or revenge when we feel someone has wronged or slighted us, or the church. Jesus’ rebuke should strike a chord in our hearts this morning, lest we also fall into the same trap as James and John. Our purpose here is not to be vindicators of God, or the arbiters of His revenge. Who am I to think that I can rightly judge a person’s heart, that they are worthy of God’s destruction, when I can’t even rightly judge my own heart and see the wickedness I do against God on the daily?

Or what about in our dealings with each other. How often are we quick to hold a grudge against someone else, even a fellow Christian? Animosity and resentment are small licks of fire that quickly burst into a raging flame that is not so easily stopped. Did God call us to be vengeful or spiteful? Or did He call us to be ambassadors of His mercy and love. Did He call us to be peacemakers, reconcilers, edifiers of God’s people, and lights that reflect the love of Jesus in this dark world?

James and John immediately jumped to condemnation and destruction, much like we often do, but Jesus desired to show patience and instruction. ⁵⁶ “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Jesus set His eyes on Jerusalem. He knew that the mission before Him was to be the sacrifice in the place of those Samaritans who rejected Him passing through. He was to be the propitiation for those who spat in His face, mocked, and jeered at Him. He was to be the substitute for those who drove the nails into His hands and feet. Jesus came to bring an end to Satan’s dominion, that is death.

And Jesus did just that. Though every opportunity presented itself, even while on the cross, Jesus never took His eyes off of His mission to be the Savior of the world. He died having paid for every sin of every sinner – even of those who still reject Him. Even for your sins and mine – for every time we were quick to condemn; long to release a grudge; or short-fused to anger. His love truly covers a multitude of my sin and yours.

Know what that means that God died for you. The same God who consumed rebellious man with fire to show how seriously He took seeking after other gods – now bore the humble flesh of man to take His place under His Father’s eternal judgment because He takes your salvation just as seriously. He desires His love, compassion, and mercy to fill the earth that all may turn and find peace with Him.

That changes the way you and I operate, doesn’t it? It means that the spirit by which we operate is no longer the spirit of the law, but the spirit of the Gospel. To do that, our eyes are fixed on our Savior. When Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem, nothing was going to deter Him for doing what He came to do. When we set our eyes on Jesus, we make what He accomplished the most important part of our lives. It means we carry the cross everywhere we go – whether it is here at church, at a school function, or at the grocery store – everywhere God sends us in our day, our eyes are fixed on one purpose: To show the love and mercy of the God who died for sin.

Jesus knew the dangers that awaited Him in Jerusalem. Know that dangers will be in your future as well. Dangers like rejection, ridicule; temptation to anger and condemnation – all seeking to rip your eyes away from your Savior. Remember how Jesus went forward into the danger that awaited Him because He knew that what would come because of it is life for all who believe in His name. Now, when you face your dangers, you can hold onto the cross of your Savior, never letting Him leave your sight, and nothing that you face can separate you from His love. Amen.