The road.

The road.

Luke 19 v 28 “After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem”.

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Stick to the plan.

Jesus said what needed to be said and then he continued in the direction to Jerusalem to lay his life down. There are things you have to say to certain people:

To those who are misunderstanding where you are going and the reason for it, v11; To those who are lost and without purpose, v1,10; To the desperately loud, 18 v35; To those who are going with you, 18 v31. It may slow you down but their stories are important to the big story. There are things you have to say and then you must keep going forward. You must stick to the plan.

Make the effort.

The road to Jerusalem is not easy. The distance is 15 miles and Jesus would literally be walking up to Jerusalem with an increase of 3400 feet from Jericho which is below sea level to begin with. Many don’t reach their potential because the effort is just too much. If there’s no effort needed then maybe it just isn’t worth it.

You are safer in numbers, so take people with you.

The road was dangerous, as the parable of the Good Samaritan reveals. It was given the name Ascent of Blood or the Way of Blood, simply because it was well-known that bandits operated in the area and would ambush many travellers on the road. But Jesus is in little danger because he is bringing a crowd of people with him.

He was ahead.

The destiny of Jesus didn’t just accidentally happen. It wasn’t a case of ‘I never saw that coming’. There are many examples in our lives of God surprising us by opening doors of opportunity or answering prayers etc. This was not one of them. Jesus purposely led the crowd to Jerusalem. He was the captain going into battle.