“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.” (Luke 9:51)

 “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.” (Luke 9:51)

Our Lord’s death upon the Cross was anything but involuntary. It was not a result of a betrayer’s deceit, the Sanhedrin’s envy, Pilate’s spinelessness, Herod’s laissez-faire attitude, the disciples’ fear, or the soldier’s nails and spear. When Jesus “set His face to go to Jerusalem,” He fully knew and understood that He was NOT going to His own demise, but to voluntarily be sacrificed – giving Himself up for the life of the world – to free us from sin and bondage to death. He willingly “gave up His spirit” that our spirit might be set free and attain entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Fr. John