Division 9:51–19:27

Jesus ministered on the way to Jerusalem

Another major division of the Gospel of Luke begins here at 9:51 and continues through 19:27. Jesus, with his disciples, started on a trip from Galilee to Jerusalem. They went through the districts of Samaria and Perea and entered the district of Judea on the way to Jerusalem.

Section 9:51–56

The people of a Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus

Even though the Samaritan people were partly Jewish (2 Kings 17:24–41), they worshiped God differently than the Jews did. Their main place of worship was on Mount Gerazim, while the Jews’ main place of worship was in Jerusalem (John 4:20). The Samaritans did not want Jews to travel through their district on the way to worship in Jerusalem. That is why they rejected Jesus and his disciples.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

People From a Samaritan Village Reject Jesus (God’s Word)
-or-
Samaritan Opposition (New International Version)

Paragraph 9:51–56

9:51a

In Greek, this verse starts with the phrase “And it happened that.” Some English versions translate this clause. For example:

Now it happened that (New Jerusalem Bible)

However, most English versions omit this clause. Luke used this clause to introduce a new event. You should introduce this event in a way that is natural in your language.

As the day…approached: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the day…approached is more literally “the days were approaching” or “the days were being completed/fulfilled.” In this context the clause indicates that it was nearly time for Jesus to go back up to heaven. This clause also implies that God had already planned the number of days before that would happen. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

When the days were approaching (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Not long before it was time (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The time was coming closer (God’s Word)

of His ascension: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of His ascension is literally “of his receiving up.” This probably refers to the time when God would take Jesus back to heaven. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

for his ascension (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
for ⌊God⌋ to take him back to heaven
-or-
for him to ascend to heaven (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
for him to be taken up to heaven (New International Version)

See heaven in the Glossary.

9:51b

Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem is literally “he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Several English versions translate the clause that way. It means that Jesus firmly decided to go to Jerusalem. It also implies here that he started out on the journey. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he was determined to go to Jerusalem (God’s Word)
-or-
he firmly decided to start out for Jerusalem

The context shows that his disciples also went with Jesus on the journey. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. If this is true in your language, try to keep the focus on Jesus. For example:

Jesus firmly/purposefully set out for Jerusalem, ⌊along with his disciples⌋.

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