Yeshua’s Journey to Jerusalem for Passover

This evening we are entering the first evening of Passover. It is the same evening that Yeshua and His disciples gathered here in Jerusalem within a stone-throwing distance from the Temple Mount to celebrate the Passover. It is interesting that Yeshua knows what is going to happen to him and to the world on that one Passover celebration in Jerusalem.

I have preached around the world at least many hundreds of times the text from Luke 9:51. It is a text that is generally ignored by most teachers and pastors. It does not seem too interesting for most Christians to dig into it and try to understand what is hidden in these few words from Luke’s Gospel.

Now I decided to share with you the short version of the interpretation of this verse from several English translations in order to make it clear how difficult it was for the translators to put into English the words from the Greek New Testament that reflect the Hebrew words that Yeshua spoke in his own mother tongue, the Hebrew.

“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 NKJV)

“And it came about that when the days were near for him to be taken up, his face was turned to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51 BBE)

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51 NIV)

“The time was coming closer for Jesus to be taken to heaven. So he was determined to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51 GWORD)

What do we see in these English translations:

We see that there are two phrases in this verse that the translators had difficulty to translate:

The NKJV – “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.”

The BBE – “his face was turned to go to Jerusalem.”

The NIV – “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

The GWORD – “So he was determined to go to Jerusalem.”

What do we learn from these different translations from the same Greek text to English?

The first difficulty is to translate the Hebrew phrase

“He turned His face toward Jerusalem.”

“Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord.” Isaiah‬ ‭38‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV

“And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword.” 2 Chronicles 32:21 NKJV

“I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.”
Ezekiel 7:22

I just bring a few examples of this idiomatic phrase “To Turn Face” - It simply means to set in a specific direction. Or to walk in a specific direction, the wall, the road to Jerusalem, toward the ark of the covenant….

The second phrase in the text of Luke 9:51 that is not easily understood and generally ignored by most Christians and pastors is the phrase: “to be received up” – NKJV. “To be taken up.” – BBE. “to be taken up to heaven…” – NIV + GWORD.

I suppose that I have presented this message many hundreds of times in some 50 countries around the world. This message has been a kind of my opening introductory message the first time that I preached in a new place.

The reason is that Yeshua’s face was and is still turned toward Jerusalem. There are two important parts of this text from Luke 9:51, which are most frequently missed by 99% of Christian pastors. The first thing is that Yeshua set out from the Galilee toward Jerusalem “resolutely” – “determined to go to Jerusalem.”

Why did Yeshua have to make up his mind to go to Jerusalem with such strong words as “determinate” and “resolutely!” The reason is clear, Yeshua knew what was waiting for him in that city. Yeshua knew well what is going to happen to him on Passover in Jerusalem. He knew the book of Isaiah and chapter 53 that has some thirty different predictions of what is going to happen in Jerusalem to the SERVANT OF THE LORD!

Yeshua also knew what is going to happen in the aftermath of His death on the cross. Yeshua was willing to go to the cruelest death of all on the Roman cross, because of the end of Isaiah,

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul
unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:11–12 NKJV)

These are the reasons why Yeshua had to set his face toward Jerusalem knowing what is waiting for him in that city, the city of the great King!

The second issue that this verse in Luke 9:51 needs clarification and it is very important for all to understand the text. It is the phrase that in most translations is not made clear enough: “to be taken up” BBE, - “to be Received up!” NKJV. – “to be taken up to heaven” NIV and GWORD. The Greek word that is used in this text can be translated “To be taken up!” = “To Ascend!”

Now when I asked hundreds of times all around the world the question, “Why did Yeshua go to Jerusalem on that Passover Feast?” 99% of the times the pastors and professors that were warned by me more than one time before I asked the question said uniformly, “Jesus went to Jerusalem to die on the cross!”

Every time, from the ice-covered plains of Lapland in Finland to the top of the hill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I have warned the pastors and professors to read the text carefully and pay attention to every detail and they still came back with the answer “Jesus went to Jerusalem with determination to die on the cross!” Why does this make me very sad, and sometimes even depressed?

The reason is this: Christianity and the Christian so called Spirit-filled leadership is deeply short-sighted because it has never been delivered from the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church shortsightedness to see what Yeshua saw that gave Him the strength and the determination to walk willingly and even happy to fulfill the very reason for His existence—to be a sacrifice that will bring redemption to Israel and forgiveness of sins for the whole world.

It is so important for the church and for the Messianic Jews to see what Yeshua saw in his suffering death on the cross. Yeshua looked for his return to the Father to sit on the Father’s right hand, far beyond His death on the cross.

This is why Yeshua mentioned the opening verse of Psalms 22, for his mother and his disciple John that stood and looked how Yeshua’s life and soul departed from his body. Psalm 22 that starts with the words:

“My God My God Why have you forsaken me!”

If you read the rest of the Psalm 22, you will understand that God has never forsaken His Son Yeshua, nor has God ever forsaken His chosen Nation, the nation of Israel.

The normal reading for this next Shabbat in the Jewish Synagogues is from LEVITICUS 9:1-11:47| PROPHETS: 2 SAM. 6:1-7:17| GOSPEL: MATTHEW 3:11-17.

You can read on Shabbat these texts, but also don’t forget that if Yeshua died on the cross in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon (like the Passover this year stars in Israel on Wednesday afternoon and three days and three nights ends on Sabbath evening.).

When you will be reading in your synagogues and churches the Torah portion and the portion from the prophets and from the New Testament, Yeshua will probably still be in the tomb of Joseph of Aramatia, probably already awake and ready for the journey back to heaven to join the Father of all flesh and all creation.

I imagine Yeshua passing his fingers through his long hair making sure that his hair is in place before He walks up the hill to Mount Zion and knocks on the locked door where the Apostles were gathered sad and disappointed. Also getting ready for the chariot of Elijah to come and pick Him up to take Him many light years away somewhere in the vast expanse of Heaven!

Let us celebrate the Passover, the liberation of the Israelite nation from long years of slavery in Egypt, and Yeshua’s suffering—to liberate us from our own evil inclination by His suffering and death and glorious resurrection and especially by His ascension to sit on the right hand of the Father preparing to seat in judgement of all flesh on that great and terrible day of the Lord, the Judgment day!

If you would like to go further into depth in your learning about Passover, click here to get to our comprehensive guide for Pesach (Passover).