Thought for the Day – Luke 13:33 on Determination

The Pharisees and Jesus were almost like oil and water. You don’t have to read the Gospels for long to pick up on the tension between the Son of God and those belonging to the highly legalistic religious order of His day. Jesus described them as hypocrites, vipers and whitewashed tombs (Mark 7:5-6, Matt 12:34, Matt 23:27) and pronounced their self-acclaimed righteousness as below minimum standards (Matt 5:20). Despite the growing acrimony the Pharisees had toward Jesus, at one point some of them came to Him out of concern for His well-being. As Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem, they informed Him that the evil tetrarch Herod Antipas had issued a death threat against Him and suggested that He flee to another place (Luke 13:31).

When even your enemies start to look out after your welfare, you know your challenges have escalated to a new level. “Go tell that fox,” Jesus responded, “‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” (Luke 13:32-33). This was more than just obstinance on Jesus’ part. It was determination. The difference is in the worthiness of the goal. And, thankfully, our eternal life was of such paramount worth to Jesus, it kept Him on track, right up to Calvary.

Your thoughts? When it gets so bad that everyone around you agrees it’s time to quit, is your goal worthy enough to say, “I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day?”