Jesus had a successful ministry in Galilee. The people responded to his preaching, his healing, and his invitation into table fellowship. However, Galilee was the provinces so Jesus decided to move toward the big time. “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” Notice how St. Luke tells the story — he turned his face toward Jerusalem not in the sense of making a triumphal march but so that he might “be taken up.” Jesus was “taken up” on the cross so the journey to Jerusalem was movement toward his destiny to give all that he was, to empty himself, into the plan of God.
