Purpose

"And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem..."
~ Luke 9:51

Holy week brought Jesus face-to-face with His purpose. He came to die. Every sermon He preached, every word spoken, every miracle performed, and every step He took was toward the cross. Even as He entered Jerusalem to the cries of 'Hosanna' He knew His purpose lay beyond the adoration of people. Calvary was His destination.

I've always wondered when He knew it. Did He realize it as a boy when He played with the other kids in Bethlehem? Or as He learned a trade at the side of Joseph, the carpenter? Did He know it when He turned the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana? Did He realize as He relieved the suffering of others how much He would have to suffer Himself?
Whenever it was, it became evident to all those around Him. He knew. He understood His purpose.

Luke's words sound to me like a recollection from someone who remembered it well. "He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
Maybe it was a look in His eyes they hadn't seen before. Or a determination in His steps. Or maybe it was the way He squared His shoulders toward the holy city.
Whatever it was that they saw, they knew. He was on a mission. Although they still didn't understand it, in fact, they never would have imagined what would happen in Jerusalem at that Passover, they saw something on His journey there.
They saw purpose.