In 1536 Reformer William Farel recruited John Calvin to come to Geneva, Switzerland to pastor St. Peter's Church. Calvin, a sickly man all his life, was on his way to Strasbourg to be a quiet scholar, but he relented under this need, this request, to become a pastor.

Two years later, the city fathers publicly banished Calvin from Geneva. Actually, Calvin felt relieved. The moral chaos of the city was terrible. He went to Strasbourg. Three years later in 1541, the same city fathers who had tried to humiliate him begged Calvin to return and help restore order.

He didn't want to go this second time, either, "yet," he wrote, "because I know that I am not my own master, I offer my heart as a true sacrifice to the Lord."

This became the motto of Calvin's life. His emblem would include a hand holding out a heart to God with the inscription, prompte et sincere ("promptly and sincerely"). Promptly and sincerely Calvin answered a call to very difficult task.

Jesus had moved from obscurity to prominence in a matter of months. News of his miraculous healing had spread throughout the region. Crowds flocked to benefit from his powerful presence. His disciples followed him with enthusiasm. The long-awaited kingdom was at hand.

But his fortunes soon began to change. Opposition developed. The crowds got smaller. The zeal of the disciples began to wane. Caesar's reign became more self-evident than God's dawning reign. It was to this background, Luke tells us, that Jesus resolutely "set his face to go to Jerusalem." Why should he spoil success by going to the capital? His strength was in the countryside. But there was no changing his mind. To announce God's reign, he would have to go to the center of earthly power. What caused Jesus to journey to Jerusalem?

1. First, He Knew Who He Was.
2. Second, He Knew Where He Was Going.
3. Third, Jesus Knew Who Walked with Him.