In 9:51 Luke begins his account of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem (9:51–19:27), which is sometimes called the “Travel Narrative” or simply the “Central Section.” Luke breaks away from his Marcan source in this section until 18:15 (see Introduction, pp. 3–5 and commentary on 10:1–24 below). During this section the reader is reminded of Jesus’ journey by references to the verb “to go” (9:51–53, 56–57; 10:38; 13:31, 33; 17:11; 19:28) and the noun “road” or “way” (9:57; 10:4).

We shall examine 9:51–62, which is comprised of: (1) Jesus’ rejection by a Samaritan town (vv. 51–56) and (2) three exchanges with would-be followers (vv. 57–62). The first part launches the journey; the second part reviews the requirements for making the trip. There is no doubt that Luke intends a certain amount of symbol…