I wonder what prolonged experience to Jesus does to folks. It so rarely really takes place. Despite the fact that churches talk a lot about Jesus, few really spend much time reading about the things he said and did while living among us. What happens to a person when they spend prolonged amounts of time with the Jesus of the bible?

At some point, she realizes that the mood is often somewhat dour. There is a lot of conflict. Even in situations of healing, there are often very difficult teachings or confrontations with authority. The things he says about money and sex are very difficult to accept, especially in this society that normalized greed and lust. We want to imagine that Jesus is quite happy with America. Reading his words will almost certainly lead one to question if there is much for him to really congratulate us for.

Every person who comes to Jesus eventually has to make a decision about if they are going to actually listen, or if they are going to continue insisting that he be someone else. “Are you the one to come, or should we wait for another?” the disciples of John asked. He came. He healed, he spoke, he died, he ascended. And yet so many of his followers act like they are waiting for another. As he says in today’s reading, he will be returning, but nobody is going to see it coming until it is too late. Those of us who listen, who believe…we obey now rather than regretting later.

Luke 13

At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.

So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.

When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.”

Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.

But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?

Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”

When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem. “Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?”

Jesus answered, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’

But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”

At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”

But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’

Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Luke 14

One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely. Right there before Him was a man with dropsy.

So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

But they remained silent.

Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

And He asked them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out?”

And they were unable to answer these questions.

When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable:

“When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.

Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.

But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.

But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.

When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’

Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’

Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’

The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’ ”

Large crowds were now traveling with Jesus, and He turned and said to them,

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’

Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 15

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable:

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’

In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.

Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?

And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’

In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.

So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.

He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.

Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!

I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on.

‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’

The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.

But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.

But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

Luke 16

Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.

I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.

‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered.

‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’

‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied.

‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Luke 17

Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

Instead, won’t he tell him, ‘Prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’?

Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told?

So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance

and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.

“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine? Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?”

Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!”

When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.

Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.

For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.

But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:

People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. Remember Lot’s wife!

Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be grinding grain together: One will be taken and the other left.”

“Where, Lord?” they asked.

Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Luke 18

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.

And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,

yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’ ”

And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?

I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them.

But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.

On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

“Look,” said Peter, “we have left all we had to follow You.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God

will fail to receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.”

But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.

As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.

“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had been brought near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “let me see again.”

“Receive your sight!” Jesus replied. “Your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people who saw this gave praise to God.

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