He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem
Luke 9 through 18
By Will Bourne · Bourne Again Media LLC
Luke 9–18 · 9–18
The journey of this volume
Can we welcome the joy of grace when it reaches someone we find difficult to receive? Luke’s middle movement follows Jesus toward Jerusalem through teaching, mercy, prayer, and searching encounters. Begin with chapter 15, where a complaint about His table opens stories of seeking, finding, return, and an unfinished invitation. This reading invites honest repentance and a welcome that keeps truth, dignity, and accountability together.
Whose nearness to Jesus is difficult for me to celebrate?
What you’ll explore
- God’s seeking joy
- Welcome that makes truth possible
- Repentance expressed in action
- Grace beyond comparative worth
Joy centered on restored life
Begin with Luke 15 in your Bible. Read Luke 15 as three connected stories responding to the complaint about Jesus’ welcome. Notice the shared joy, the younger son’s return, and the father’s invitation to the older son.
The following reading summarizes Chapter 15, “This Man Receives Sinners,” with a selected excerpt from the manuscript.
Luke 15 begins because religious hearers object to Jesus receiving sinners. The seeking shepherd and searching woman reveal a joy that attends carefully to what is lost and invites a community to share it.
The younger son turns toward home with a confession, and the father receives him with compassion and restored dignity. Will keeps that mercy joined to truthful responsibility: grace does not pretend that the past, its losses, or the need for repair never existed.
The older son’s resentment leaves the ending open. Both sons need the father to come toward them. The commentary invites readers beyond comparative worth into a welcome that can name real change without forcing contact, trust, or celebration.
Joy centered on restored life
The chapter does not offer cheap reconciliation. It shows costly compassion, truthful confession, restored dignity, and an appeal to relinquish resentment. Celebration is centered on life, not on denial.
Will Bourne · From Commentary 15, “This Man Receives Sinners,” in He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem
Following Christ through this movement
Jesus’ table reveals holiness moving toward the lost to restore them. His mercy creates room for truthful repentance, rather than approving the harm from which people need to turn.
Communities formed by His grace can safeguard those harmed, refuse humiliation, mark accountable change, and allow time for fruit. Receiving the Father’s joy becomes renewed participation in life with God.
Continue in Scripture
Ezekiel 34:11–16 · Romans 2:1–4 · Ephesians 2:4–10
Read these passages alongside the selected manuscript chapter. Keep each literary and historical setting in view while following the biblical witness toward Christ and faithful practice today.
A question to carry
Where do I see myself in either son’s posture? What would receiving grace change about my resentment, confession, or care for others?
Stay with one person or situation that comes to mind. Notice what this passage brings into view before deciding how to respond.
Back to section choices ↑One faithful step
Choose one bounded act of truthful welcome or repentance. You might acknowledge a burden, make a confession without demanding a response, or celebrate a verified step of change. Respect privacy, consent, and the time needed for trust to grow.
Back to section choices ↑A prayer for the journey
Merciful Father, help us receive and share Your joy. Jesus, lead us from hiding and resentment toward truth and grace. Holy Spirit, form repentance that bears fruit and a welcome that honors dignity, safety, and patient care. Amen.
Back to section choices ↑The formation emphasis in this volume
Will reads the three stories as a challenge to resentment before God’s seeking joy. Welcome and confession belong together because mercy makes truth possible rather than making wrongdoing harmless.
The formation emphasis honors restored dignity while preserving responsibility and wise boundaries. The open ending asks whether readers can receive grace as communion rather than use obedience as leverage over others.
Editorial summary of Will Bourne’s manuscript.
Back to section choices ↑