Luke 18
Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow
18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.
A parable is a story which teaches divine viewpoint.
18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 18:3 There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, 18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! 18:7 Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them?
A woman persistently asked an ungodly judge for justice against her accuser. The judge refused her, but her persistency bothered him so much, that he answered her request. If an ungodly judge will answer the pleas of those who are not his children, then will not a righteous judge answer the persistent calls of his own children?
18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The answer is “no.” The earth will not be faithful to God. Instead, they will be loyal to the Antichrist. There will be a remnant of Jews and Gentiles who believe, but they will be hiding from the persecution of the Antichrist.
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
18:9 Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. 18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Pharisees hated the tax collectors. Jesus justified the humble tax collector who confessed his sin. He condemned the proud Pharisee who thought that he was more righteous than others.
Jesus and Little Children
18:15 Now people were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. 18:16 But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 18:17 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Jesus protected the children. He wanted them to listen to Bible doctrine with their parents. Churches that separate their children from their parents in church services are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus did.
The kingdom of God is full of children. More children have died before the age of nine years old than adults who have ever lived. Many young teenagers are killed in wars started by greedy men. Young couples commit fornication and then murder their babies in the womb. The kingdom of God is full of children who were mistreated by men who are totally depraved and evil.
The Wealthy Ruler
18:18 Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18:19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Man is totally depraved and evil. “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands God. There is no one who seeks God.” (Romans 3:10-11) Therefore, only God is good. If the young man was calling Jesus “good,” then he must also call Jesus “God.”
18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
There were four of the Ten Commandments which dealt with man’s relationship to man.
18:21 The man replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.”
No man can keep the Law.
18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
If a man wants to gain eternal life on his own works, then he must sell everything that he has and follow Jesus 100%, including his thought life.
18:23 But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy.
The man chose his wealth over Jesus.
18:24 When Jesus noticed this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Liberals like to claim that Jesus was talking about a needle’s gate where camels had to stoop to enter it. This is spiritualizing the text to make it fit one’s own theology. The Greek word for “needle” is a surgeons needle used to stitch up wounds. Dr. Luke was a doctor. He knew what he was talking about.
18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
It is impossible for a camel to fit through a surgeon’s needle. It is also impossible for a man to save himself by his own works. There was no one human work that the young man could do to save himself.
18:27 He replied, “What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God.”
A camel cannot fit through a surgeon’s needle unless God supernaturally makes it happen. Man is in the same boat. Man cannot save himself by his own works, but God can save man supernaturally.
18:28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own to follow you!”
This was true. Peter had left a large fishing business in Galilee. Matthew had left a large tax collecting business. The other disciples had left large businesses as well.
18:29 Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 18:30 who will not receive many times more in this age – and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Many of the Jewish disciples would have to leave families who were steeped in the superstitions of Judaism.
Another Prediction of Jesus’ Passion
18:31 Then Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
The Son of Man was the messianic title of the Messiah predicted by Daniel the Prophet. Before the Son of Man conquers all of the nations and makes Himself king, then He will have to first go to Jerusalem and fulfill prophecy.
18:32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; he will be mocked, mistreated, and spat on.
The Son of Man will suffer before He reigns over all of the nations.
18:33 They will flog him severely and kill him. Yet on the third day he will rise again.”
Before the Son of Man reigns over all of the nations, He will be murdered. Three days later, He will raise Himself from the dead.
18:34 But the twelve understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what Jesus meant.
The mind of the total depraved man cannot understand or accept the resurrection of Christ unless the Holy Spirit opens the eyes. The Holy Spirit will not give this information to the apostles until after the resurrection.
Healing a Blind Man
18:35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.
Blind men had no means of making a living, so many of them were forced to beg. Judaism failed the blind.
18:36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on.
The blind man could not see the crowd, but he could hear them from a distance.
18:37 They told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.”
Notice that the people were calling Jesus “the Nazarene” instead of “Lord.” They have not accepted His claim of Messiah.
18:38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The Son of David was a messianic title, meaning that Jesus would one day rule for eternity on the throne of David. The blind man recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
18:39 And those who were in front scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The people attempted to quiet the blind man, but the blind man knew that Jesus could heal him.
18:40 So Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar to be brought to him. When the man came near, Jesus asked him, 18:41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, let me see again.”
Jesus knew the answer, but He always builds a relationship with those He heals.
18:42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
The blind man believed that Jesus was the Messiah, so Jesus healed him.
18:43 And immediately he regained his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they too gave praise to God.
The blind man was healed in front of the crowd. This was a miracle to authenticate that the message of Jesus was from God.