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| Chapter 18 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint, 2 saying, "There was in a city a judge who feared not God, neither regarded man. 3 And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, ‘Avenge me of mine adversary.’ 4 And for a while he would not, but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I fear not God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubleth me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’" 6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge His own elect, who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" 9 ¶ And He spoke this parable unto certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 15 ¶ And they brought unto Him also infants, that He would touch them; but when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them unto Him and said, "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God. 17 Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein." 18 ¶ And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said unto him, "Why callest thou Me good? None is good save One, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments: ’Do not commit adultery.’ ’Do not kill.’ ’Do not steal.’ ’Do not bear false witness.’ ’Honor thy father and thy mother.’" 21 And he said, "All these have I kept from my youth up." 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, He said unto him, "Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 And when he heard this he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, He said, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God? 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." 26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" 27 And He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." 28 Then Peter said, "Lo, we have left all and followed Thee." 29 And He said unto them, "Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house or parents or brethren or wife or children for the Kingdom of God’s sake, 30 who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." 31 ¶ Then He took unto Him the twelve and said unto them, "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. 32 For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and spitefully treated and spit upon; 33 and they shall scourge Him and put Him to death, and the third day He shall rise again." 34 And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hidden from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. 35 ¶ And it came to pass that as He was coming nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. 36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37 And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried, saying, "Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 And those who went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace, but he cried out all the more, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?" And he said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." 42 And Jesus said unto him, "Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee." 43 And immediately he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. |
The next two parables are only recorded in Luke’s Gospel. v1-8 The unjust Judge. Though this parable appears to be about prayer it is a final part to the teaching about the future in the previous chapter. The basic idea is similar to the parable of Luke 11:5ff. A judge, possibly a Roman judge who does not honour the Law, God or man, can be made to act following the continual requests and appeals of the widow. The widow appears to come regularly to the judge for help. The words ’Avenge me of mine adversary,’ indicate that she is asking for protection from misuse of the law, not punishment for the person. "For a while he would not," he at first refused to help but the repeated calls for help makes the judge act. If an unjust judge will help the widow, then think how God will protect and help His people, the Elect, when they cry out to Him. v8 Jesus asks a question, "when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?" indicating that the spiritual condition on the earth will not improve, even just before His return. v9-14 The Pharisee and the Publican. There is no evidence that this was spoken at the same time but it has a relationship to the coming Kingdom. The story shows the difference between false worship and true repentance. The Pharisees enters the temple, then standing in a very visible position, obviously wanting to be noticed, prays aloud and "with himself," showing his attitude to the act. v11 The Pharisee is self centered, self righteous, ’God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are." I am so perfect he thinks. "I fast twice in the week." Fasting was part of the Jewish worship but did not require twice a week. v12 "I give a tenth of what I gain" v13 The publican, or tax collector, stands in a quite place at the edge of the temple, "standing afar off, not even wanting to look up to heaven," cries out, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ The words used indicated that in the eyes of this man he was the worse sinner on the earth. He does not plead how many good works he did, just bows in humbleness asking for forgiveness. Because of the heart and attitude of the publican, Jesus said that this man was made right, "justified" with God. v15-17 Blessing the children. Matt 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16. It was a common practice for parents to bring their young children to a rabbi for a blessing. The disciples felt that these people were making unnecessary demands upon the Lord Jesus. v17 The attitude of Jesus to children was very different to the normal Jewish adult, children were not important until they became adults. Jesus wanted the children to come to him without any fear or problems, He points out that unless an adult approaches the Kingdom of God with the mind and faith of a child they will have great trouble understanding and entering God’s Kingdom. v18-30 The rich young ruler. Matt 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31. Only Luke tells us that this young man was a ruler, It was normal for rulers to be of mature age, so the man may have been a young member of a ruling family. The young man wants to find out how to inherit eternal life but starts out by using the title for Jesus of "Good Master." Jesus asks him if he really knows and understands the meaning of "Good," for only God is good, it is interesting to note that Jesus did not refuse to accept the title. v18 "What shall I do?" The questions shows that he has been searching for the answer but not found it. v20 Jesus knows that the young man knows the Law, He does not refer to the first four which deal with how a man relates to God, or the last which deals with feeling. Jesus highlights those which deal with personal and human relationships. v21 "All these have I kept from my youth up to now." is the reply, he had kept all these commandments, however, Jesus knows the heart of the man and now shows where the problem was, - "sell all that you have, give it away." This touches the man’s heart for he was rich. He was obviously interested in the teaching of Jesus but the price he had to pay was too much and goes away sorrowful. On seeing the effect this had on the man Jesus now makes this statement, "It is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom, much easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle." Luke used the word for a surgical needle. There have been many attempts to explain what Jesus was referring to, the Greek words for camel and cable as very similar or was He referring to a special small door giving access into a walled city at night, a fully loaded camel could not get through it, the owner needing to leave the rich luggage outside the safety of the city. v26 It was a common thinking to the Jew that riches or wealth was a sign of blessing from God, for those who obeyed the Law. Riches were supposed to be a sign of being right with God. "Who then can be saved?" is the question. Salvation is by the grace of God, nothing is impossible. v28-30 "We have left all and followed you." said Peter, possibly asking what reward will we get. Jesus replies that all who are prepared to follow and serve God will be more than satisfied with their rewards in this world and for eternity. v31-34 The future death and resurrection. Luke’s record now comes back in step with Matthew and Marks Gospels. Concentrating now on the last days of the life of Jesus. v31 "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem," The journey to Jerusalem and the cross now starts. All the Gospels recorded that the events are as prophesied. Jesus goes into great detail of the coming events, that the Gentiles would be involved in His death. But, He will rise again on the third day. Compare Matt 20:19; Mark 10:34; John 2:19. v35-43 Blind man healed. Matt 20:29; Mark 10:46. There are differences of this event as recorded in the Gospels, Luke said it occurred as they approached Jericho, Matthew and Mark as they left. Matthew mentions two men healed, Mark and Luke only one was healed. Luke was probably referring to the Gentile city built by Herod near the main Jewish city Old Jericho which Matthew and Mark were talking about. As the group passed by the blind man he calls out to Jesus using a royal title, indicating his believe in Jesus the Messiah. The crowd told him to be quite but this made him cry out louder, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" Before this event Jesus had not encourage the use of that title in public, now as he heads for Jerusalem He is happy to claim the title. Jesus was never to pass this way again so it was the man’s final chance of healing. Jesus stop and called to him, in response to the man’s faith, Jesus heals him. The healed man and the crowd now followed Jesus praising God for giving the power to Jesus. |
Easy English Translation
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