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The Gospel of Luke Chapter Eighteen
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
In the opening of Chapter 18 in
Luke, it would seem to me that Jesus is directing this first
parable to His disciples. While there was a crowd around
them, Jesus started by telling His disciples truths that the
crowd at large couldn’t grasp. Before we begin, let’s look
at Luke 11:1; “And it came to pass, as He was praying in a
certain place, that when He ceased, one of His disciples
said unto Him, Lord teach us to pray, even as John also
taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1 is especially interesting
to me in the light of the parable in Luke 18 that we are
discussing. The disciples in Luke 11:1 had asked Jesus to
teach them to pray. Jesus responded by taking them
step-by-step into a deeper kind of prayer than most
understand. As we have already said, the Gospel of Luke
talks more about prayer from the perspective of the
teachings and life of Jesus than any other Gospel. As His
disciples in the 21st century, we need to note this emphasis
on prayer, making it a priority in our everyday lives.
With that said, let’s look at Luke
18:1 - “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them
that they should always pray and not give up.” Note the word
“always” in that verse. It doesn’t say to pray only when you
feel like it. Prayer is hard work and that is why Jesus is
encouraging His followers not to faint, but to persevere.
We have all faced challenging
circumstances, and have been tempted to throw up our hands
in despair. Therefore we should not only take this as an
admonition from Jesus, but again as a word of encouragement
to hang in there and keep praying when times get rough.
Continuing in this line of thought,
Luke tells us more about what Jesus said, in Verse 2, where
we find these words: "In a certain town there was a judge
who neither feared God nor cared about men.”
Look at the characteristics of this
judge. The Bible says first of all that he didn’t fear God.
By looking at what the judge didn’t do, we can see what we
as Christians should do. For Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish
despise wisdom and instruction.”
It is important that we approach
prayer in reverence and humility. Again look at how Jesus
opened the prayer that He taught His disciples in Luke 11,
but this time look at verse 2 - “He said unto them, when you
pray, say, Father, hallowed be Your Name.”
Putting this all together, the
apostle Paul has this to say about our prayer life. In 1
Thessalonians 5:17 He said to “Pray without ceasing.” In
other words, God wants us to go through out our day in a
continual attitude of reverential prayer. So many people
confine prayer to a certain place and time, but as
Christians the writer of Hebrews gives these instructions
regardless of the location. “Let us therefore draw near with
boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy,
and may find grace to help us in time of need” (Hebrews
4:16).
Now let’s look at the second part of
verse 2 as we continue in Luke 18. We can see that not only
did this judge not have a fear of God, but he didn’t care
about his fellow man either. The Roman judges were notorious
for their wickedness. It is said that they could be bought
off with a pound of meat.
In contrast to an attitude of not
caring about people, James Chapter 1 Verse 26 says this -
“Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is
this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
While our hearts are turned towards God in prayer,
therefore, our hands need to be busy helping our fellow man.
So we can see, just by looking at
Verses One and Two of Luke 18 that this whole parable is
about contrasts. Rather than being a God who is unjust, the
Bible tells us in First John 4:16 - “And we know and have
believed the love which God has in us. God is love; and He
that abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.”
This parable in Luke is not about
the character of God. He is a good God, and the judge was a
bad man. The point in this parable is about persistence in
prayer.
Now let’s look at Luke 18:3-8 as we
continue in this parable. “And there was a widow in that
town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice
against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally
he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care
about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will
see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear
me out with her coming!' And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what
the unjust judge says.’ And will not God bring about justice
for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will
he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they
get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on the earth?’"
In Luke 18:3, Jesus paints a word
picture of a widow who continually came before this wicked
judge to plead her cause. Verses 4 and 5 show us that while
the judge wouldn’t listen to her for a while, he finally
gave up! His motives were all wrong though. He didn’t listen
to her out of concern; instead she had worn him down. In
verse 6, Jesus goes on to tell us that we should think about
and learn from this judges’ attitude and actions.
In the form of a question, Jesus
lets us know that He is always listening to the prayers of
the true child of God. If you have been in situations like I
have and your prayers just seem to bounce off the ceiling,
you can find comfort in this verse. You can know that even
if you don’t feel any response, God’s ear is open to you.
Cross-reference verse 7 with Isaiah 40:31 - “But they that
wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be
weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Waiting on the Lord does not carry
with it the idea of being passive. Instead it is actively
seeking God while deferring to Him, in the matter of the
timing of His response. God wants you to move ahead both
carefully and prayerfully. The only time you should
physically wait is if you are not sure about His direction,
or if He says to wait.
In the next two verses of this
section (Luke 18:4-5), Jesus addressed a number of subjects.
The first thing He spoke about is persistence in prayer. He
lets us know that not only does God listen to us like it was
commented above, but that there is a place for persistence
in prayer. When He talks about God making sure that His
children who cry to Him night and day receive justice, I
believe that He is telling those of us that love Him, to be
persistent and consistent in our prayer life.
But He is not saying that we have to
wear God down like the unjust judge. When we pray in this
way that is persistently, many times, God can work in our
lives stretching and growing us in faith and in our ability
to pray. In the same context, some translations use the word
“speedily” when talking about God answering prayer on behalf
of His children. Some answers have seemed anything but
speedy to me, so I have to conclude that Jesus is
encouraging us to look at things from the Father’s
perspective.
Cross reference these verses with 2
Peter 3:8. “But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day.” We can also look at God’s answers to
prayer according to their quality and not just by how
quickly they are answered.
Let me tell you a story of my own,
to show you what I mean. When I was a boy, my father gave me
a little money when we going camping. When I wanted to spend
it right away, he asked me if it was burning a hole in my
pocket? My father had my best interest at heart, teaching me
lessons that would later be valuable.
In the same way, God the Father has
the best interests for His children in mind. If we always
had our prayers answered when we wanted, the consequences
could be disastrous. We see what we want; God sees the
future and knows what we need. We need therefore to develop
submission and trust in God. For while the need for prayer
is a mystery, its main purpose is not – prayer is to glorify
God, and not to merely accomplish our will.
In this context, look at Proverbs
3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
upon your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He will direct your path.” As Jesus says, God is
longsuffering and patient with us. In Luke 18:7, Jesus was
very clear that God will bring about justice in our lives
and whenever possible, He will quickly bring answers to our
prayers.
Last, in Luke 17:8, Jesus asks if He
will find faith on the earth, when He returns. While this
question may seem puzzling at first, upon deeper reflection,
I think that Jesus is making reference to the cold and
violent state of the world as it will exist at that time.
God’s Word will be at a premium, so the apostle Paul says in
Romans 10:17 - “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ.” While Jesus, of course, would know the
answer to the question which He poses, I believe that He
asked the question for the benefit of His disciples, both
then and now. There will be little godly faith on this earth
at the time He returns.
Remember in the Garden of
Gethsemane, when the disciples were supposed to stand with
the Lord in prayer, but they literally fell asleep? To see
this with me look at Mark 14: 37-38. “And He came and found
them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon are you asleep?
Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and
praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit
is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”
We need to remember this question
that came from the lips of Jesus. One time at a church, I
heard a person who was an outstanding speaker in many ways,
and he referred to himself as “decorated dust.” This is true
of all of us. We are all prone to spiritual dullness to the
extent we are all like “decorated dust.” I think that pride
is what Jesus is warning us against. So in order to combat
that, we need to develop a deeper dependence upon Christ.
Next in Luke 18:9 & forward, we have
the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector - “To some
who were confident of their own righteousness and looked
down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other
a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about
himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -
robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I
get.'"
"But the tax collector stood at a
distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his
breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell
you that this man, rather than the other, went home
justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
I would like to start out by
contrasting the Pharisee and publican in this parable. First
of all, note their body language. The Pharisee stood while
the publican, a hated member of the Jewish community and
outcast of society, would not lift up his eyes to heaven and
smote his breast standing a distance away. You can see this
same contrition in Isaiah 6:5 - “Then said I, woe is me! For
I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have
seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.”
Now that we have looked at the
publican, let’s turn again to the Pharisee. While it is true
that the Jewish practice was to stand in prayer, again we
see no sign of contrition or remorse on behalf of the
Pharisee. As the Pharisee prayed, we see him giving thanks
that God had not made him like other men. Before going on,
let’s look at Proverbs 27:2 - “Let another man praise you,
and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
While we are commanded to be
thankful for our blessings, the Pharisees’ thanksgiving was
a sham. It would appear that while the publican directed his
prayers towards God, the Pharisee was talking mainly to
himself, hoping others would see him and think he was
wonderful. We are not to be prideful and look down on
others. Cross-reference the Pharisee’s attitude with
Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For by grace have you been saved through
faith; and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God; not
of works that no man should boast.”
Returning to Luke, we can observe
that the Pharisee’s whole attitude was one of
self-righteousness, as he told God why He should be listened
to. After all, he said, he fasted twice a week, and gave
tithes of all that he had. Fasting is seen throughout the
Old and New Testaments. The Pharisees, however, had turned
fasting into a legalistic practice, doing it on Mondays and
Thursdays as a form of prayer. Read on, and you can see how
fasting had been abused.
In Isaiah 58:3-7, God has this to
say: "Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we
humbled ourselves and You do not notice? Behold, on the day
of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your
workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to
strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today
to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast like this
which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for
bowing one's head like a reed and for spreading out
sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast,
even an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast
which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo
the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and
break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the
hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you
see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from
your own flesh?"
Tithing too, had been turned into a
mere form of legalism. The Pharisees took this practice to
extremes, thinking to gain “points” with God. In Luke 11:42,
Jesus said, “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint
and rue and every kind of garden herb, and disregard the
justice and the love of God; but these are the things you
ought to have done without neglecting the others.”
What can we learn from this parable
in Luke 18? Do we ever tell God in word or action how much
we have done for Him? How wonderful we are? Do we ever look
down on others less fortunate, or think that we are better
than they are?
While the primary message of this
parable in Luke 18 does contrast the grace of Christ in
salvation, showing us how we must all throw ourselves upon
Gods mercy and not depend upon our own works; we should also
apply this principle of humility to our daily lives. In
everything that we do we must humbly be thankful to God for
His gifts, knowing that we have done nothing to deserve
them. In James 1:17, the Bible says, “Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
father of lights, with whom there can be no variation,
neither shadow that is cast by turning.”
While most people just look at verse
14 of Luke 18 as part of this parable, I would like to look
at it in that way, but also try and apply it to our lives in
the 21st century. The concluding words of Jesus were: “I
tell you, ‘This man (the tax collector) went down to his
house justified rather than the other; for everyone who
exalts himself shall be humbled; but he that humbles himself
will be exalted.” Just as the publican was justified, you to
can be justified, too. Humbly confess your sins to God and
ask Christ to come into your heart. Many Christians seem to
live their lives trying to exalt themselves, when God’s word
says that these people will be humbled. See how the apostle
Paul describes the healthy form of exaltation we can enjoy
in Christ. Look with me at Romans 8:17 - “And if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ if so
be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified
with Him.”
As if to underscore what He has
already talked about in the previous verses, Jesus now uses
children to exemplify the qualities that we as Christians
should possess. Please read Luke 18:15-17 with me: “People
were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them.
When the disciples saw this, they rebuked 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. I tell you the truth;
anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little
child will never enter it."
Have you ever truly OBSERVED a
little child? Although kids are growing up earlier and
earlier, there is still a sense of awe that they have as
they look at the world around them.
I believe that this is one of the
qualities that Jesus was talking about when He spoke sharply
to His disciples. A child is someone who gets up every
morning with childlike enthusiasm, seeing the world as new.
He or she is someone who gives thanks because they know that
this is God’s world, and is humbled by what their Father has
created. Cross reference these verses in Luke with Matthew
18:1-4 - ”In that hour came the disciples to Jesus, saying,
‘Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?’ And He
called to Him a little child, and set him in the midst of
them, and said, truly I say unto you, except you are
converted and become as little children, you shall in no
wise enter into the Kingdom of heaven.”
Another characteristic of childlike
humility is that of servant-hood. Have you ever noticed how
a little child wants to help with a project? In light of
this, cross-reference the above verses with Mark 10:42-44.
“And Jesus called them to Him, and said to them, ‘You know
that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles Lord
it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over
them. But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become
great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever would
be first among you, shall be servant of all.’”
How do these passages affect your
life? Does your life express itself in servant-like humility
to God and to other people? Or, do you think that a
lifestyle of servant-hood is practical?
The story of the rich young ruler
(Luke 18:18 & forward) is a story that touches our everyday
lives. In this age of ease, will we to make material gain
our god? Or will we to take up our crosses and follow Jesus?
In Revelation 3:16 Jesus tells us all that we can’t have it
both ways, as he speaks these words to the church at
Laodicea: “So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor
cold, I will spew you out of My mouth.”
Having said this, let’s look in Luke
18:18-30, to see the story of the rich young ruler. “A
certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus
answered. ‘No one is good - except God alone. You know the
commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not
steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and
mother.’”
"All these I have kept since I was a
boy,’ he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You
still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.’”
“When he heard this, he became very
sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at
him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go
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?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with
men is possible with God.’ Peter said to him, ‘We have left
all we had to follow you!’
"’I tell you the truth," Jesus said
to them, ‘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 as much in this age and, in the
age to come, eternal life.’”
In the first two verses of this
parable, we see the young man addressing Jesus as “Good
Teacher.” Jesus responded by asking the man a question;
trying to get him to think. He is asking the rich young
ruler, “are you saying that I am God?” For it is only after
a person excepts or rejects Christ’s claims to deity that he
or she can answer the question of eternal life.
Notice the young man wanted to know
what he had to do to enter this “eternal life.” Jesus
referred to Exodus 20:12-16 - "Honor your father and your
mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which
the Lord your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall
not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear
false witness against your neighbor."
By his response to Jesus, we can see
that although the ruler didn’t know it, Jesus knew that he
was lacking in his commitment to God. As Jesus converses
with the young man, He shows him how he cannot perfectly
keep the commandments without divine strength. When Jesus
told the ruler to sell all that he had, give it to the poor,
and follow him, He was not saying that riches were
necessarily wrong in themselves. I believe that he was
testing the man, because riches had become his “god.” In the
next two verses, Jesus underscores, what a trap riches can
become. Cross-reference this thought with Exodus 20:3, “You
shall have no other gods before me.” We can see that the
ruler did put his riches before God, because Luke records
that he was very rich, and became very sad.
The Gospel doesn’t tell us whether
the ruler ever came to follow Jesus or not. What this story
does say is that God might take us out of our comfort zone
to perform a higher good in our lives. Let this parable
speak to you. Ask yourself, am I putting something ahead of
God in my life?
Then Jesus talked about the
impossibility of getting to heaven for a man who trusted in
riches. But when they asked him who could be saved, He told
them that salvation was only possible with God (Luke 18:27).
So it is with all of us. In order to see what I mean, look
with me at John 6:44 - “No man can come to Me, except the
Father that sent Me draw him; and I will raise him up in the
last day.”
As you can see in Luke 18:28, Peter
became a spokesperson for the group, reminding the Lord of
what they have given up to follow Him. I wonder how many
times we do the same thing? Cross- reference this verse with
Philippians 3:7 - "But whatever things were gain to me,
those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ."
In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus told His
followers about the rewards that they can anticipate because
of their loyalty. Note His warning here though. If you give
something up to follow Christ, make sure that serving Him is
the real reason and that you are not giving it up for your
own glorification. Please look at Matthew 6:1 - “Beware of
practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by
them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is
in heaven.”
In Luke 18:31-34, we See Jesus
trying to tell the disciples what will happen to Him. But
they didn’t understand the concept of the cross and all that
it would entail. Suffering was the last thing on the
disciple’s minds, as they thought that Jesus had come to set
up His Kingdom on earth at that time.
I wonder if like the disciples of
2000 years ago, we are ever blinded by our own
preconceptions? The Scriptures from the beginning spoke of
His suffering as well as His glory. Do we search the
Scriptures, letting God speak to us? Please, look at Acts
17:11 with me - “Now these (the Bereans) were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word
with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures
daily, whether these things were so.”
The story of the blind man at
Jericho (Luke 18:35 & forward) has received much discussion,
partly because there are similar stories in both Matthew and
Mark and the three accounts are often compared with one
another.
Upon first glance, some of the
narratives in Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts, seem to
contradict Luke, but upon further examination, one can see
that this is not so. Please read Luke 18:35-43 with me, and
we will examine it closely, commenting after it is
completed:
“As Jesus approached Jericho, a
blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard
the crowd going by, he asked what it meant. They told him,
‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ He called out, ‘Jesus,
Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who led the way
rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the
more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and
ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near,
Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Lord,
I want to see,’ he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your
sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received
his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the
people saw it, they also praised God.”
Now let’s compare the passages from
Matthew and Mark with Luke's account. First of all, Mark,
who wrote of two men, is the only writer who gives one of
the blind men a name. Luke’s account has Jesus drawing near
to the city, whereas Matthew and Mark show him leaving. This
in itself would seem to make it clear that these were two
different accounts. Matthew and Mark tell us in their
narratives about two blind men, where as Luke only mentions
one. Matthew is the only gospel that records Jesus touching
the blind man.
To further compare these stories
look at Matthew 20:29-34 and Mark 10:46-52. Whatever liberal
critics may suggest, it is clear that these were two
separate incidents.
The incident in Luke occurred “near
Jericho” (Luke 18:35). There were two cities names Jericho
in the Bible, which were about six miles apart. Jesus could
have left the one and a short time later, entered the other.
The two incidents may have been at completely different
times. Whenever and however these events happened, the Bible
has been shown over and over to be 100 percent reliable. We
can trust that this is the Word of God. Thank you for
reading this, and please join me for Luke 19.
If I can be of any help, please
contact me at
atmynvm@cox.net or through
Ron@FridayStudy.org
Thank you for reading this, and
please join me next time.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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