Luke 18

1 And he put forth a similitude vnto the signifyinge that men ought alwayes to praye and not to be wery

2 sayinge: Ther was a Iudge in a certayne cite which feared not god nether regarded man.

3 And ther was a certayne wedowe in the same cite which came vnto him sayinge: avenge me of myne adversary.

4 And he wolde not for a whyle. But afterwarde he sayd vnto him selfe: though I feare not God nor care for man

5 yet because this wedowe troubleth me I will avenge her lest at the laste she come and hagge on me.

6 And the lorde sayd: heare what the vnrightewes Iudge sayeth.

7 And shall not god avenge his electe which crye daye and nyght vnto him ye though he differre them?

8 I tell you he will avenge them and that quickly. Neverthelesse when the sonne of man cometh suppose ye that he shall fynde faithe on the erthe.

9 And he put forthe this similitude vnto certayne which trusted in the selves yt they were perfecte and despysed other.

10 Two men went vp into ye teple to praye: ye one a pharise and the other a publican.

11 The pharise stode and prayed thus wt him selfe. God I thanke the yt I am not as other men are extorsioners vniuste advoutrers or as this publican.

12 I fast twyse in ye weke. I geve tythe of all that I possesse.

13 And the publican stode afarre of and wolde not lyfte vp his eyes to heven but smote his brest sayinge: God be mercyfull to me a synner.

14 I tell you: this ma departed hoe to his housse iustified moore then the other. For every man that exalteth him selfe shalbe brought low: And he yt hubleth him selfe shalbe exalted

15 They brought vnto him also babes yt he shuld touche the. When his disciples sawe that they rebuked the.

16 But Iesus called the vnto him and sayde: Suffre chyldren to come vnto me and forbidde the not. For of soche is ye kyngdome of God.

17 Verely I saye vnto you: whosoever receaveth not the kyngdome of God as a chylde: he shall not enter therin.

18 And a certayne ruler axed him sayinge: Good Master: what ought I to do to obtayne eternall lyfe?

19 Iesus sayd vnto him: Why callest thou me good? No man is good save God only.

20 Thou knowest ye comaundmentes: Thou shalt not commit advoutry: thou shalt not kyll: thou shalt not steale: thou shalt not beare false witnes: Honoure thy father and thy mother.

21 And he sayde: all these have I kept from my youthe.

22 When Iesus hearde that he sayde vnto him: Yet lackest thou one thinge. Sell all that thou hast and distribute it vnto the poore and thou shalt have treasure in heven and come and folowe me.

23 When he heard that he was hevy: for he was very ryche.

24 When Iesus sawe him morne he sayde: with what difficulte shall they that have ryches enter into the kyngdome of God:

25 it is easyer for a camell to goo thorow a nedles eye then for a ryche man to enter into the kyngdome of God.

26 Then sayde they that hearde that: And who shall then be saved?

27 And he sayde: Thinges which are vnpossible with men are possible with God.

28 Then Peter sayde: Loo we have lefte all and have folowed the.

29 And he sayde vnto them: Verely I saye vnto you ther is noo man that leaveth housse other father and mother other brethren or wyfe or chyldren for the kyngdome of Goddes sake

30 which same shall not receave moche moore in this worlde: and in the worlde to come lyfe everlastinge.

31 He toke vnto him twelve and sayde vnto them. Beholde we go vp to Ierusalem and all shalbe fulfilled that are written by ye Prophetes of the sonne of man.

32 He shalbe delivered vnto the gentils and shalbe mocked and shalbe despytfully entreated and shalbe spetted on:

33 and when they have scourged him they will put him to deeth and the thyrde daye he shall aryse agayne.

34 But they vnderstode none of these thinges. And this sayinge was hid fro them. And they perceaved not the thinges which were spoken.

35 And it came to passe as he was come nye vnto Hierico a certayne blynde man sate by the waye syde begginge.

36 And when he hearde the people passe by he axed what it meant.

37 And they sayde vnto him yt Iesus of Nazareth passed by.

38 And he cryed sayinge: Iesus ye sonne of David have thou mercy on me.

39 And they which went before rebuked him that he shuld holde his peace. But he cryed so moche the moare thou sonne of David have mercy on me.

40 And Iesus stode styll and commaunded him to be brought vnto him. And when he was come neare he axed him

41 sayinge: What wilt thou that I do vnto the? And he sayde: Lorde yt I maye receave my sight.

42 Iesus sayde vnto him: receave thy sight: thy faith hath saved the.

43 And immediatly he sawe and folowed him praysinge God. And all the people when they sawe it gave laude to God.

Luke 18 Commentary

Chapter 18

The parable of the importunate widow. (1-8) The Pharisee and the publican. (9-14) Children brought to Christ. (15-17) The ruler hindered by his riches. (18-30) Christ foreshows his death. (31-34) A blind man restored to sight. (35-43)

Verses 1-8 All God's people are praying people. Here earnest steadiness in prayer for spiritual mercies is taught. The widow's earnestness prevailed even with the unjust judge: she might fear lest it should set him more against her; but our earnest prayer is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there will still be ground for the same complaint of weakness of faith.

Verses 9-14 This parable was to convince some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. God sees with what disposition and design we come to him in holy ordinances. What the Pharisee said, shows that he trusted to himself that he was righteous. We may suppose he was free from gross and scandalous sins. All this was very well and commendable. Miserable is the condition of those who come short of the righteousness of this Pharisee, yet he was not accepted; and why not? He went up to the temple to pray, but was full of himself and his own goodness; the favour and grace of God he did not think worth asking. Let us beware of presenting proud devotions to the Lord, and of despising others. The publican's address to God was full of humility, and of repentance for sin, and desire toward God. His prayer was short, but to the purpose; God be merciful to me a sinner. Blessed be God, that we have this short prayer upon record, as an answered prayer; and that we are sure that he who prayed it, went to his house justified; for so shall we be, if we pray it, as he did, through Jesus Christ. He owned himself a sinner by nature, by practice, guilty before God. He had no dependence but upon the mercy of God; upon that alone he relied. And God's glory is to resist the proud, and give grace to the humble. Justification is of God in Christ; therefore the self-condemned, and not the self-righteous, are justified before God.

Verses 15-17 None are too little, too young, to be brought to Christ, who knows how to show kindness to those not capable of doing service to him. It is the mind of Christ, that little children should be brought to him. The promise is to us, and to our seed; therefore He will bid them welcome to him with us. And we must receive his kingdom as children, not by purchase, and must call it our Father's gift.

Verses 18-30 Many have a great deal in them very commendable, yet perish for lack of some one thing; so this ruler could not bear Christ's terms, which would part between him and his estate. Many who are loth to leave Christ, yet do leave him. After a long struggle between their convictions and their corruptions, their corruptions carry the day. They are very sorry that they cannot serve both; but if one must be quitted, it shall be their God, not their wordly gain. Their boasted obedience will be found mere outside show; the love of the world in some form or other lies at the root. Men are apt to speak too much of what they have left and lost, of what they have done and suffered for Christ, as Peter did. But we should rather be ashamed that there has been any regret or difficulty in doing it.

Verses 31-34 The Spirit of Christ, in the Old Testament prophets, testified beforehand his sufferings, and the glory that should ( 1 Peter. 1:11 ) that they would not understand these things literally. They were so intent upon the prophecies which spake of Christ's glory, that they overlooked those which spake of his sufferings. People run into mistakes, because they read their Bibles by halves, and are only for the smooth things. We are as backward to learn the proper lessons from the sufferings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, as the disciples were to what he told them as to those events; and for the same reason; self-love, and a desire of worldly objects, close our understandings.

Verses 35-43 This poor blind man sat by the wayside, begging. He was not only blind, but poor, the fitter emblem of the world of mankind which Christ came to heal and save. The prayer of faith, guided by Christ's encouraging promises, and grounded on them, shall not be in vain. The grace of Christ ought to be thankfully acknowledged, to the glory of God. It is for the glory of God if we follow Jesus, as those will do whose eyes are opened. We must praise God for his mercies to others, as well as for mercies to ourselves. Would we rightly understand these things, we must come to Christ, like the blind man, earnestly beseeching him to open our eyes, and to show us clearly the excellence of his precepts, and the value of his salvation.