Luke 18

Listen to Luke 18

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

2 “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.

3 And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,

5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Otherwise, she will wear me out with her perpetual requests.’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge.

7 Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay in helping them?

8 I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ^[a] ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

15 Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. ¹

16 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.

17 Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The Rich Young Ruler

18 Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²

19 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’ ^[b]”

21 “All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.

22 On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

23 But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

24 Seeing the man’s sadness, ^[c] Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

27 But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

28 “Look,” said Peter, “we have left all we had ^[d] to follow You.”

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God

30 will fail to receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

The Third Prediction of the Passion

31 Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³

32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.

33 They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.”

34 But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

35 As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. ⁴

36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.

37 “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had come near, Jesus asked him,

41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”

42 “Receive your sight!” Jesus replied. “Your faith has healed you.”

43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

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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.