The Rewarder of the Faithful

Luke 18

Main Idea: God rewards those who seek him.

1. God Rewards the Elect with Justice (18:1-8).
   1. The goal of the parable (18:1)
   2. The independent judge (18:2)
   3. The persistent widow (18:3-5)
   4. Interpretation (18:6-8)
   5. Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement
2. God Rewards the Sinner with Mercy (18:9-14).
   1. Audience (18:9)
   2. Parable (18:10-13)
   3. Interpretation (18:14)
3. God Rewards the Humble with His Kingdom (18:15-17).
   1. The scene (18:15)
   2. Jesus’s reply (18:16-17)
4. God Rewards the Self-Denying with Eternal Life (18:18-30).
   1. The ruler’s question (18:18)
   2. Jesus’s call for clarity (18:19-22)
   3. The ruler’s response (18:23)
   4. Jesus’s perspective on wealth and salvation (18:24-27)
   5. It’s worth it (18:28-30)!
5. God Rewards the Blind with Sight (18:31-43).
   1. Jesus’s instruction about his crucifixion (18:31-34)
   2. A blind beggar’s call for mercy (18:35-39)
   3. Jesus’s response (18:40-43)

We are consumed with getting to know Jesus because Jesus is God. In getting to know Jesus we get to know what the Father is like, what to expect of him, and how to come to God through Jesus his Son.

For example, we learn that our approach must involve faith but also knowledge of God’s character. As we read in Hebrews 11:6, “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” So approaching God requires two things: faith in his existence and an expectation of his reward for seeking him.

Hebrews 11:6 is Luke 18 in a nutshell. The chapter features five people who want to draw near to God. In each case they come to Jesus with a question, need, or desire. In four of the five cases we see Jesus reward these seekers. The Lord responds to them in answer to their prayer with an act of mercy. In verse 1 the Lord tells a parable to “them,” meaning his disciples. In verse 9 the Lord tells another parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.” Verse 15 features a group of parents bringing their infants to Jesus and the disciples. “A ruler” approaches Jesus with a question in verse 18. Finally, the Lord addresses the Twelve in verse 31 and a blind man in verse 35.

God Rewards the Elect with Justice

Luke 18:1-8

The Goal of the Parable (18:1)

The Lord wants to teach the disciples to persevere in prayer. He’s concerned they may lose heart, which is easy to do, especially when it seems an answer isn’t coming or coming soon enough. We falter and quit, assuming God must not be listening or will not give us what we seek. Indeed, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is week.

The Independent Judge (18:2)

The judge of verse 2 does not fear God or man. He will not respond to anything outside himself. In the parable the judge is unrighteous, but ultimately the judge represents God. God is not moved by anything outside himself. Theologians refer to this truth about God as his aseity. God exists and works in the world without dependence on any of his creatures. Nothing outside of God constrains him. In this way God rules as the perfect impartial Judge.

The Persistent Widow (18:3-5)

A certain widow calls out for justice against her adversary. In our Lord’s day a widow lived in near complete dependence on others. She had no family and likely no income. The parable implies that she has at least one enemy who opposes her. She appeals to the judge for justice. Though the judge initially wants nothing to do with the woman, he cannot withstand her persistence. He fears she may drive him crazy with her constant and repeated requests for justice, so he relents and gives her justice.

Interpretation (18:6-8)

If an unrighteous judge who fears no one is eventually moved by persistent pleading, how much more does a righteous God, moved by compassion, goodness, mercy, and faith, hear the prayers of his people who pray night and day (v. 6)? Contrary to the human judge’s slowness, God gives justice “swiftly” (v. 8; emphasis added).

Do not grow weary in prayer, because there is a good God listening who does not fear man and will respond out of his goodness to provide for his people. That is the point the Lord wants his disciples to hear. If we come to him in prayer seeking him in faith, then he will reward us with the justice we seek.

The parable repeatedly mentions justice. For several years we have heard so much about justice. We have witnessed so many pleas and demonstrations for justice. Our text reveals the connection between the prayers of the elect and the answer of justice from God. The surest way to get justice in this world for God’s people is not by marching, though marching may have its place. The surest way to achieve justice in this world is not by protest signs, though those also may be appropriate. The surest way to find justice is never by rioting and burning down your own neighborhood. Justice comes most surely by falling on our knees with our heads bowed. When God’s justice comes, it will be perfect, proportionate, and balanced.

Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement

Many people regard the Black Lives Matter movement as a continuation of the Civil Rights Movement. There are ways that’s true, but there are also ways the two movements differ significantly. The differing approaches to prayer reflect one such difference. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was a religious movement. The footsoldiers of the Civil Rights Movement were Christians, and so were the leaders. Before Dr. King and the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement ever conducted a protest, they committed themselves to doing their homework on the issues involved to be sure their cause was just. That’s really important. Once they decided a cause was just, Dr. King emphasized spiritual preparation for the protest. He called the people to seasons of fasting and prayer. I have to think it was the prayers of the people that brought forth God’s justice in what was really a short period of time. If we want justice, let us be a praying people who seek a God who himself loves justice and rewards those who seek him.

Application

Pray for justice. We do more on our knees with our voices lifted in prayer than we do on our feet marching with our voices lifted in protest. We ought to protest in righteous causes that demand it, but we ought never to protest without praying before, during, and after. Do we have the persistent widow’s kind of faith in seeking God?

God Rewards the Sinner with Mercy

Luke 18:9-14

The scene in verses 1-8 and the scene in verses 9-14 both include a parable featuring prayer.

Audience (18:9)

The Lord told this parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on everyone else” (v. 9). It’s amazing how often self-righteousness and looking down on others come in a package.

Parable (18:10-13)

The parable represents their self-righteousness in a Pharisee whose pride and contempt are exhibited even in prayer to God. He stands by himself. He’s so righteous and holy no one can come next to him even in prayer. He rehearses his spiritual resume and contempt even in prayer (vv. 11-12). He depends on his religious exercises for righteousness before God. He doesn’t think he’s like other sinners. Perhaps he has not committed the particular sins of others, but in fact he is a sinner like other men. He reveals his sin even in his prayer. He stands in God’s presence as if he need not bow even to God. He stands as if his life makes him acceptable before God. He’s spiritually blind.

Contrast the Pharisee to the tax collector. Everything about them strikes us as different. Tax collectors were social outcasts in Israel and were seen as those who aided Israel’s oppressors, the Roman government. People viewed them as thieves who extorted regular citizens. However, the tax collector emerges as the hero in this parable. The tax collector stands far off. He does not rush into God’s presence, assuming he has a righteousness all his own. He strikes us as humble. He bows his head in prayer, not even feeling good enough to lift his head toward heaven. He remains aware of his sin, so he prays, “Have mercy on me a sinner.” He offers no defense, no rationalization, and no justification. He simply admits he is a sinner and needs mercy.

Interpretation (18:14)

The Lord interprets the parable by simply noting the tax collector “went down to his house justified rather than the other.” The word justified means righteous or in right standing with God. He is not justified by anything he has done; all he could do was confess his sin. He goes home justified because he has confessed and has thrown himself on the mercy of God’s court. That’s the only way any sinner can come to God: casting themselves on God’s mercy through Jesus Christ.

The self-righteous Pharisee goes home deceived, believing himself justified, yet unrighteous and unknowing. It is a terrible thing to think you are right before God when you are not. It is a foolish thing to try basing your righteousness with God on the things you do. Our goodness falls far too short. But it is a wonderful thing to be a sinner, head bowed, pleading for mercy, and being rewarded with that mercy through faith in Jesus Christ.

The tax collector went to the temple broken and bowed, but he likely left with a light step and glad heart because he had found God’s mercy. There’s a profound and counterintuitive reason the tax collector left justified: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The Lord rewarded his humiliation with a gracious exaltation.

Applications

We have no case for our own righteousness. All of us are sinners. However well dressed we are on the outside or messed up on the inside, we all need God’s mercy because of our sin.

Since we are all sinners, none of us should look down on others because of their sin. If we look down on others, that itself is a sin that God hates.

Let us seek mercy and humility as a way of life. We do not give up with our sins still intact, since we have a God who forgives sin. We don’t settle for our brokenness, since we have a God who heals. We don’t quit with our heads hung low; our God lifts our heads and gives light to our eyes. Let us be constant in going to him when we see our sin. The smallest glimpse of our sin may humble us like the tax collector, and we may feel far off. Let us not linger far off. Close the distance with God by going to the Father through the sacrifice of Christ. Let us go confidently because God rewards those who seek him, even sinners needing mercy.

God Rewards the Humble with His Kingdom

Luke 18:15-17

Verse 14 ends with the picture of the humble tax collector who was exalted by Christ. Verses 15-17 pick up on the theme of humility.

The Scene (18:15)

Parents come to Jesus with hope for their children. They want the blessing of Christ on them. Christening ceremonies and baby dedications are modern-day equivalents of bringing your child to Christ.

However, the disciples rebuke the parents for doing so. The disciples seem to share the culture’s attitude toward children, who had little value or status in society. The disciples aren’t any more enlightened than the rest of the culture. And this child-dismissing attitude can be true of society and even the Christian church today.

However, the disciples’ attitude isn’t solely about children. It also reveals who they think can come to Jesus. Who is worthy to approach the Lord? The disciples say, “Not children.” They seem to think certain persons are worthy of the Lord’s time and attention while others are not.

Jesus’s Reply (18:16-17)

The Lord Jesus calls the children to himself. He then explains that the kingdom belongs to those who are like children, those who are valued little in society. I love our Lord’s habit of taking the marginalized and dignifying them as examples and symbols of everything that’s great about God’s kingdom. So any who would enter the kingdom must receive the kingdom like children, not like the disciples. All who would enter God’s kingdom and truly know God must enter with a childlike humility and faith.

Our Lord’s statement to the disciples challenges us. Are we like these little children—humble, dependent, trusting? Even in a worship service we can see children looking to their parents. Perhaps they are fidgety and look to their parents for approval. They look to Mom and Dad, perhaps feeling a twinge of hunger and trusting their parents to provide for them. In just a little while they will look to Mom and Dad to strap them into their car seats and keep them safe on the drive home. This constant looking up to Mom and Dad in dependence, trust, hope, and humility is what God calls us to as we look to him as our Father. God promises to give an infinite, unshakeable kingdom to those who seek him that way. In that kingdom we will reign with him.

From infancy to eternity, we were made for more than the paltry pleasures of this life. When our God made us and sent us into the world, he did not intend that we find satisfaction with the baubles and trinkets of this life. He certainly did not send us into this world that we might be satisfied with those thieving pleasures of sin. The Father did not intend that we would waste ourselves on things that break us and destroy us. He created us to be with him and find our joy in him. We were made for infinite pleasure and joy, for a kingdom and a King who brings us into his glory.

God Rewards the Self-Denying with Eternal Life

Luke 18:18-30

The Ruler’s Question (18:18)

This famous passage of the Gospel focuses us on the major question of existence: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” No more important question could ever be considered. John 17:3 defines eternal life as knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent. Eternal life is personal knowledge of God through his Son, Jesus Christ. This man comes to the right place with the right question.

Jesus’s Call for Clarity (18:19-22)

Our Lord responds by pointing the man to life. Jesus says he must be clear on three things. First, the man must be clear on who Jesus is (v. 19). When the Lord asks, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone,” he does not deny that he is God. He attempts to lead the man to the logical conclusion of his assumption: If Jesus is truly good, then he is also God. He wants to know if the man himself has come to the point of confessing Christ as Lord.

Second, the man must clearly understand what God requires of him (v. 20). We must keep the law. However, we must not keep the law in our own strength. The man doesn’t yet understand this. He claims to have kept the second table of the law since his youth. However, he doesn’t notice that Jesus temporarily omits the first table of the law that records those duties we owe to God. We must have no god but God. So the Lord calls the man to practically demonstrate he has no other gods but God by selling his possessions and giving to the poor. The Lord promises the man treasures in heaven if he forsakes treasures on earth and follows him. What a promise!

The man went away sad. He not only had wealth, his wealth had him. He was rich in material possessions but spiritually impoverished. Christ was calling the man to show the kind of faith that relinquishes this life in exchange for eternal life. The Lord required the man to lay down the things of this world so that he might have Christ. Christ is too big a God to have him in our hands and hold on to the world as well. Christ displaces all the world’s treasures so that he alone will be adored, trusted, and obeyed.

This man speaks with the living Lord but does not recognize it. He hears an answer to the most important question in the universe, but he cannot receive it. The deceitfulness of riches blinds him. He looks at Jesus and then his things, and he chooses his things over Jesus.

The Ruler’s Response (18:23)

He kept what he had, losing nothing, but he goes away “sad.” Beloved, this man’s reaction dramatizes the life choice of so many people today who look at their possessions, look at Jesus, and choose their possessions. They walk away with an inexplicable sadness. Their possessions do not satisfy them anymore, but they cannot let them go—which is how we know their possessions have become idols. They are sad with it, but they must have it! So many people waste away like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, stroking their “Precious” and dying from it!

Jesus’s Perspective on Wealth and Salvation (18:24-27)

The man walks away sad, and Jesus feels sad for him. The Lord does not thunder condemnation from heaven. He points out how difficult it is for rich people to enter the kingdom (vv. 24-25). Riches strangle the spirit in many. The Lord laments what created things do to immortal souls.

Again, the disciples think like the world (v. 26). Because the rich have access and ease in this world, they assume the rich will have access and ease with God. They think riches in this life indicate God’s pleasure with a person. They even go so far as to suggest that if the rich can’t gain eternal life then nobody can! They have not yet come to understand how the kingdom works.

Jesus explains that with man it’s impossible for a camel to travel through the eye of a sewing needle, and it’s even harder for a rich man to come to saving faith. But nothing is too hard for God—even putting a camel through the eye of a needle! God can save a rich man, but it will be an act of God, not a result of wealth. No one is beyond the reach of God’s salvation.

It’s Worth It! (18:28-30)

Peter begins to understand. He mentions the things the disciples have left (v. 28). The Lord assures the disciples that no one making this sacrifice will go unrewarded (v. 29). We must forsake our lives if we are to gain our lives. When we deny ourselves then we find ourselves and the kingdom of God and eternal life! There is a way to have your cake and eat it too—it’s by coming to Christ. If your “cake” includes the things of this world, you will have to let it go, but Christ promises a better “cake”—a better feast, in fact. You will have to forsake all things to follow Christ, but it’s worth it!

Ultimately the rich young ruler is a bad businessman. He was offered ultimate profit in a kingdom of glory, and he turned it down. He made a bad trade. A healthy sense of self-interest and a healthy desire for sustained pleasure ought to lead every person to trade this world for the eternal world to come. Christ will certainly make demands on our lives. He will demand our entire lives. He will rearrange our lives. He will remove us from relationships and circumstances that we love but that are not pleasing to him. He will cause us to make stands, even against our loved ones, where he is concerned. He will call us to make stands that may cost us greatly—like our spiritual brethren in Muslim and Hindu lands who lose their families, homes, and churches in persecution. He will call us to do all of these costly things, but he will reward us with an everlasting kingdom and eternal life.

Only one person in Luke 18 went away from Jesus without a reward—the man who would not deny himself. He trusted his treasures rather than Christ. Do not make this man’s mistake.

God Rewards the Blind with Sight

Luke 18:31-43

Jesus’s Instruction about His Crucifixion (18:31-34)

Luke orders this section very intentionally. In verses 31-34 the Lord meets privately with the disciples to relate the events about to take place in Jerusalem. He prophesies the facts of his passion and resurrection. But the disciples understood none of these things (v. 34). Hearing, they did not understand. It’s as though a veil lay over their eyes.

A Blind Beggar’s Call for Mercy (18:35-39)

Contrast the disciples with the blind beggar we meet in verse 35. Because of his blindness the man is reduced to begging in order to survive. He sits near the city gate when the crowd passes in commotion. He calls out to understand what is happening. When he learns Jesus is passing by, he springs to his feet and repeatedly calls out to Jesus using an Old Testament messianic title: “Son of David.” The Son of David was prophesied to be the descendant of David who would rule on David’s throne forever (2 Sam 7). The Scriptures prophesied that the Son of David would fulfill all God’s plans for his people. Though the beggar cannot see and has not met the Lord before, this man knows the Lord’s true identity.

The blind man discovers more riches in Christ than the rich man had without Christ. The blind man sees more in Jesus than the disciples with their sight. The beggar was not present in the private meeting Jesus held with the disciples (vv. 31-34), so he did not know Jesus had used another messianic title, “Son of Man” (v. 31), from Daniel 7. The disciples with the private study could not see it while the blind man sitting by the streets saw perfectly. He prays, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 38).

As a young boy I grew accustomed to hearing older persons in my family and community say, “Lord, have mercy.” The words ran together in a southern twang, “Ham-mercy.” The older saints would use that phrase with variable tones and richer meaning than I could grasp at the time. Now that I’m a little older, I’m beginning to understand a little more. This blind man by the city gate shared a lot in common with my grandmother as she cried out or whispered the same prayer, “Lord, have mercy.”

He sees with the eyes of faith. He believes that if he seeks Jesus, the Lord will reward him. He’s hoping for the blessings prophesied in the Old Testament. He will not be silenced, even though the crowds insist that Jesus does not have time for blind beggars (v. 39). This man will not let the crowds keep him from Christ. The crowds of religious people do not always value what is in fact good and true.

Jesus’s Response (18:40-43)

The Lord calls the man to himself and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” (v. 41). The Lord gives the blind man a blank check in prayer! It’s the same blank check he gives us. He asks us each day, “What would you have me do for you?” The Father has given us his son. How will he not along with Christ give us all things (Rom 8:32)?

The man asks to recover his sight. He wants to see again, to behold colors. He perhaps wants to again see the faces of his wife and children—not by slowly fading memory but with his own eyes. He wants to behold trees swaying in the breeze and blades of grass bending beneath his feet. He wants to behold life again.

I love the story of Fanny Crosby, the great hymn writer who was blind from a young age. A well-meaning visitor one day lamented her blindness and told her he wished she had her sight. He said that he was sure that she too wished she could see. Fanny Crosby said to him, “Oh, no.” She said she trusted Christ with her life. “Blindness,” she wrote in later life, “cannot keep the sunlight of hope from the trustful soul.” She maintained a wonderfully joyful perspective on her life. She wrote,

It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me. (“Fanny Crosby”)

But the most remarkable insight, in my opinion, came from her longing for heaven. She expressed it with these words: “If at my birth, I had been able to make one petition to my creator, it would have been that I should be made blind. . . . Because, when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour” (Moseley H. Williams, “The Man Born Blind,” 302).

This man comes to Jesus asking for his sight. Jesus replied, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you” (v. 42). Then the first thing that floods this man’s renewed vision is the face of the Savior!

As the hymn writer puts it, “Oh, I want to see him, look upon his face.” His is a face so full of glory that when our eyes open on the day he comes we will be transformed into the very glory we see in him. To see him will be the highest happiness of heaven. Of all that’s promised in the kingdom, of all the rewards, of all the treasures of infinite worth, none will compare to that moment when we lock our eyes on the face of Christ. Then, beloved, we will be satisfied (Ps 17:15)! Then we will be glad for sight. We will no longer take seeing for granted. We will see with perfect vision the perfect glory of our Lord’s perfect face. All that we see will make glad the weary heart, will strengthen the tired soul, will replace all of our struggle with infinite joy.

Perhaps that’s why the text ends by saying the once-blind man praised God. When we see him we will praise him too.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the Lord rewards us with himself. In all of his giving and answering of prayer, in the end we will receive Christ and Christ will be the greater part.

In verse 8 the Lord asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” That’s the question that comes to us now. Are we people who believe? Are we people who trust in him? When the Savior comes, I think he will find faith because he gives faith. Those of us who receive the gift of faith may now rejoice in him.

Will you be found in faith when the Lord comes? If you are not now in the faith, consider what you have gotten to know about Jesus from this passage. He rewards those who seek him. Call on his name while you may be saved. Call out for mercy. He will answer you. Ask for the gifts of repentance and faith. Consider his love for you, proven through the crucifixion of his Son. Meditate on the righteousness God offers through Jesus’s resurrection. Then ask for saving faith so that you would be found in Christ on the day of his coming. Confess your sin, repent, and believe, and the hope of seeing Jesus will be yours.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Justice, mercy, the kingdom, eternal life, and sight—among these, which do you think is the most precious gift in this chapter?
2. What do we learn in this chapter about Jesus’s attitude toward marginalized people? What do we learn about the tendency of disciples and crowds to keep marginalized people away from Jesus? How would Jesus have us act in these situations?
3. Consider the instances of prayer in this chapter. What do we learn about the Lord’s response to prayer? What ideas from the chapter encourage you in your prayer life?
4. Do you think riches and material possessions are a significant hindrance to eternal life for some people? If so, why do you think some people choose their possessions rather than Christ? What is it about riches or about people that gives money this power?
5. What do you think it will be like when we finally see Jesus?