Luke 18

The Parable of the Unjust Judge

1 And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged,

2 saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people.

3 And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!'

4 And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people,

5 yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'"

6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying!

7 And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them?

8 I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 And he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on {everyone else}:

10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood [and] prayed these [things] with reference to himself: 'God, I give thanks to you that I am not like other people--swindlers, unrighteous [people], adulterers, or even like this tax collector!

12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.'

13 But the tax collector, standing far away, did not want even to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Little Children Brought to Jesus

15 Now they were bringing even [their] babies to him so that he could touch them. But [when] the disciples saw [it], they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them to himself, saying, "Allow the children to come to me, and do not forbid them, {for to such belongs} the kingdom of God.

17 Truly I say to you, whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a young child will never enter into it."

A Rich Young Man

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, "Good Teacher, [by] doing what will I inherit eternal life?"

19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one [is] good except God alone.

20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"

21 And he said, "All these I have observed from my youth."

22 And [when he] heard [this], Jesus said to him, "{You still lack one thing}: Sell all that you have, and distribute [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me."

23 But [when he] heard these [things] he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

24 And Jesus took notice of him [and] said, "How {difficult it is for} those who possess wealth to enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier [for] a camel to go through the eye of a needle than [for] a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 So those who heard [this] said, "And who can be saved?"

27 But he said, "[What is] impossible with men is possible with God."

28 And Peter said, "Behold, we have left {all that is ours} [and] followed you."

29 And he said to them, "Truly I say to you that there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children on account of the kingdom of God,

30 who will not receive many times more in this time and in the age to come, eternal life."

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time

31 And taking aside the twelve, he said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written by the prophets with reference to the Son of Man will be accomplished.

32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit on,

33 and [after] flogging [him] they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise."

34 And they understood none of these [things], and this saying was concealed from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

A Blind Man Healed at Jericho

35 Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting on the side of the road begging.

36 And [when he] heard a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.

37 And they told him, "Jesus the Nazarene is passing by."

38 And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

39 And those who were in front rebuked him, that he should be silent, but he cried out {even more loudly}, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

40 So Jesus stopped [and] ordered him to be brought to him. And [when] he approached, he asked him,

41 "What do you want me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, that I may regain [my] sight.

42 And Jesus said to him, "Regain [your] sight! Your faith has saved you."

43 And immediately he regained [his] sight and began to follow him, glorifying God. And all the people, [when they] saw [it], gave praise 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("coming back") which is understood as means
• [b]. Literally "carry out the giving of justice"
• [c]. Literally "he will carry out the giving of justice"
• [d]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("comes") which is understood as temporal
• [e]. Literally "the rest"
• [f]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("stood") has been translated as a finite verb
• [g]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [h]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [i]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [j]. Literally "for of such is"
• [k]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("doing") which is understood as means
• [l]. A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20
• [m]. Some manuscripts omit "my"
• [n]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
• [o]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [p]. Literally "one still lacking to you"
• [q]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [r]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
• [s]. Some manuscripts add "becoming very sad"
• [t]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("took notice of") has been translated as a finite verb
• [u]. Literally "with difficulty"
• [v]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [w]. Literally "our own"
• [x]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("have left") has been translated as a finite verb
• [y]. *Here "[after]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("flogging") which is understood as temporal
• [z]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [aa]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
• [ab]. Literally "by much more"
• [ac]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("stopped") has been translated as a finite verb
• [ad]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("approached")
• [ae]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began to follow")
• [af]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [ag]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation