The Gospel of Luke
Chapter 18
It is worth being reminded that the chapter and verse divisions are not inspired. They were added later by publishers so that we can quickly and easily find the portion of Scripture in which we are interested. It is obvious that the first part of chapter 18 of Luke is thematically connected with the end of chapter 17. Jesus had been talking about His coming in judgment; His discussion about prayer at the beginning of chapter 18 finishes with a question related to His coming. Nevertheless, the events related in this chapter focus on prayer, relationship and redemption.
Two instructions about prayer—Luke 18:1-14
We had already noted the great emphasis Luke has in this book upon prayer and the prayer life of Jesus. After His discussion about His second coming in judgment, Jesus focused on the need for persistence and faithfulness in His disciples. Unlike most of Jesus’ parables, the point of the story is not revealed in the last thing said. Rather, Luke makes clear to us that the emphasis here is on the need for Jesus’ followers to pray and not wear out and fail. Jesus made that point to His disciples by drawing a strong contrast.
He told a story about a judge who could not be swayed by appeals to righteousness or personal advantage. This judge was confronted by a widow—one of the most vulnerable and powerless people in the ancient world—who came to him again and again with a plea for justice. Although the judge had no interest in pleasing God or people, he decided to fulfill his responsibilities to this widow just so that she would leave him alone in future. Then Jesus urged His listeners to pay attention to the reasoning of this judge. The contrast stands between the unconcerned judge who ultimately does right for his own comfort, and the God of all comfort who is speedy and eager to do what is right and to care for His children. If such a judge can be won over by persistence, it is clear that God will answer to persistence!
Jesus finished by saying that God would see that they got justice and got it “suddenly.” His answer to prayer will not be done in “a short time” but rather “rapidly.” Yet the question Jesus had for His disciples was whether their faith would fail before God’s answer was made! When we discuss prayer, we must always remember that God grants what is good to us and not necessarily what we want.
The second instruction about prayer was specifically directed to some people who were convinced of their own righteousness and, consequently, held others in contempt. He told a parable about a Pharisee (automatically presumed to be pious and righteous) and a tax collector (the most contemptible of people) who both went up to the Temple to pray. Both stood to pray; the Pharisee prayed about (or, “to”) himself, thanking God for his righteousness, but the tax collector stood some distance away and pleaded for mercy only. Jesus’ evaluation was that the tax collector was justified because of his genuine humility, while the Pharisee was not. It is important for us not to overstate the goodness of the tax collector; he was not a good man. He pleaded for mercy because he had nothing to offer, and he knew it. Apparently, it is that kind of humility that Jesus commended.
Two illustrations about relationship—Luke 18:15-30
We recall that the pace of Luke’s story has picked up. Jesus is going to Jerusalem and is nearly there. His reputation had preceded Him so that parents were bringing children to Him for a
touch and perhaps a measure of power to be exercised in their lives. The disciples were impatient with that and tried to discourage it as a waste of Jesus’ time. He, however, stopped that and called the children to come to Him. He then used them as an illustration of the way relationship is established with God: openly, humbly, simply accepting the grace of God.
By contrast, a young man came to Jesus with a desire to gain eternal life (which is no contemptible ambition!), to have that permanent and harmonious relationship with God that the Jews understood as “the kingdom of God.” He called Jesus, “Good teacher,” but Jesus rejected his careless flattery and gave him a moment to consider why he had identified Jesus as “good” when that quality could properly only be attributed to God. Jesus went on to point out to him the requirements of the commandments, and the man declared he had been in obedience since infancy. Still, there was clearly something lacking in the man’s conscience, for he had come to Jesus to find out how to do better.
What the man needed was wholehearted commitment to God through Jesus Christ, a total “sell-out” to the kingdom of God. So Jesus identified what was holding him back from being a full disciple: his wealth. He could give up his treasure on earth and have treasure in heaven if he wanted it—but he turned sadly away and left. Jesus pointed out that it was impossible for rich people to be saved by their own efforts. The listening disciples were amazed since, in their thinking, the rich had all the advantages. Jesus reminded them that while it was humanly impossible, all things were possible with God. Peter anxiously stated that they had “sold out” to Jesus, perhaps hoping to be reassured of his status with Christ. But it was never about family or possessions—it was always about sacrificing everything to be a Christian.
Two redemptions: one obscured, one obvious—Luke 18:31-43
The chapter finishes with two incidents which seem to have nothing to do with each other. On second glance, though, it is clear that while the disciples fail to see what Jesus means, the blind beggar is granted sight by Jesus. Two redemptions are at work here; one affects the whole world but the other touches only one man.
Jesus drew the Twelve aside into a private discussion about the immediate future. He plainly pointed out that in fulfillment of the prophecies made about the Messiah, He would experience the most harrowing treatment after being rejected by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles. This would result in His death, but that wasn’t the end of the story. He would rise from the dead on the third day. The disciples heard every word He said, but they didn’t understand it. They were blind to its meaning. The full redemption of the world had been outlined to their ears, but they were completely unprepared to receive it.
Shortly after this, as Jesus began the final climb from the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem, He came near a blind beggar who was seated beside the road hoping for benefits from the pilgrims headed toward Passover in Jerusalem. He discovered that the crowd was with Jesus and he immediately cried out for special attention. Apparently he had heard some news about Jesus because he called Him “Son of David.” The passersby wanted no part of this kind of disturbance so they tried to silence him, but he redoubled his efforts—and he was heard because of his persistence.
When Jesus asked what he wanted, the man did not hesitate. He begged for his sight, and Jesus granted it to him on the basis of the man’s faith in Him. Immediately he could see and he attached himself to the group traveling with Jesus. His praises of God called for others to join in, and they also praised God for the healing they had witnessed. So the disciples were left in the dark about the redemption of the world even as a blind man was restored to the light by the power of God. But the true redemption would soon come clear to all.