Luke 18, Part One

Pray and don't lose heart (vs. 1-8)--Sometimes it seems that God just doesn't answer our prayers. He always does, of course, always looking out for our best spiritual interests. But often the answer is delayed, and for an extended period of time. This context seems to deal with matters of persecution (vs. 7-8), but the principle of praying consistently and not losing heart is found elsewhere (cf. Lk. 11:1-13). Jesus tells a short parable to enforce the idea. A widow continued to plead her case before "a judge who did not fear God nor regard man" (v. 2). Finally, the widow so wearied him that he ruled in her favor, in effect just to shut her up (v. 5). The point is not that God is unjust or that we should “badger” Him; the teaching is that if an unjust judge will grant the request of someone whom he cares nothing for, how much more will a loving, holy God answer those who He cares much for, "though He bears long with them" (v. 7). It is easy sometimes to give up when we think God does not hear. Jesus teaches us not to do that, regardless of the circumstances and regardless of how long the answer is deferred. In verse 8, Jesus muses that, when He returns, will He find any fidelity on the earth? There won't be much, that's for sure (Matt. 7:13-14). Clarke applies this thought to the Jews and their homeland which is a possible interpretation.

The Pharisee and the publican (vs. 9-14)--Jesus, unlike many preachers today, did not avoid telling people what they needed to hear. There were a group listening to him "who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others" (v. 9). They weren't putting their hope in God, they believed they were so righteous that He owed them salvation. This wasn't an uncommon thought among the Jews of that day, viz., that they would be redeemed simply because they were Jews. Jesus, in this short section, forthrightly disabuses them of that notion. The Pharisee did many good things--he prayed, he wasn't an extortionist, unjust, and adulterer or even a "wicked" tax collector. He fasted and tithed. These were all proper matters for a Jew. But it was in these things that he trusted, not in God. His religion was not based on God's grace and goodness, but his own deeds. The despised publican was so humble he did not even feel worthy of "rais[ing] his eyes to heaven" (v. 13), did not announce to God his own goodness, but simply asked for mercy--"God, be merciful to me a sinner!" He acknowledged his need for a grace that he could not earn. And Jesus said "this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 14). The extremity of Jesus' example was surely not lost on His hearers. The Jews could never believe that one who collected taxes for the hated Romans could ever be justified in God's sight. But humility and the heart are the first things God looks at. It is that individual He can do something with (Matt. 5:3-4). "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). That does not describe the Pharisee of this parable.

The necessity of humble faith (vs. 15-17)--This section is not unrelated to the previous one. Instead of the arrogant, self-righteous attitude exhibited by the Pharisees, we must have the humble, trusting demeanor of a child, if we wish to enter the kingdom of God. If the previous section immediately preceded this one, then the disciples hadn't gotten the point of the parable, either, for they rebuked people who wanted Jesus to bless their children (v. 15). Some like to see infant baptism in verse 17, but this cannot be. If "whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" is literal, then no one past the childhood years could be saved. Obviously this is not Jesus' meaning. The attitude of humble faith is the meaning He is trying to convey.