Luke 18
God listens to his chosen people when they’re persistent
Here’s an illustration he gave them to show how they should always pray without getting discouraged:
“There was a judge who wasn’t afraid of God and didn’t respect other people. There was a widow who kept asking him to grant her legal protection from her prosecutor. At first he was unwilling, but after a while he said to himself,
‘Even though I don’t care about God or people, I should give this lady legal protection so she stops bothering me and wearing me down.’
Notice what the corrupt judge said. Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? Will he endure their cries for long? I assure you that he will avenge them quickly.
But when the Culmination of Humanity returns, will there be any faith left for him to find?”
Lowering yourself is better than promoting yourself
He gave this illustration to some people who were convinced that they themselves were upright and looked down on others:
“Two men went to the temple to pray: one was a religious leader, and the other was a tax collector. The religious leader stood there and prayed:
‘God, I thank you that I am not like all the others who are corrupt, extort each other, practice infidelity, or even like this tax collector. I give up food twice a week and donate a tenth of everything I make.’
But the tax collector stood further away and couldn’t even bring himself to look upward toward heaven. Instead he hit his own chest, saying,
‘God, make amends for me, the corrupt!’
I assure you that when he got home this man was regarded as more upright than the other. That’s because everyone who lifts himself up will be made low, while whoever makes himself low will be lifted up.”
God’s empire can only be received by the childlike
The people even brought their babies to Jesus just so he could touch them, but when his students saw this, they reprimanded them. But Jesus told them,
“Let the children come to me. Don’t hinder them, because God’s empire belongs to these kinds of people. I guarantee you that whoever doesn’t receive God’s empire like a kid won’t enter it at all.”
How to inherit eternal life
The law leads to eternal life
A ruler asked Jesus,
“Good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied,
“Why do you say I’m good? No one is good except for God. You know the orders:
• Don’t commit infidelity
• Don’t murder
• Don’t steal
• Don’t lie
• Honor your parents”
Eternal life radically values the worthless over itself
When the man said that he observed all these things ever since he was young, Jesus said,
“There’s still one more thing that you need: sell everything you cling to and distribute it to the beggars so that you’ll have a vault in heaven. Then come join me.”
Even though eternal life is impossible for mankind, it’s possible with God
Hearing that grieved the man deeply, because he was exceedingly rich. Jesus looked at the ruler and said,
“It’s really difficult for rich people to enter God’s empire. It’s easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s empire.”
Everyone who heard that asked,
“Then who is capable of being saved?”
Jesus said,
“Things that are impossible for mankind are possible with God.”
Giving up something for God is always 7x worth it
Peter said,
“Look at us: we’ve left our own homes and followed you.”
Jesus said,
“I assure you that every single person who lets go of a home, wife, siblings, parents, or children for the sake of God’s empire will receive seven times as much now and eternal life in the age to come.”
Jesus predicts his own death & resurrection
Then he pulled the 12 aside and told them,
“As you know, we are on our way to Jerusalem, and everything written through the prophets about the Culmination of Humanity will take place: He will be handed over to the non-Israelites, made fun of, insulted, and spit upon. And after they finish whipping him, they’ll kill him, but on the third day He will stand back up.”
But the students didn’t understand any of this. It’s meaning was hidden from them, and they didn’t comprehend what was said.
Confidence in Jesus restores a man’s sight
As Jesus approached Jericho, there was a blind man who sat by the road begging. The man could hear a crowd passing by, so he asked about it. When he heard that Jesus from Nazareth was passing through, he shouted out,
“Jesus! David’s descendant, have mercy on me!”
The people leading the crowd reprimanded him telling him to be quiet, but that made him shout even more,
“David’s descendant, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and ordered for the man to be brought to him. When he approached, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
The man replied,
“Ruler, I want to recover my sight!”
And Jesus said,
“Recover your sight. Your confidence has restored your health.”
The man’s sight was immediately restored, and he started following Jesus and making much of God. When everyone else saw what happened, they began celebrating God.