Luke18

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¹And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint;

²saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man:

³and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

⁴And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

⁵yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming.

⁶And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith.

⁷And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them?

⁸I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

⁹And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:

¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

¹²I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.

¹³But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner.

¹⁴I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

¹⁵And they were bringing unto him also their babes, that he should touch them: but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

¹⁶But Jesus called them unto him, saying, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.

¹⁷Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.

¹⁸And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

¹⁹And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, even God.

²⁰Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother.

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

²²And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

²³But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich.

²⁴And Jesus seeing him said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁵For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁶And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved?

²⁷But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

²⁸And Peter said, Lo, we have left our own, and followed thee.

²⁹And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,

³⁰who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.

³¹And he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets shall be accomplished unto the Son of man.

³²For he shall be delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully treated, and spit upon:

³³and they shall scourge and kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

³⁴And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, and they perceived not the things that were said.

³⁵And it came to pass, as he drew nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:

³⁶and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant.

³⁷And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.

³⁸And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

³⁹And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

⁴⁰And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,

⁴¹What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

⁴²And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole.

⁴³And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Luke 18.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: 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).

vv1-8

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.

vv9-14

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.

vv15-17

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.

Key Words

AndG1161Greek

δέ (dé): but, and, etc.

toldG3004Greek

λέγω (légō): properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate (in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas G2036 (ἔπω) and G5346 (φημί) generally refer to an individual expression or speech respectively; while G4483 (ῥέω) is properly to break silence merely, and G2980 (λαλέω) means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean

themG846Greek

αὐτός (autós): the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons

parableG3850Greek

παραβολή (parabolḗ): a similitude ("parable"), i.e. (symbolic) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apothegm or adage

effect thatG4314Greek

πρός (prós): a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated)

oughtG1163Greek

δεῖ (deî): also deon deh-on'; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is (was, etc.) necessary (as binding)

alwaysG3842Greek

πάντοτε (pántote): every when, i.e. at all times

prayG4336Greek

προσεύχομαι (proseúchomai): to pray to God, i.e. supplicate, worship

andG2532Greek

καί (kaí): and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words

notG3361Greek

μή (mḗ): (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas G3756 (οὐ) expects an affirmative one)) whether