Luke Chapter Eighteen | Words Of Truth
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"That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth..." (Proverbs 22:21).

Luke Chapter Eighteen



Luke 18:1-8 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

  • Remember the context (Luke 17:22-37).
  • Continuing in prayer (Romans 12:12, Philippians 4:4-8, Colossians 4:2, and I Thessalonians 5:17-18).
  • …And not to faint (Galatians 6:9 and Hebrews 12:1-3).
  • Judges in Israel should have feared God (Exodus 18:21-22).
  • How do judges judge without respecting; revering man (James 3:9-10)?
  • The rest of this parable connects the prayers of saints with vengeance. The unjust judge avenged the widow because she was persistent.
  • Saints will suffer at the hands of our enemies and we are to take such (Matthew 5:10-12, Acts 14:22, II Timothy 3:12, and I Peter 4:12-16).
  • We are not to take vengeance ourselves upon our enemies (Romans 12:17-21 and James 5:7-11).
  • God will avenge us (II Thessalonians 1:3-10).
  • When the Son of man cometh, what about faith on earth? This tells us this is about Judgment. What we know and He taught is that few will be saved (Matthew 7:13-23 and Luke 13:23-24).

Luke 18:9 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:”

  • This parable is about self-righteousness. There are plenty of things to Scripturally consider about self-righteousness (Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 20:6, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 30:12, Isaiah 5:21, Romans 10:1-3, Romans 12:16, II Corinthians 10:12-18, Galatians 6:3, etc.).
  • Even those who would use God’s word incorrectly to create their own righteousness (Philippians 3:3-6; cf. John 16:1-3).
  • The self-righteous and their despising of others (Luke 5:27-32, Luke 7:36-50, and Luke 15:1-2).
  • Being truly righteous (Philippians 3:8-11) through God (II Peter 1:1).
  • Man’s part in that is by not establishing our own righteousness (Luke 1:5-6).

Luke 18:10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”

  • The Pharisees, as a whole sect, did not have a good reputation (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 16:6-12, Matthew 23:1-33, etc.).
  • The Pharisees differed from the Sadducees (Acts 23:6-8 and Acts 26:5).
  • Neither did the publicans (Matthew 5:46-47).

Luke 18:11-13 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

  • The holier than thou attitude (Isaiah 65:5).
  • What about when an obedient person (if they are doing most “right things”) starts being boastful (Ephesians 2:1-10)?
  • On the other hand, what about being contrite and approaching God with humility (Psalms 34:18, Isaiah 57:15, and James 4:6-10)?
  • So, what about those that have a list of several righteous works, but they are failing in one area (James 2:10-12; cf. Luke 11:42-43 and I Timothy 5:21)?
  • How do you come before the Almighty God in prayer in such a boastful manner (I Peter 5:5)?
  • IF, again I say, IF a person has sin to confess; do it rather than pretending otherwise (Proverbs 28:13 and I John 1:8-2:2).
  • God will show mercy to penitent sinners (Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 18:8-10, and I Timothy 1:12-16).

Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

  • You cannot justify yourself as this parable shows. God is the justifier (Romans 3:24-30).
  • The humble are exalted while the proud are abased (Proverbs 15:33, Proverbs 29:23, Isaiah 2:11-12, Matthew 18:4, Matthew 23:13, etc.).

Luke 18:15 “And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.”

  • cf. Matthew 19:13 and Mark 10:13

Luke 18:16 “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”

  • cf. Matthew 19:14-15 and Mark 10:13
  • Such is the kingdom (Matthew 18:1-5; cf. I Corinthians 14:20 and I Peter 2:1-2).

Luke 18:17 “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”

  • cf. Mark 10:14-16
  • Luke 9:46-48

Luke 18:18 “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

  • Parallel accounts: Matthew 19:16-30 and Mark 10:17-31
  • This question is not always an honest question (Luke 10:25-37).
  • Jesus is the Master (Matthew 23:8-10).

Luke 18:19 “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.”

  • Jesus is clearly using hyperbole [“exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally”] in His answer (i.e. Matthew 23:24).
  • Jesus was certainly good (John 10:11-14, Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 7:26-28, Hebrews 9:27-28, I Peter 2:21-25, and I John 3:1-5).
  • Furthermore, it is not so that there is literally no one that is good (Psalms 112:5, Luke 23:50, Acts 11:22-24, etc.). Just think about the Judgment Day if none were good (John 5:28-29).
  • Jesus is exposing something about this man to this man.
  • Also, Jesus is deity (Matthew 1:23, Romans 9:1-5, and I Timothy 3:16). Just as are the Father (Ephesians 6:23) and the Spirit (Acts 5:1-4).

Luke 18:20 “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.”

  • Remember something about Jesus when you read His answering questions or making statements. He knows what is in man (John 2:23-25).
  • In other situations, Jesus gives different statements (i.e. Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25-28).
  • Don’t commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), don’t kill (Exodus 20:13), don’t steal (Exodus 20:15), don’t bear false witness (Exodus 20:16), and honor your parents (Exodus 20:12). See also: Romans 13:8-10
  • This man knew the commandments so he would have known this is not all that was written. There were many, many more commandments.

Luke 18:21 “And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.”

  • Though he was a young man (Matthew 19:20), do not think of youth as it could only apply to a child (I Timothy 4:12).
  • He might have kept the Law of Moses perfectly, as was expected (Leviticus 26:14-46, Deuteronomy 27:26, Deuteronomy 28:58-68, Deuteronomy 32:46, Jeremiah 11:3, etc.).
  • There were those that followed the Law of Moses perfectly (Joshua 22:1-3 and Luke 1:5-6).

Luke 18:22 “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”

  • Jesus did not refute his claim to obedience. What Jesus did was establish where this man was lacking (cf. Luke 10:38-42).
  • The “come and follow me” of Jesus in the first century was one that required abandonment of one’s place, etc. (Luke 5:1-11, Luke 9:57-62, and Luke 12:22-34).
  • It takes the right mindset to be capable of truly putting Christ above all else (Philippians 3:3-11).
  • Instead of leaving everything to nothing, give it to the poor (Galatians 2:10).
  • Think about why it matters where your treasure is (Matthew 6:19-21).
  • What about the person that takes this instruction to mean this is what all Christians must do? See: Acts 16:40, Acts 21:8, I Corinthians 11:22, 11:34; I Corinthians 16:1-4, II Corinthians 8:14, Philemon 1:1-2, I Timothy 6:17-19, I Peter 4:8-9, etc.

Luke 18:23 “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”

  • Jesus ask of this man was too big for him. To follow Jesus, one must be willing to forsake all (Luke 14:25-33).
  • As we talked about when discussing verse twenty. Jesus knows what is in man (John 2:23-25; cf. Mark 2:8).
  • Jesus knew what the breaking point was for him. Think about why Jesus chose to go towards what this man loved most (Mark 4:18-19, I Timothy 6:6-10, and I John 2:15-17).


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