Saturday, March 13
Read Luke 18
Think About It:
The widow had three obstacles to overcome. First, being a woman, she had little standing before the law. In Palestinian Society of the Lord’s day, women did not go to court. Since she was a widow, she had no husband to stand with her in court. Finally, she was poor and could not pay a bribe even if she wanted to. As in the case with this widow, she did not get the protection the law was supposed to afford her.
Consider the contrasts. To begin with, the woman was a stranger, but we are the children of God, and God cares for His children. The widow had no access to the judge, but God’s children have an open access into His Presence and may come at any time to get the help they need. The woman had no friend of the court to help her get her case on the docket. All she could do was walk around the outside of the tent and make a nuisance of herself as she shouted at the judge. When Christian believers pray, they have in heaven a Savior who is and Advocate (1 John 2:1), and High Priest (Hebrews 2:17-18), who constantly represents them before the throne of God.
Unless you see that Jesus is pointing out contrasts, you will get the idea that God must be “argued” or “bribed” into answering prayer! God is not like this judge, for God is a loving Father, who is attentive to our every cry, generous in His gifts, concerned about our needs, and ready to answer when we call. The only a reason the judge helped the widow was because He was afraid she would weary him, which literally means “to give them a black eye.” God answers prayer for His Glory and for our good, and He is not vexed when we come to Him.
Jesus continues to teach about prayer. The Pharisees despised others, for he prayed with himself and told God (and anyone else listening) how good he was. The Pharisees pray as a means of getting public recognition and not as a spiritual exercise to glorify God. The tax collector repeatedly smote his breast for he knew where his greatest problem was, and called to God for mercy. The tax collector knew the enormity of his sins, but the Pharisee was blissfully ignorant of his own heart. The Pharisee’s pride condemned him, but the tax collector’s humble faith saved him. It is the prodigal son and elder brother over again.
The rich young ruler may be the only man in the gospels who came to the feet of Jesus and went away in worse condition than when he came. He was moral and religious, earnest and sincere, and probably would have qualified for membership in the average church. Yet he refused to follow Jesus Christ and instead went his own way in great sorrow. The disciples were shocked when Jesus announced that it was difficult for rich people to be saved. They were Jews and the Jews believe that riches were a mark of God’s blessing. It is not possessing riches that keeps people out of heaven. It is being possessed by riches and entrusting them that makes salvation difficult for the wealthy.
The contrast in this last parable is obvious between the beggar and the rich young ruler. The beggar was poor, yet became rich, the young man was rich and became eternally poor. The beggar claims no special merit and openly admitted his need, while the young man lied about himself and bragged about his character. The young man would not believe, so he went away from Jesus very sad, but the beggar believed in Jesus and followed Him with songs of praise.
Family Time:
- In verse 19, who did Jesus say was the only one good?
- What was the lesson Jesus was trying to teach in His first parable (story) in this chapter? (verses 1-8)
- What does verses 15-17 tell you about the love Jesus has for children?
