Luke 18:1-23

18:1 | Jesus told this story to encourage His listeners to be persistent in prayer (Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2).

18:2-8 | Although the judge did not listen to the widow when she began to ask for justice, and her cries initially seemed to accomplish nothing, something was happening: the judge’s resistance was breaking down. It did not matter that the woman could not see the change taking place. Her pleas were having an effect.

18:10 | Pharisaism is another example of the human tendency to distort a good and godly thing.

18:10-11 | The word stood, used of the Pharisee, gives the impression of parading or posing so that others would see. Notice, he did not pray to God or about God but prayed with himself. This is what people who feel justified (according to their own standards) are left with.

18:11 | Often, when a person condemns the sins in another (I am not like other men), that person harbors far worse sin within (Rev. 3:17).

18:12 | The more scrupulous Jews fasted on the second and fifth days of the week. Although some dispute remained as to how to understand the obligation to tithe. This Pharisee applied a strict interpretation to himself, making him a model of righteousness in the eyes of many. But Jesus made clear this was hardly the case.

18:13 | Israelites despised the tax collectors of the Roman Empire. Not generally allowed on the temple grounds, they stood afar off when praying to God. This tax collector separated himself, not because he thought he was better than everyone else but because he did not think himself of worthy.

18:14 | Both men went home justified in some sense – the Pharisee, wrapped in the same self-justification he had worn to the temple; the tax collector, wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus, a sinner saved by grace (Matt. 23:12; James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). The Pharisee’s prayer was meaningless before God. The tax collector would spend eternity with God.

18:15 | In ancient times, elders would place a hand on the head of a person who desired to be blessed (Gen. 48:14-15). Luke’s grammar suggests that many people were continually bringing their small children, even infants, for Jesus to bless. The disciples did not see the blessing of children as a worthwhile activity for the Messiah, so they strongly discouraged the parents.

18:16-17 | Jesus took the disciples’ rebuke of the parents and turned it on the disciples themselves. Little children did not come with self-important airs; they instinctively trust loving adults and come with open arms – exactly the traits that Jesus said people need if they wish to enter the kingdom of God.

18:18-23 | A certain ruler may also be translated “a religious leader.” He called Jesus Good, a title reserved for God. Whether or not this man was as devout as he claimed, he was missing the answer to life’s most important question: What shall I do to inherit eternal life? He did not understand that salvation is not about what one does for God but about what God has done for sinners.