Luke 18 - Jesus Didn't Hinder Children, So Why Should We?

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Jesus starts out chapter 18 with two parables. The first one is on the topic of prayer, and specifically why we should not give up when our prayers seem unanswered, as is often the case. The story is about a widow who is trying to get justice from those who are taking advantage of her. The judge in that town did not seem very scrupulous. He really didn't care what people thought of him and did not really think much of God either. 

This reminds us that authority is given by God, so that every person who has been given authority is ultimately responsible to God for how they use it. But, in this case, the judge didn't really consider the accountability he would have before God one day. But the widow kept incessantly demanding justice, so just to get her off his back he gave her justice. 

Jesus then compares to the unjust judge to the Just Judge. If this immoral judge grants justice after being tired out by the widow's badgering, how much more will God give justice to his chosen ones. I don't think this is saying, "If we will only pray long enough, then God will answer our every prayer." This would oversimplify what Jesus is teaching. Prayer is not works based. But Jesus does teach us not to give up in prayer. God will eventually grant justice for those whom he loves, if not in this life in the life to come. 

The woman had to overcome the judge’s reluctance to help. We often feel that we must do the same when we pray – use our persistence to overcome God’s reluctance. This misses the point of the parable entirely. Jesus did not say that men always ought to pray and not lose heart because God is reluctant, but because He isn’t, and that is our encouragement to prayer. - Guzik 

Sometimes it does seem to us that God is reluctant to answer our prayers. Yet the delays in prayer are not needed to change God, but to change us. Persistence in prayer brings a transforming element into our lives, building into us the character of God Himself. It is a way that God builds into us a heart that cares about things the same way He does. “Too many prayers are like boy’s runaway knocks, given, and then the giver is away before the door can be opened.” (Spurgeon)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Jesus' next parable was to taught on the difference between pride and humility. Pride is often exhibited in self righteous people, who love to show off their good deeds. He tells the story of two men who went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee, who represents those who Jesus has already rebuked for their pride, could only talk about his own self-righteousness. He judged others and then bragged about doing religious things for God like "fasting" and "giving". 

Notice he says he gives "a tenth of all he gets!" This shows that tithing was still being practiced in Jesus' time. But this man used the law to boast about how righteous he was. He was giving to get noticed, which Jesus denounced in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel. Remember the widow who gave a "mite". Jesus said she gave more the rest, because she gave all she had. 

To the contrary, the tax collector was convicted of his sin, he didn't even want to be near God's presence, he was so aware of his sinfulness. He showed true remorse and fell at God's feet asking for mercy. It was this man who went home with a right relationship with God, not the proud Pharisee.

We can imagine the Pharisee praying with eloquent words and flowing, spiritual style; anyone who heard him pray would say that he was a spiritual man. In contrast, we imagine the tax collector praying awkwardly, with halting phrases and fear; but his prayer pleased God. - Guzik

True humbleness is simply seeing things the way they are. The Pharisee saw himself as something great when he wasn’t, and the tax collector saw himself as a sinner needing God’s mercy, which he was. - Guzik

The Little Children and Jesus

Jesus shows his love for children when the disciples try to shew away people who brought kids to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples think Jesus has better things to do with his time. Jesus feels quite differently about the subject. He says that this kingdom of God, which has been his main message, belongs to them. 

This is revolutionary teaching for Jesus' audience. Children were to be seen and not heard, and now Jesus is saying the kingdom, the same kingdom the Jews think Jesus is going to take by force, belongs to these little ones. 

Do you see a theme here? A tax collector hated by,  a little kid who was thought to be unimportant, brought to Jesus, and widow getting taken advantage of. Jesus came for the least and the lost not the proud and haughty.

Indirectly the fact that these people were bringing a child to Jesus shows that God is more than willing to bless babies early and often. There is an indirect link to baptism. When people argue that babies and young children should not be baptized, what are their arguments? The child won't know what is happening. They can't articulate what they believe yet. (I have found that a lot of adult Christians who can't articulate what they believe) They need to have an intellectual understanding of the tenets of the Christian faith. These were probably some of the reasons the people wanted to hinder the children from coming to Jesus. 

Children receive the blessing of Jesus without trying to make themselves worthy of it, or pretending they don’t need it. We need to receive God’s blessings the same way. - Guzik

“Not only did Jesus welcome these little human beings as members of the kingdom of God; He also extolled them as model citizens of the same, because of their capacity to trust and love.” (Pate)

Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved!" If belief is a gift than so is baptism. And, why would that gift not be available to children. Apparently Jesus would not hinder them, so why should we? 

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

The rich young ruler asks Jesus a question that a lot of people ask. How can I make it into heaven? Or, What do I have to do to get to heaven? And in the case of the rich, young ruler, he asked how can I inherit eternal life? The rich, young ruler was used to using his wealth to get what he wanted, so he asked Jesus how he might inherit eternal. 

The rich ruler addresses Jesus by saying, "Good teacher". It is not that Jesus isn't a good teacher, but I think Jesus sees the guy is trying to "butter him up a little bit". So Jesus responds by saying, "Why do you call me good, only God alone is good!"

Jesus is not saying he is not good in the sense he is a sinner. He is teaching the man the difference between what God thinks is good, and what people think is good. So, Jesus uses the Ten Commandments as an objective source of what is good. And the young man says naively, "All these I have kept since I was a boy." 

Jesus knows how far this rich young man falls short of God's standard of goodness, but he plays along with him and asks him a question which will reveal what his true god is. 

He says to him, "One think you lack. Go and sell all you have and you will have treasures in heaven and then and come follow me." When looking at it this way, the man went away sad because of his great wealth. There is nothing wrong with being a person with great wealth, but this young man trusted in his riches above God. 

Jesus acknowledges that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven because it is so easy to get attached to worldly riches. He says, "It is harder for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven." 

Jesus is obviously using "hyperbole" here. He is not being literal, as some have suggested. He is giving an exaggerated statement to make a point. The point is that it is impossible for a person whose god is riches to follow the one true God. 

Jesus challenged the man to love God more than money and material things. The man failed this challenge. Essentially, this man was an idolater: he loved money and material things more than God. This shows than both tables of the law will test men.

Jesus asked the ruler to give up his money because He could see money was an idol. He asked him to give it to the poor because He could see that he didn’t love others the way he should. - Guzik

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

For a third time Jesus predicts that his journey to Jerusalem will end at the cross. After being arrested and tried by the Jewish leaders, they will pawn him off to the Romans (Gentiles) to do their dirty work. But he gives them hope by telling them the Son of Man will rise again on the third day. 

The disciples were still in a fog. In fairness to them it says, "the meaning was hidden from them!"

They heard the words right from the mouth of Jesus, and saw the expression on His face, and still did not understand – because this saying was hidden from them. They could not see or understand the truth until God opened their eyes.

Perhaps God did not open their eyes to this truth because they couldn’t handle it yet. If they really knew what would happen to Jesus, and how different it would be than their own conceptions of riding the coattails of the Messiah to glory, they might have given up right then and there. - Guzik

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

The chapter ends with Jesus doing another miracle. Though the man could not see, he could hear Jesus going by, and he rightly addresses Jesus as, "Jesus, son of David". Though the man could not see, he knew who Jesus was, whereas the religious leaders who could see did not recognize Jesus as the Son of David. That's an interesting juxtaposition. 

Once again those who were "handling Jesus" tried to rebuke the man, thinking he was not important enough for Jesus. Once again, Jesus showed that people were the most important thing to him. Though he knew he was going to a cross, he still stopped to heal the blind man. It gave people more evidence that he was the Son of God, the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. 

Right after the man received his sight, he put his sights on following Jesus. I can only imagine what a great evangelist he became.