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Texts -- Luke 18:1-11 (NET)

Context
Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow
18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart . 18:2 He said , “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people . 18:3 There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying , ‘Give me justice against my adversary .’ 18:4 For a while he refused , refused , but later on he said to himself , ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people , 18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me , I will give her justice , or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” 18:6 And the Lord said , “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says ! 18:7 Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones , who cry out to him day and night ? Will he delay long to help them ? 18:8 I tell you , he will give them justice speedily . Nevertheless , when the Son of Man comes , will he find faith on earth ?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
18:9 Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else . 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray , one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector . 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this : ‘God , I thank you that I am not like other people : extortionists , unrighteous people , adulterers – or even like this tax collector .

Pericope

NET
  • Luk 18:1-8 -- Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow
  • Luk 18:9-14 -- The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

Bible Dictionary

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Arts

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

Outline; Judging; Chosen by God; Don’t Lose Heart; Don’t Quit …; Revival

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • After God reviewed the reasons for sharing His plans for the destruction of Sodom with Abraham, He told the patriarch that He was about to investigate the wicked condition of that city. This news moved Abraham to ask God to b...
  • Many of the Israelites were relying on their practice of the Mosaic rites to satisfy God. The true meaning of the rites had not affected their lives. God intended the system of worship He prescribed to illustrate the importan...
  • It seemed to Isaiah's audience that the promises in chapter 60 could hardly come to pass since the Babylonian exile was still ahead of them. The Lord assured them that He would surely fulfill these promises."Much of this chap...
  • This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
  • 6:10 The new decree did not deter Daniel from continuing to pray for the welfare of the city where God had sent them into exile and for the Jews' return from exile. That this was the subject of his praying, among other things...
  • 10:10-11 Evidently the "man"who touched Daniel and who proceeded to speak to him was the same one the prophet saw in the vision (vv. 5-6). The angel described Daniel as a man of high esteem (cf. 9:23; 10:19). We know that Dan...
  • 6:5-6 Jesus assumed that His disciples would pray, as He assumed they would give alms (v. 2) and fast (v. 16). Again He warned against ostentatious worship. The synagogues and streets were public places where people could pra...
  • Though Mark did not record it, Jesus gave His disciples much additional instruction as they travelled from Capernaum in Galilee toward Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 8:19-22; 18:15-35; Luke 9:51-18:14; John 7:2-11:54). Evidently Jesus ...
  • This is the third part of the incident centering on the cleansing of the temple (cf. vv. 12-14).11:20-21 This event happened on Wednesday morning. "Withered from the roots"means that death was spreading through the tree begin...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
  • Luke documented Jesus' authority in yet another area of life by showing His power to forgive sins. In this incident the miracle is secondary and the issue of Jesus' authority is primary. Jesus claimed to be God by forgiving t...
  • 6:20 Clearly Jesus' disciples were the primary objects of His instruction in this sermon (cf. vv. 13-19)."Blessed"(Gr. makarios) in this context describes the happy condition of someone whom God has blessed with His special f...
  • This miracle raised the popular appreciation of Jesus' authority to new heights. Luke also continued to stress Jesus' compassion for people, in this case a widow whose son had died, by including this incident in his Gospel. T...
  • In this last major section describing Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50), Luke stressed Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus' ministry in Gal...
  • Having told His disciples what to pray, Jesus now gave them incentive to pray. He contrasted the character of God and the character of the reluctant neighbor (cf. v. 13; 18:1-8). This parable contains a very helpful and encou...
  • Teaching of the disciples continues as primary in this part of the third Gospel (9:51-19:10). Jesus' words to them at the beginning of the present section (12:1-13:17) broadened to include the crowds toward the end....
  • Luke's narration of this miracle focuses on the response of the Samaritan whom Jesus healed. It is not so much a story that he intended to show Jesus' divine identity, though it does that. It is rather another lesson for the ...
  • Again an action by the Pharisees led to a brief answer from Jesus followed by a longer explanation for the disciples (cf. 15:1-16:13; 16:14-17:19). Luke's conclusion of Jesus' teaching on this occasion included a parable (18:...
  • Jesus continued His instruction to the disciples about His return. He told them a parable designed to encourage them to continue praying while they lived in the interval before His second coming.18:1 The audience for this par...
  • Luke next developed the idea of faith on the earth that Jesus introduced in verse 8. This whole section clarifies how people become believers. This subject is a fitting conclusion to the part of Luke's Gospel that deals with ...
  • The superficial connection between this pericope and the preceding one is that they both contain parables about prayer. However the more significant link is the people of faith (v. 8). This parable graphically contrasts the r...
  • This is another lesson on riches that Luke recorded (cf. 6:24; 8:14; 11:41; 12:13-34; 16), but the context here is instruction on wealth as it pertains to entering into salvation and the kingdom. Someone might conclude from t...
  • The rich young ruler with his pride contrasts dramatically with the humble infants in the last pericope.18:18 The young man believed he could do something to earn eternal life, and he wanted to make sure he had not overlooked...
  • Jesus' passion announcements to His disciples constitute important structural markers in Mark's Gospel. Luke and Matthew did not use them this way. The incident before us was the third passion announcement that Jesus gave bes...
  • This section in Luke's long narrative of Jesus' ministry as He travelled to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27) is climactic. It is a choice example of Jesus offering salvation to a needy person. Zaccheus accepted Jesus' offer and respond...
  • This parable serves in Luke's narrative as a conclusion to the section on salvation's recipients (18:9-19:27). It provides something of a denouement(i.e., a final unravelling of the plot) following the excellent example of Za...
  • This parable taught that Israel's religious leaders who had authority were mismanaging their authority. It also affirmed Jesus' authority, not just as a prophet, but as God's Son. The leaders had expressed fear of death (v. 6...
  • Paul had explained that Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ (2:15). Therefore he prayed that they might experience the unity that was theirs spiritually in their relations with one another. Verses 14-19 are also one sentence ...
  • The apostle's first positive instruction to Timothy regarding his leadership of the Ephesian church was that believers should offer prayer for all people. He gave this directive to emphasize its importance, defend its value, ...
  • 5:6 As with our dreams, John's vision contained some unusual features. John saw the Messiah as a Lamb.229The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ at His first advent, meek and submissive to a sacrificial death as our substitute (...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.'--Mark 13:6.When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?'--Luke 18:8.IT was the same generation that is represented in these two texts ...
  • And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2. Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3. And there was a widow in that city; and she...
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