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Text -- Luke 18:1-25 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
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 .
18:12 I fast twice a week ; I give a tenth of everything I get .’
18:13 The tax collector , however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven , but beat his breast and said , ‘God , be merciful to me , sinner that I am!’
18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled , but he who humbles himself will be exalted .”
Jesus and Little Children
18:15 Now people were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch . But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them .
18:16 But Jesus called for the children , saying , “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them , for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these .
18:17 I tell you the truth , whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it .”
The Wealthy Ruler
18:18 Now a certain ruler asked him , “Good teacher , what must I do to inherit eternal life ?”
18:19 Jesus said to him , “Why do you call me good ? No one is good except God alone .
18:20 You know the commandments : ‘Do not commit adultery , do not murder , do not steal , do not give false testimony , honor your father and mother .’”
18:21 The man replied , “I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth .”
18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him , “One thing you still lack . Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven . Then come , follow me .”
18:23 But when the man heard this he became very sad , for he was extremely wealthy .
18:24 When Jesus noticed this , he said , “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God !
18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God .”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Prayer |
JESUS CHRIST, 4D |
Jesus, The Christ |
LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF |
PRAYERS OF CHRIST |
Self-righteousness |
Pharisees |
PERAEA |
Salvation |
Riches |
Despondency |
Bigotry |
Tax Collectors |
JESUS CHRIST, 2 |
GUILT |
Confidence |
Young Men |
Repentance |
Works |
COURT OF THE SANCTUARY; TABERNACLE; TEMPLE |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Luk 18:1; Luk 18:1; Luk 18:1; Luk 18:1; Luk 18:2; Luk 18:2; Luk 18:2; Luk 18:2; Luk 18:3; Luk 18:3; Luk 18:3; Luk 18:4; Luk 18:4; Luk 18:4; Luk 18:5; Luk 18:5; Luk 18:6; Luk 18:7; Luk 18:7; Luk 18:7; Luk 18:7; Luk 18:8; Luk 18:8; Luk 18:9; Luk 18:9; Luk 18:10; Luk 18:10; Luk 18:10; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:11; Luk 18:12; Luk 18:12; Luk 18:13; Luk 18:13; Luk 18:13; Luk 18:13; Luk 18:14; Luk 18:14; Luk 18:14; Luk 18:15; Luk 18:15; Luk 18:15; Luk 18:15; Luk 18:16; Luk 18:16; Luk 18:16; Luk 18:17; Luk 18:17; Luk 18:17; Luk 18:17; Luk 18:18; Luk 18:18; Luk 18:18; Luk 18:19; Luk 18:19; Luk 18:20; Luk 18:21; Luk 18:21; Luk 18:21; Luk 18:21; Luk 18:21; Luk 18:22; Luk 18:22; Luk 18:22; Luk 18:22; Luk 18:22; Luk 18:23; Luk 18:23; Luk 18:24; Luk 18:24; Luk 18:24; Luk 18:24; Luk 18:25
NET Notes: Luk 18:1 This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of LukeR...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:2 Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:4 Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:5 Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).
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NET Notes: Luk 18:6 Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! The point of the parable is that the judge’s lack of compassion was overcome by the widow’s per...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:7 The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean Go...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:8 Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:11 Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:13 Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:14 Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:15 Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:16 The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illust...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:18 The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply ...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:19 Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the ruler to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The follow...
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NET Notes: Luk 18:20 A quotation from Exod 20:12-16 and Deut 5:16-20. Jesus cited the parts of the ten commandments that relate to how others should be treated.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:21 Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:22 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.
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NET Notes: Luk 18:24 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-...
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