Jesus Wants You to Be Persistent
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I love a good story. I don’t read much. Most of the items that I read is either non-fiction or some kind of news item. However, I love watching a movies. There is something about a good story. I love it when a story takes us on an adventure. I also like a good story that teaches us something meaningful.
Anytime that Jesus wanted to get His point across, He would use a story or what is known as a parable. To our knowledge, these parables that Jesus told, were not necessarily based on true events. We think they were made up stories, but then again, Jesus is God and He could be telling a story that actually happened.
In Luke chapter 18, Luke begins this chapter with Jesus telling two parables. The first parable is to the disciples. Look at what He said.
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.
3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.
7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
In this story, Jesus is encouraging the disciples to continue to pray. Jesus had just spoken to the disciples in the previous chapter about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Now He was moving into a parable to encourage them to continue to pray.
This parable is a standard Jewish “how much more” argument: if an unjust judge who cared not for widows can dispense justice, how much more will the righteous judge of all the earth, who was know as the defender of widows and orphans, do so? In the context, God would minister his justice especially when Jesus came to judge the earth.
We see this principle all throughout the Old Testament. God is faithful to act on behalf of and to vindicate His people, by His acts in the present and especially His final day of judgment.
God is working for you. Don’t stop praying for what you are in need of. God will meet your needs.
The next parable Jesus uses is addressed to a group of people that they are more righteous than anyone else.
It is good to remember that none of us are perfect. No matter what level of spiritual learning we are at, we all have work to do. Here is what Jesus said at verse 9.
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Something we need to understand about this time period that Jesus was living in. First of all, in Jesus’ story you have two people represented. You have a Pharisee and you have a tax collector. Pharisees were considered the most pious people in regular Palestinian Jewish society. They thought very highly of themselves. Tax collectors were quite the opposite. They were considered the most despicable, often regarded as traitors to their people.
The best way I can describe what this would be like today, is if you were to replace the Pharisee with like a deacon and the tax collector with a drug dealer.
Many of the most pious fasted two full days a week. Also, Pharisees were meticulous about tithing to the full extent one could infer from the law. When they were not certain that the food they purchased had been tithed on, they would tithe it just in case.
So, in this parable, you have a picture of complete opposites. One standing boasting on himself and the other humbling himself in repentance.
Jesus assures the listeners that the tax collector was justified before God. What He is saying is complete opposite of what this crowd was thinking.
Each of should not get so full of ourselves that we boast about how righteous we are. We should approach the Lord each time that we come into His house with humility.
I’m not sure if verse 15 happened right after these parables or not, but something to remember is children were people of no social status. Notice that Jesus was quick to scold the disciples.
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Jesus encourages us to approach the kingdom of God like a child. A child has no thoughts about what is going on around them.
One of the coolest moments at the Republican National Convention is when Trumps grandchildren were coming up to Him. They didn’t view him as Mr. President. They viewed him as grandpa. They didn’t care about all the hoopla that was happening around them they just wanted to hang out with grandpa and be held by grandpa.
When we approach Jesus, we must have that child like faith and approach Him with our arms wide open.
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
It is important for us to understand why Jesus would reply to this man this way. Jesus is wanting the man to understand that He is God. If the man is calling Jesus good, then the man must understand that Jesus is good because He is God.
20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
The ten commandments was something that all Jews understood and made sure they kept. They knew these since they were able to learn. But Jesus told him there was one more thing he must do.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.
Jesus knew that this man would have a hard time doing this. We become too reliant on our stuff. We put our trust in our stuff. We neglect to place God first and place our trust in Him. We must not look to our stuff and hope that it will keep us from harm.
Your stuff will not help you through the hard times. Only God can help you in your time of need.
Jesus then explains why it is hard for a wealthy man to enter kingdom of God.
24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Then Jesus gives the follow up to this thought. He says.
26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
So, Jesus quickly lets them know that a rich man can enter the Kingdom of God, but He can only do it with God. All of us will only reach the Kingdom of God with God on our side.
28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
It is at this point that Jesus reassures him and us today that anyone who lives a life of sacrifice will be rewarded in this life and in our eternal life.
The next four verses Jesus reminds the disciples why they are headed to Jerusalem.
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him;
33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
We are going to end this chapter with a story. When you look at this story in the three Gospels that tell it, you get some different details. Luke says the incident that follows happened as He was coming near Jericho. Matthew and Mark say that it is when He was leaving Jericho. Also Matthew says that there were two blind men; Mark and Luke both say there was one. It is possible that Luke is speaking of the new city whereas Matthew and Mark are referring to the old city. It is also possible that there was more than one miracle of the blind receiving their sight at this place. Whatever the explanation might be, we are confident that if our knowledge were greater, the seeming contradictions would disappear. Look at verse 35.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
I find it interesting that Luke begins this chapter with a story about a lady that was persistent in her request. And the chapter ends with a real life event happening with a blind man being persistent about wanting his sight back.
This story is proof that we don’t have to have long drawn out prayers in order to reach the heart of God. This blind man’s prayer was short, specific, and full of faith.
From the moment that he heard Jesus was coming, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to see.
From the moment that he heard Jesus was coming, he knew who could give him his sight back. It was Jesus.
From the moment that he heard Jesus was coming, he had to get there. He wanted Jesus to touch him.
Remember we just read in Luke 18:27
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Whatever you can’t do, God can do. Everything is possible with God.