STUDY NOTES on previous study
Our Standing Before God (Luke 18:1-17)
This week’s readings include the briefest reading in our study=
. It
is a focal point of much of the teaching in Luke. The question is central,
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find f=
aith
on the earth?” All that=
Jesus
is doing is to lead us to a life of faith in God. Perhaps the most outstand=
ing
characteristic of Jesus’ life is his unfailing trust in His Father. T=
his
is what he wants to give to his disciples.
The chapter begins with Jesus telling a story to engender hope among=
His
followers. He does not want them to ever give up on life and quit praying. =
He
wants them to understand their special relationship to the Father. The para=
ble
He tells is interesting. It is a parable of absurd comparisons given for the
purpose of making a point as strongly as possible. You have a terrible judg=
e.
Are we to compare him to God? You
have a worthless widow. Is that supposed to be us?
The story is of a judge who has no concern for justice. He has no fe=
ar
of God and no concern for humanity. You get the idea you’d better hav=
e a
large bribe or some kind of leverage or this judge will not give you the ti=
me
of day. Enter the one needing help – a widow who has nothing to use t=
hat
will get his attention. She may have a very strong case against her adversa=
ry,
but she has no hope of getting what she wants. Except that she refuses to g=
ive
up. She just kept coming. She wanted justice. The judge continued to refuse.
Finally, and this is a humorous response, the judge lets you know he knows =
how
terrible he is my admitting, “I don’t fear God, I don’t c=
are
about anyone, but this widow is wearing me out! I will give her justice just to ge=
t a
little peace!”
What is this parable teaching?
Is it teaching that we should bug God until we get what we want? Will God finally tire of our whini=
ng and
give us our desires? No, no,
no! That is not the point. Th=
is
judge is nothing like God! Go=
d does
want justice, and He dearly loves humanity! And we are nothing like the widow.=
We
are God’s sons and daughters!
We have access to the throne of God through Jesus! So, if even a widow with no power =
can
get her way with an unjust judge just because she persi=
sts,
think what we can expect God to do for His beloved children!
We need to have great confidence in God’s response to our
prayers! =
Especially
in the matter of justice. We need to have faith that God will respon=
d to
cries. It may not be how we want Him to respond or when we want Him to resp=
ond.
But the question is “do we have faith that God is genuinely concerned=
for
our well-being?” The an=
swer
needs to be a resounding “Yes”.
The importance of faith in God cannot be overstated. For too many Go=
d is
a being isolated in history, with no real presence in their lives. But we m=
ust
understand that we are a part of the redemptive story! God is active and alive and worthy=
of
our trust. He will care for us, and this assurance should free us to pursue=
His
will for us. There is great joy in knowing that God will indeed provide. And
even if we do not see His activity when and how we want it, we know that in=
the
end we will be fully vindicated if we are faithful as His children.
The next story is one of the better-known in Luke. It is another
“directed parable.” Jesus
had a specific group in mind when He told this parable. We need to hear this
parable. It is directed toward those who have a great sense of self-confide=
nce,
which also leads them to hold others in contempt. These two attitudes tend =
to
go together. If we are very confident in our ability to do good, and to mak=
e a
good living, and to have a good life – we quite naturally will hold in
contempt those who do not have it together like us . I
have often heard comments of contempt from church people about those who are
poor or are struggling in some way. “If they would just try harder, t=
hey
wouldn’t be in the position they are in.” You’ve heard those comments,
perhaps even made them.
There is great danger in placing your security in your own goodness.=
You
may not be who you think you are. Just because you are performing the visib=
le
signs of the good life in an exemplary way, does not mean you are living in=
the
kingdom. An indispensable characteristic of kingdom life is total dependenc=
y on
God. That is authentic faith. There is no room for self-achievement. We all
fall desperately short. Some of us know it, others don’t.
The Pharisee in this story was doing all the right things and was qu=
ite
proud of it. He was sure that he had exclusive claims to God, because he was
doing it right. Does this sound at all familiar? We are the right church because we=
do
the right things on the right days; no one has access to the Father but
us! When you base your sense =
of
righteousness on your own accomplishments, you will inevitably despise anyo=
ne
who does not do what you do in the way that you do it. This is the attitude
expressed when one says, “the only real Christians are the ones that =
live
and worship exactly like me.”
Now, notice that the Pharisee is at least thankful to God for his
achievements. But God really has no purpose in this man’s understandi=
ng
of the good life. It was his by merit.
By stark contrast, all the tax collector can request is mercy. He do=
es
not stand proud before God, he is brokenhearted
by his unworthiness. He cries out the penitential 51 Psalm, “God, be
merciful to me a sinner.” The
Pharisee would have said to this, “well, of course, that’s the =
only
approach to God he could make.”
The sad truth is that the Pharisee was in the same condition; he just
didn’t know it. The false exterior covering of his piety hid the rott=
en
nature of his soul. He simply had no need for God.
Throughout Luke’s gospel we see the irony – the Pharisees
think they deserve God’s favor and theref=
ore do
not receive it. The sinners know they have no hope of God’s favor, so they receive it. One of the fundamental tea=
chings
of the kingdom is stated here, “all who exalt themselves will be humb=
led,
but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” This is the true nature of life in=
the
kingdom. Paul gives us that wonderful hymn segment in Philippians 2 that
reminds us that Jesus Himself showed the way to true exaltation. It comes
through humbling one’s self fully and completely to God. Without empt=
ying
our lives before God, there can be no filling of His Spirit. In a culture t=
hat
esteems highly the ideal of the self-made man, this teaching is difficult to
swallow. The sweetness of God’s mercy awaits the humble heart.
The next event reminds us of the truth of what really matters in the
kingdom. It reinforces the teaching of the humbled sinner finding mercy. Wo=
men
were bringing small children to Jesus for a blessing. The word used here
suggests these were infants. In Jesus’ day, such had no value. The
disciples were not being mean-spirited by inhibiting these mothers’
approaching Jesus, they were merely responding as good disciples. They were
responsible for protecting their Master’s ability to do that which was
important. Clearly, He had no time for such meaningless activity. But once =
again,
Jesus surprises those who knew Him best. He wants the children to come to H=
im.
He loves them deeply and wants to bless them. He also uses them to teach a
great truth, only those who receive the kingdom like a child will enter it.=
The
kingdom belongs to such as these. Clearly, entrance does not require spirit=
ual
aptitude or attainment. Like a child joyfully receiving a gift, so must we
accept the kingdom. No room here for hypocrisy, =
no
room for pretense – just a joyful, trusti=
ng
acceptance and faith and the gates open wide.
Adults do not receive gifts well. “Oh, you shouldn’t
have” or “this is too much” or, “you’ve gone =
to
so much trouble.” A chi=
ld
smiles widely, grabs the gift, tears open the package and lets
out a yelp of excitement. The free gift of the
&=
nbsp;An Invitati=
on to
Life Refused (Luke 18:18-43)
A=
fter
having read the study notes, answer the following questions:
1=
. Do you
have confidence that God will answer your prayers? Why or why not?
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;2.
How would you define true faith? How
do you manifest its presence in your life?
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nbsp;
3=
. Who
would be “our tax collector” today if Jesus were telling us the
parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector? Who would the Pharisee be?
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nbsp;
4=
. What can
you do to receive the
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nbsp;
R=
ead Luke
18:18-25
1=
. Why do
you think the ruler addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher?” Why did Jesus not accept the phras=
e?
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nbsp;
2=
. Did the
ruler really keep the commandments?
Why?
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nbsp;
3=
. Why do
you think Jesus told him to sell all he had?
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nbsp;
4=
. What do
you think Jesus would tell us we would need to do to find life?
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nbsp;
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nbsp;
&=
nbsp;Read
18:26-30
1=
. Why were
the disciples so surprised by Jesus’ answer to the rich ruler?
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nbsp;
2=
. What did
Jesus say was impossible? Why=
?
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nbsp;
3=
. What did
Jesus promise to those who left their lives and family to follow Jesus?
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nbsp;
4=
. What do
you think this means to us today?
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nbsp;
R=
ead
18:31-34
1=
. Why did
Jesus keep reminding the disciples of His imminent death?
&=
nbsp;
2=
. How much
did Jesus know about the kind of treatment He would receive? Why is it important to know that J=
esus
knew what was coming?
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nbsp;
&=
nbsp;3.
Besides His death, what else did Jesus foretell?
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nbsp;
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nbsp;
R=
ead
18:35-43
1=
. What
title did the blind man use that indicated he had amazing spiritual insight=
?
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nbsp;
&=
nbsp;2.
Why do you think some tried to get the man to be quiet?
&=
nbsp;
3=
. Why did
Jesus ask the blind man what he wanted?
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nbsp;
&=
nbsp;4.
Why does this story immediately follow the prediction of Jesus’ death=
?
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