Chapter Eighteen

1–8. Parable of the widow. – 9–14. Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. – 15–30. Blessing of children and the danger of riches. – 31–43. Christ’s prediction of His death and the healing of the blind man near Jericho.

Luke 18:1. Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Christ’s words that the disciples will not see the “day of the Son of Man,” will not find support in the coming of the day of judgment (Luke 17:22), undoubtedly made a heavy impression on them. In order to show that they still should not lose hope, the Lord tells them a parable which teaches them that God nevertheless hears and will hear the requests of His chosen ones (that is, them, the disciples of Christ) and will fulfill them. “To pray always.” Some commentators understand here “the constant striving of the soul toward God,” which should continue during life, although there are times when prayer is more fervent and concentrated (Trench, p. 408). But the verb used here “to pray” (προσεύχεσθαι) means actual prayer, in the direct sense of the word. As for the expression “always” (πάντοτε), it undoubtedly has a hyperbolic sense. The word is often used in this way in Sacred Scripture (for example, “my grief is ever before me,”—Ps 37:18; “they were continually in the temple,”—Luke 24:53). “And not to lose heart”—from the context of the speech, not to lose heart during prayer, when one sees that it is not being answered. The content and purpose of the parable are pointed out here by the evangelist himself, not by Christ (as Trench somewhat strangely asserts, p. 408).

Luke 18:2. He said: “There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor regarded people. Luke 18:3. In that same city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my opponent. Luke 18:4. For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor care about people, Luke 18:5. “yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she may not wear me out by her constant coming. “Judge” (see Matt 5:25). This parable very much resembles the parable of the friend who came at midnight with a request to a friend (Luke 11:5 and following). As in that parable, so here, the fulfillment of the request is obtained by virtue of special persistence, with which in that case the friend begs bread of his friend, and here the widow begs the unjust judge to settle her case. “So that she may not wear me out by her constant coming”—more precisely: “that she may not give me a black eye.” The judge, in jest, says that perhaps in her desperation the woman will reach the point of striking him (ὑπωπιάζῃ με) in the face...

Luke 18:6. And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Luke 18:7. “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? Luke 18:8. “I tell you, he will bring about their justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? The meaning of the moral teaching drawn from the parable by Christ is as follows. Christ as if teaches: “Listen to what the unjust judge says! But God—will He not bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night? Will He be slow in helping them (according to the accepted Greek text here stands the participle μακροθυμῶν, and according to the more reliable text one must read μακροθυμεῖ—third person present)? Does He not have to come to their aid?” Nevertheless, if Christ here truly denies delay on God’s part, He does not say that such delay does not appear to be the case to God’s chosen ones. It may seem to them that such delay exists, because God, in His wisdom, does not always fulfill the requests of godly people, deferring this until a certain time. After this, Christ with particular force expresses the following: “God will bring about the vindication about which His chosen ones cry, quickly,” that is, He will speedily, when it is necessary, free His chosen ones from enemies, who will face punishment at the second coming of Christ, and will glorify these chosen ones in the Kingdom of the Messiah (cf. Luke 21:22). Although the idea of this vindication in Luke’s Gospel does not have the sharp form which it acquired in other New Testament writings, for example, in the Apocalypse, nevertheless, it is in general not foreign to the evangelist Luke (cf. Luke 1:51 and following Luke 1:71 and following). “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” These words, undoubtedly, stand in connection with the preceding idea about the last judgment. Christ as if says: “It is certainly true that the Son of Man will come to help the believers and punish the unbelievers. But the question is: will He find more faith in Himself at His coming the second time than He found at His first coming to earth?” Here the Lord repeats the thought expressed by Him in the depiction of the time of the second coming in Luke 17:26 and following. According to Trench (p. 415) and Bishop Michael, here the discourse is about the diminishing of faith in believers, about a certain weakening of it. But Christ does not say that He will find little faith in the sphere of Christianity, but generally depicts the condition of humanity, “faith on earth” (ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς). There is sorrow in these words of Christ, it pains Him that He will have to apply a strict condemnation to the majority of people, instead of pitying them and making them participants in His glorious Kingdom.

Luke 18:9. He also spoke this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: The parable of the tax collector and Pharisee is found only in Luke. The purpose of the parable was undoubtedly to somewhat lower the self-esteem of the disciples of Christ (the “chosen ones” – verse 7) and teach them humility. By those who set too high a value on their own righteousness and despised others, one should understand them. Christ could not have turned to the Pharisees with a parable that directly presents a Pharisee. Moreover, the Pharisee presented in the parable would not at all appear to the Pharisees as worthy of condemnation from God: his prayer must have seemed entirely correct to them.

Luke 18:10. Two men went up into the temple to pray: one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. “Went up” – more precisely: “ascended” (ἀνέβησαν). The temple stood on a hill. “Pharisee” (see commentary on Matt 3:7). “Tax collector” (see commentary on Matt 5:46).

Luke 18:11. The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus with himself: God! I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector: “Standing”. The Jews customarily prayed standing (Matt 6:5). “With himself”. These words, according to the Russian text, in agreement with the Textus receptus, pertain to the word “prayed” and denote prayer “to himself”, not spoken aloud. According to another reading, the word pertains to “standing” (I. Weiss) and would indicate that the Pharisee did not wish to come into contact with people like the tax collector. The latter opinion, however, can hardly be accepted, because the sense of the Greek expression does not permit it (here is placed not καθ´ ἐαυτὸν, but πρὸς ἐαυτόν). “God! I thank You”. The Pharisee begins his prayer as he should, but immediately turns to condemning his neighbor and exalting himself. It was not God Who gave him the strength to perform good deeds, but he himself did everything. “This tax collector” – more correctly: “that one there, the tax collector!” – an expression of contempt.

Luke 18:12. I fast twice a week, I give a tithe of all that I acquire. Besides the negative qualities that the Pharisee ascribed to himself above (he is not an extortioner, not unjust, not an adulterer), he now speaks of his positive merits before God. Instead of fasting once a year – on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29), he, like other pious Jews, fasts two days in the week – on the second and fifth (cf. Matt 6:16). Instead of giving a tithe to the needs of the temple from only the profit gained yearly from his flock or from its fruits (Num 18:26), he gives a tithe of “all” that he gains – from even the smallest herbs (Matt 23:23).

Luke 18:13. But the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven; but struck his breast, saying: God! be merciful to me, a sinner! The tax collector at this time stood at a distance from the Pharisee (so far the account had been only of the Pharisee, consequently the distance is indicated in relation to him). He did not dare come to a prominent place where, without doubt, the Pharisee boldly stood, and prayed to God only that He would be merciful to him, a sinner. In doing so, he struck his breast – as a sign of sorrow (cf. Luke 8:52). He thought only of himself, compared himself with no one, and justified himself in nothing, although, of course, he could have said something in his defense.

Luke 18:14. I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. After such a prayer, the tax collector “went” (more precisely: “descended”, cf. verse 10) home “justified,” that is, God recognized him as righteous and made him feel it through special gladness of heart, a special sense of contrition and peace (Trench, p. 423), because justification is not only an act accomplished in God, but also passes to the justified person. The thought about this justification, as combining in itself both the recognition of a person as righteous and the appropriation by the person of the righteousness of God, had been revealed even before the writing of Luke’s Gospel by the Apostle Paul in his Epistles, and undoubtedly the evangelist Luke, using the word “justified,” understood it as his teacher, the Apostle Paul. “Rather than the other”. This does not mean that the Pharisee was also justified, though not to the same degree as the tax collector. The Pharisee departed, as the context of the account indicates, directly condemned. “For everyone” – a thought quite fitting in the parable. The sense of the saying see in the commentaries on Luke 14:11.

Luke 18:15. And they brought to Him also infants, that He would touch them; but His disciples, seeing it, rebuked them. Luke 18:16. But Jesus called them and said: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:17. Truly I say to you: whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter into it. After borrowings from a source known to him, the evangelist Luke once again begins to narrate Christ’s journey to Jerusalem, following mainly the evangelist Mark (Mark 10:13-16; cf. Matt 19:13-14). “And they brought to Him also infants” (τὰ βρέφη – children of very early age). “He called them and said...” In the Russian translation, it apparently refers to the disciples, but as seen from the Greek text, the call of Christ was addressed to the children themselves (προσεκαλέσατο αὐτά), while the saying (“said”) was to the disciples.

Luke 18:18. And a certain ruler asked Him, saying: Good Teacher! what must I do to inherit eternal life? Luke 18:19. Jesus said to him: Why do you call Me good? None is good, except God alone; Luke 18:20. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. Luke 18:21. And he said: All these have I kept from my youth. Luke 18:22. When Jesus heard this, He said to him: You still lack one thing: sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me. Luke 18:23. But hearing this, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Luke 18:24. And Jesus, seeing that he was sad, said: How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Luke 18:25. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Luke 18:26. Those who heard this said: Then who can be saved? Luke 18:27. But He said: The things that are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:28. Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all and followed You. Luke 18:29. He said to them: Truly I say to you: There is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or sisters, or wife, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, Luke 18:30. who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life. The discourse about the danger of wealth is given by the evangelist Luke in accordance with Mark (Mark 10:17-31). The evangelist Matthew presents this discourse with some addition to Peter’s answer (Matt 19:16-30). “A certain ruler” (verse 18; ἄρχων τις) – perhaps a ruler of the synagogue. This definition of Christ’s interlocutor is given only by the evangelist Luke.

Luke 18:31. Taking the twelve disciples aside, He said to them: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished, Luke 18:32. for He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and treated shamefully, and spat upon, Luke 18:33. and they will scourge and kill Him: and on the third day He will rise again. Luke 18:34. But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not understand the things that were said. Luke 18:35. And as He drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way, begging, Luke 18:36. and hearing a multitude passing by, asked what this meant. Luke 18:37. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Luke 18:38. Then he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me. Luke 18:39. And those going before rebuked him that he would hold his peace; but he cried out the more, saying: Son of David! have mercy on me. Luke 18:40. Jesus, stopping, commanded him to be brought to Him; and when he drew near, He asked him, Luke 18:41. saying: What will you that I should do to you? And he said: Lord! that I may receive my sight. Luke 18:42. And Jesus said to him: Receive your sight: your faith has saved you. Luke 18:43. And immediately he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God; and all the people, seeing it, gave praise to God. The prediction of Christ about His death and the healing of the blind man near Jericho – the evangelist Luke presents following Mark (Mark 10:32-34). “All things that are written through the prophets” (verse 31). This is an addition by the evangelist Luke, that is, most likely, the prophecies of Zechariah (Zech 11:12 and following; Zech 12:10; cf. Isa 53). “They understood none of these things” (verse 34), that is, they could not imagine how the Messiah could be killed (cf. Luke 9:45). “And as He drew near to Jericho” (verse 35). The healing of the blind man, thus, according to Luke’s Gospel was accomplished before the Lord’s entrance into the city, but according to Mark and Matthew – after His exit from the city. This contradiction can be explained by the fact that at that time the Lord healed two blind men, as the evangelist Matthew reports (Matt 20:30) – one before entrance to Jericho, and another after leaving the city. About the first the evangelist Luke speaks.