Luke_18

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Luke

Chapter 18

{Prayer and the Parable of the Unjust Judge Versus the Always Righteous Judge}
18:1-2`` Then He {Jesus} kept on telling them a parable
face to face with them 'to demonstrate it is necessary'
they should always {pantote} pray
and not 'be discouraged'/'lose heart' . . . 18:2``
saying, "In a certain city there was a certain judge
who neither feared/respected {phobeo} God
nor had regard/reverence {entrepo} for people.

18:3``Now there kept on being a widow in that city
who kept coming face to face with him saying,
'Protect me from my opponent in a lawsuit
by an equitable administration of justice {ekdikeo}.'

18:4-5``For a while he absolutely refused/'would not' {ouk}.

But later on he 'said to himself'/thought,
'Though I absolutely do not {ouk} fear/respect God
nor absolutely do not {ouk} regard/revere mankind, 18:5``
seeing that because/'by means of' {dia}
this widow keeps on bothering me,
I will give her 'equitable justice' {ekdikeo},
or in the end she may wear me out by her unending pleas.'"

18:6-7``Now the Lord said,
"Hear/Listen {an order} to what the unrighteous judge says! 18:7``
Moreover, won't God produce 'equitable justice' {ekdikesis}
to His 'chosen ones'/'own elect' . . .
who 'implore His aid'/'cry out' face to face with Him day and night. . . even though He is longsuffering/
'patient in bearing the offences' {makrothumeo}
'on them'/'in their case'?

{Note: When we are suffering . . . particularly suffering undeservingly . . . we want God to 'fix it' immediately. Here Jesus is saying God is listening to your prayers. But, His timing is perfect. He knows the best time and best way to 'give you equitable justice'. This might be in time, or it might be in eternity. Your job is to make sure this is not suffering for discipline. Continually use I John 1:9 - confess to Him your sins just as soon as you realize you have sinned - take in doctrine today, tomorrow, and the next day - and apply His viewpoint to your life. You are the weak link not Him! He will take care of His business! And, vengeance is MINE saith the Lord!}

18:8`` I {Jesus} tell you,
He will produce equitable justice speedily.

Though, nevertheless, when the 'Son of Man' comes
{referring to His 2nd Advent},
will He find faith {pistis} on earth?"
{the faith here is that of the constantly praying widow - staying
faithful and relying on Him to provide her equitable justice when
she believes she has been wronged}

{The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector}
18:9``Now He {Jesus} also told this parable to certain ones
who were 'confident'/'trusted in themselves' {peitho}
{they relied on their own skills, brains, 'human characteristics',
morality, as Paul describes it in Romans - they are 'self-righteous'
(instead of learning to have and use 'divine righteousness')}
that they were 'righteous and just' {dikaios}
and 'looked down on'/'utterly despised' everyone else
{they were great sinners - judgers of others - trying to do God's job
for Him though they do not know all the facts and are no way
qualified to do the job!}.

18:10`` "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
and the 'other of a different kind' {heteros} . . . a tax collector.

{Note: Telones - tax collector. In the day this was written the tax collector was the example of a man judged to be of low social status. The Romans demanded taxes from their conquered areas. A tax collector would not only collect money for Rome, but would very very often demand a lot more for his own pockets!}

18:11-12`` The Pharisee was standing and kept on praying like this
face to face with himself,
'God, I thank You that I am absolutely not {ouk} like other people:
extortionists {harpax}, unrighteous people {adikos},
adulterers {moichos} . . .
or even like this tax collector {telones}. 18:12``
I fast twice a week . . .
I give a tenth of everything I get.'

{Note: These are two 'rituals'. Ritual without reality is meaningless. The purpose of 'fasting' was to 'give up something that is normal and right to do . . . in order to 'worship God' either in the additional intake of the Word or to pray to Him. This Pharisee was going through the ritual and 'not eating' but it was meaningless unless he studied or prayed in that 'extra time'. Next, to tithe is a ritual and meaningless. You must FREELY give . . as God has graced you! This is not just money, but also in time and efforts. There is no fixed amount! (In the Old Testament tithing was required of all Jews - believers and unbelievers - in other words, it was like an 'income tax').}

13`` And, the tax collector standing some distance away
absolutely would not {ouk} lift up his eyes toward heaven
{refused to follow the 'accepted ritual of the day' - outwardly
looking like a great 'prayer'},
but he was beating his chest saying,
'O God be propitious {hilaskomai} to me . . . the sinner.'

18:14`` I {Jesus} tell you
that this man went down to his home
'having been justified and imputed with righteous
in the past with results that last forever' {dikaioo - perfect tense}
rather than the other {the Pharisee}.
{apparently the tax collector was a believer but the Pharisee was
not - at the point of salvation, a believer is imputed with the
righteousness of God - perfect tense - once saved, the action is
complete and you are saved forever. Next, after salvation when
you confess your sins to God, those sins are forgiven (note it
does NOT matter how you feel about your sins! This man was not
crying, he was beating his chest!). So here the tax collector
rebounded and was purified from all unrighteousness-1 John 1:9.}

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
{creatures have a choice always - to live based on their own
thinking - their idea of what righteousness is - self-righteousness;
or to take in doctrine and learn His idea of what righteousness is
and apply His divine righteousness to experience. But if you
never believe you are never imputed with His righteousness and
you can not apply what you never had!}

{Little Children Analogy to Baby Believers}
18:15``Now they kept on bringing
even their 'little ones'/infants {brephos} to Him {Jesus}
so He may touch them.

But, when the disciples/students {mathetes} saw it
{mathetes - means students - specifically those who followed the
teaching of Jesus here},
they rebuked them.

18:16-17``But Jesus 'called before Himself' {proskaleomai}
them {the little ones} saying,
"Let the 'little children' {paidion}
come face to face with Me . . .
and do not hinder them {an order} . . .
because the kingdom {plan} of God
belongs to such as these. 18:17``

Verily/'Point of Doctrine'/'I tell you the truth' {amen},
whoever does not receive the kingdom {plan} of God
like a child . . . will absolutely not ever enter it."
{ouk me - both the negative Greek articles together is the
strongest negative in the Greek! a double negative is bad in the
English but is perfect Greek - literally 'absolutely not never'}

{Note: Children are very trusting individuals. Almost everything we learn as a child is by faith. Our mommy says 2 + 2 = 4 and the child believes her! Then the child can progress to become mathematically mature over years of study. That is the same with the plan of God. There is only ONE way to enter the plan - BELIEVE. After faith, then a baby believer, in the Church Age, BELIEVES that the bible IS the Word of God. He trusts his pastor-teacher is teaching the Word - book by book, verse by verse . . . and all the pieces fall into place. The building blocks of Divine viewpoint begin with basic doctrines, then more mature doctrines, etc.}

{The Wealthy Ruler}
18:18``And a certain ruler asked Him {Jesus},
" 'Good of intrinsic value' {agathos} Teacher {didaskalos},
{this is a very polite greeting to our Lord, but indicates he is not a
believer at this point}
by 'having done what single work'
shall I inherit everlasting life?"
{aionios zoe - when addressed toward God, this means eternal life
- no beginning or end - but when addressed toward creatures it
means everlasting life - a beginning but no ending}

{Note: Agathos is the Greek word for the type of 'good' that is 'good' wherever it is found, and regardless the condition in which it is found. It is 'good in and by itself' - good of intrinsic value. Think of gold. If you found a chain of pure gold holding a rhinestone (an inexpensive and gaudy stone), the gold still has value. Drop a bar of gold in a pig sty and see if anyone will dig it out! Wherever gold is, it is considered valuable.}

18:19``Now Jesus said to him,
"Why are you calling Me 'good of intrinsic value' {agathos}?

No one is 'good of intrinsic value' . . . except God alone.

{Note: This is the same as His righteousness. 'Your righteousnesses are as filthy rags (to be polite - literally is worse than this) in the eyes of God'. Only His righteousness has value wherever it is found. So, at salvation, we are imputed with His righteousness - and even though it is found in the 'pig sty' (us), it still has value. WE have no ability to produce 'divine good of intrinsic value' . . . only God can do that - through us - if we prepare ourselves through study - and voluntarily permit Him to do so!}

18:20``You know/'perceive by study' {oida} the commandments:
Do not possibly 'commit adultery'/
"have unlawful intercourse with another's wife" {moicheuo}.

Do not possibly commit murder {phoneuo}.

Do not possibly 'steal without violence' {klepto}.
{klepto - all stealing is a sin, but Jesus uses the form of stealing
here that is the one without violence - the kleptomaniac}.

Do not possibly bear false witness.
{pseudomartureo - lying is a sin in itself - but to lie in a court
room setting can lead to bad judgments and even death - this
commandment is prohibiting lying in court}.

{the above verbs are in the subjunctive mood - meaning this is
only a possibility - it means that Jesus is not implying that this
man does these things.}

Honor your father and mother {an order}.'"

18:21``Now he {the wealthy ruler} replied,
"All these I have observed/'guarded carefully'
since my youth."

{Note: The point is that even unbelievers can follow God's Laws for all mankind - 'Laws for establishment'. 'Being good'/'Not sinning' is not the means of salvation - never has been the means of salvation. Faith is the door. And, Jesus' work on the cross is the means by which all who are saved . . . are saved! By ONE sin - Adam's - all mankind was condemned. By ONE work - the Second Adam's - all mankind's salvation was possible. All you have to do is believe!}

18:22``Now Jesus, having heard this, said to him,
"One thing you still lack.

Sell all that you have and give the proceeds to the poor/needy,
and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then Come! {deuro - an urging}
and 'follow the same Way through life as' {akoloutheo} Me."

{Note: The issue here is 'emphasis'. This man worshiped his gold and did not believe in God. His 'idol' was his details of life. They were preventing him from believing. So, Jesus, recognized his problem and gave him the solution 'for him'. This is not an act that everyone should follow! This is the problem of 'this person'. Anything - money, career, family, your church, your house, your car - anything that keeps you from believing in God will mean you are never saved. After salvation, anything that you place before the study of His Word (in your list of priorities of life - God and His Word must be high in your list of priorities so you will be consistent) will hinder your spiritual growth. So, take care of your job, your family, your nation when it needs you, on and on, BUT make sure you have set aside an hour to take in doctrine. You found time to EAT did you not? Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of His Mouth.}

18:23``But, hearing this,
he {the rich ruler} became very sad . . .
for he was exceedingly rich.

18:24``Now, Jesus having perceived him becoming very sad,
said, "How 'hard it is'/'with difficulty it is'
for 'the rich'/'they who have and hold riches'
to enter the kingdom {plan} of God!

{Note: Why? Because they already HAVE a god! Their wealth - solid, fixed. They do not want to believe in an invisible God Who tells them to do things other than what THEY want to do! They believe in what got them their - their own talents, ability, strength, power etc. Forget faith. I will keep my faith in me!}

18:25``In fact, it is easier for a camel
to go through the 'eye of a needle'
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom {plan} of God!"

{Note: A fortified town had a large opening that was usually open during the day and bolted shut during the night. In the back was a small "traveler's door" where you could dismount, remove your goods from your camel, and if the guards permitted, you could enter this small gate only one person at a time. Since this traveler's gate resembled the top part of a sewing needle, it was called the 'eye of the needle'. A rich man CAN get through - but it is with difficulty as long as he has his eye on his 'things' instead of the Lord!}

18:26``But those having heard this said,
"Then who has the power to be saved?"

18:27``So He {Jesus} said,
"The things that are impossible with men/mankind . . .
are possible {dunatos} with God."

18:28``But Peter said,
"Behold/'Please note',
we have left all that is our own
and 'followed Your Way as a student/disciple of' {akoloutheo} You."

18:29-30``So He {Jesus} said to them,
" 'I tell you the truth'/'Point of doctrine' {amen},
there is absolutely no one
who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children . . .
'for the sake of' {hina} God's kingdom {plan}, 18:30``
who absolutely will not receive
{ou me - double negative - strongest negative in the Greek -
literally 'absolutely not never'}
'many times more' {pollaplasion}
'at the right time'/'in due measure' { kairos}
and in the age/'perpetuity of time' {aion} coming . . .
everlasting {aionios}."

Continued

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