Jesus continues His teaching through parables and plain language to teach some aspect about the kingdom of God. He also affirms the way He will die.
Luke 18: The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.'
4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"
6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Let the Children Come to Me
15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."
The Rich Ruler
18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour your father and mother.'"
21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth."
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
25 For 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."
26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"
27 But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
28 And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you."
29 And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise."
34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
38 And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
41 "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight."
42 And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well."
43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Things to think about…
1. In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus speaks about this woman who keeps coming back to the un-just judge. It is symbolic of the believer constantly coming back to the Father, a just judge, who will give speedily to those who call out. Often, we don’t receive what we ask for and give up praying. If this is the case, as the parable suggests, how persistent are you with your prayers to the Lord? We give up very easily don’t we. Discouragement is powerful weapon in Stan’s armoury against persistent, consistent prayer. Sometimes because the need is in fact not a need, but a want. Discerning the difference should be reflected in our persistence in prayer. Have you ever received a breakthrough and a mighty answer to prayer after persistently praying? Jesus asks in this context, “will He find faith on the earth”, vs 8, when He returns? Praying with faith asks that God’s kingdom comes. This is ultimately fulfilled when He returns.
2. Jesus reminds the disciples of what heart is required for true believers, Luke 18:9-17 through the attitude of the repentant tax collector and the willing heart of children. Religious bigotry and hardness are condemned at every point by Jesus. Our Lord reminds His disciples as he did in Luke 10:21 that children are favoured due to having a child like faith. May we be the same.
3. The Rich Ruler, Luke 18:18-30, who we know from the other gospels was also young. He was asked to sell everything, give to the poor and follow Jesus. He clearly wanted to justify himself, but had an issue with giving up his possessions. Hence he had a covetous spirit. Jesus challenges this by saying it’s hard for rich people to enter heaven. But he then goes on to say we must leave our wives, brothers, children and parents, vs 29. Seems a bit extreme doesn’t it or is it. How do you reconcile Christ’s statement with your present lifestyle? Look at the promises in vs 30. Blessings in this life and the next. What do these look like to give up everything in this life? I think it means Lord have your way in me no matter what that looks like.
4. Jesus foretells his death in a fair amount of detail in Luke 18:31-34, yet the disciples didn’t understand. What Jesus said looks fairly plain to me as I read it. I am sure you feel the same. How is it that the disciples didn’t seem to get it? Do you ever miss plain messages given by those who love you, because of a biased predisposition on the subject being spoken about? How can you avoid this from happening in the future? Jesus tells them plainly that He will rise from the dead. Surely this is good news, but when you see the Saviour as only an earthly deliverer from Roman rule, death is a repugnant consideration and minds were closed.
5. I love the impulsiveness of the blind beggar at Jericho, Luke 10:31-43. He is blind. He does not care if he is making a scene, embarrassing himself or others. Not that he was yelling out “Son of David…”, vs 38,39. This was a title of Messiah. This man already had faith and now wants to see the power of the Messiah work in healing his sight. Jesus is the Healer and this man wants to be healed. This is how it is for a person driven by the Spirit to seek salvation. Pray the Lord raises up this type of concern. It is certainly very rare in our day. He is healed and immediately follows Jesus. He does not need to be told. He has received everything of value from Jesus, why would he not. Our souls have been saved, following Jesus is the most natural act in the world. Note that even those who rebuked the man initially were now rejoicing in the miracle this man had received. Sometimes appreciation for a bold act comes after the blessing. This is ultimately true for ever believer talking about Jesus but hoping in heaven,.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s sermon “There is no greater joy than this” – reading Luke 10:1-24
1. Jesus fame began to spread with His message. He raised up the 12 disciples, but then 70 more. Where did these disciples go, what did they do and how were they sent?
2. The disciples rejoiced in the supernatural, Jesus said he “saw Satan fall like lightening” and not to rejoice in the supernatural work. Why?
3. Says to rejoice that our names are written in heaven. What gets in the way of us doing this? What’s the remedy?
4. Pray for each other and current events locally and around the world.
Prayer Points
1. Pray the Lord blesses the money sent to Polish Baptist Church in Chelm efforts to support Ukrainian refugees. This is the church we will be supporting.
2. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up and all those affected a second and third time round as well as the money donated to help.
3. Folk sick with Covid – Josh and others.
4. Ukraine to continue to repel Russia and peace to come. Pray for Mariupol other cities in the Ukraine.
5. Christ to be seen through us in our community.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. CBC has raised $2800 for Ukrainian refugees and $1200 in flood donations. I have been messaging Chelm Baptist Church and they are very appreciative of our support.
2. Russia seems to be gradually losing the war. Pray they are held accountable for war crimes.
3. The world is responding overwhelmingly to the war in Ukraine. It has united the west and others against Putin’s evil.
4. God’s word affecting people for Christ
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
6. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
