LUKE - CHAPTER 18
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2001 James Melough
18:1.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray,
and not to faint;”
Having given warning
concerning the coming terrible Tribulation years, the Lord here instructs His
own relative to prayer, for if ever there was a time when prayer was needed it
will be during those days.
If we but grasped more clearly
what is available to us through prayer we would spend a lot more time in the
exercise of this privilege of meeting God at the throne of grace. Look for
example, at some of the promises relative to prayer. “And whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it,” Jn 14:13-14. “If ye
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you,” Jn 15:7. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you,” Jn 15:16. “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye
shall receive, that your joy may be full,” Jn 16:23-24. “Your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him,” Mt 6:8. “Ask, and it shall
be given you ... for every one that asketh receiveth....” Mt 7:7-8. “And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,” Mt
21:22. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive
any thing of the Lord,” Jas 1:5-7. “... ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts,” Jas 4:2-3. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight,” 1 Jn
3:22. “... if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we
know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him,” 1 Jn 5:14-15.
We must note also, however,
that these promises are not unconditional. What we ask in Christ’s name will
be done for us, but Jn 15:7 adds the condition that we must be abiding in Him,
and His Word abiding in us; and Jn 15:16 adds the further condition that we
must be producing fruit. Mt 6:8 tells us that our Father knows what things we
have need of. We don’t, and the obvious implication is that since He loves
us, and knows what is best for us, He sometimes denies our requests. We
should therefore accept His will, knowing that it is best. Mt 21:22 adds
another condition: we must have faith to believe that we will receive what we
ask for, keeping in mind, of course, the conditions already mentioned. Jas
1:5-7 indicates the kind of things we ought to ask for. We should ask for
spiritual, rather than temporal riches. Jas 4:2-3 explains why many of our
requests are denied: we ask for things that are evil. 1 Jn 3:22 tells us that
obedience is necessary if we want to receive even the things that are good,
e.g., God won’t give good things if we are being disobedient, for that would
be to condone sin. 1 Jn 5:14-15 reminds us that God hears us when we ask for
the things that are according to His will, and will give them to us, if the
other conditions are being met. So we see that prayer isn’t just a simple
matter of asking in order to get whatever we want.
18:2.
“Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded
man:”
18:3.
“And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me
of mine adversary.”
18:4.
“And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I
fear not God, nor regard man;”
18:5.
“Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me.”
In this the Lord is teaching
the need of persistence in prayer, not because God is a reluctant giver, but
because He would have us demonstrate that we are in earnest about the things
we ask for. After all, there would be no point in His giving us what we
wanted so little that we weren’t willing to keep asking for it, and this
applies to spiritual things as well as to temporal. In the natural realm the
child who asks for something just once or twice won’t convince his parents
that he really wants it; but if he keeps asking day after day, they will
realize that he wants it very much, and they’ll very likely make an effort to
give it. If we’re really in earnest about getting what we ask of God, and it
is for our good, He isn’t likely to refuse our request. Take the matter of
spiritual wisdom, for example: do we really desire to have that blessing?
Then we should demonstrate our sincerity by continuing to ask, not to inform
God of our need, but to prove to ourselves that that is what we really want.
Relative to temporal things,
we should be very thoughtful about what we ask for, in view of such Scriptures
as Heb 13:5 “... and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There is the very great danger
that such requests may be simply to gratify pride.
18:6.
“And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.”
18:7.
“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them?”
18:8.
“I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of
man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
Avenge here is used in the
sense of giving just judgment rather than executing vengeance, but the thought
of vengeance can’t be entirely dismissed, and in that connection it is to be
viewed in the context of its still being a Jewish, not Christian age when the
Lord spoke. Jews, in a Jewish age, as it was in the days of the Lord’s
earthly ministry and as it will be again in the coming Tribulation era, may
legitimately cry for vengeance, but Christians may not: they are to pray for
their enemies, see Mt 5:44 “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you.” God will answer imprecatory prayers when the Lord returns in
power and glory to establish His millennial kingdom, see Re 6:9-11, His delay
in doing so now being because He is “... longsuffering ... not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Pe 3:9. His
patience, however, isn’t infinite, and when it comes to an end He will execute
swift and terrible judgment.
His elect, incidentally, are
not a special group predestinated to special blessing apart from the activity
of their will, but rather, they are those who make themselves elect by
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. In other words, they are
believers of all ages, and we should note that the blessings reserved for them
differ according to the dispensations in which they became believers. For
example, only believers of this Church age constitute the bride of Christ.
It must be understood,
however, that there is also corporate election according to God’s sovereignty
and apart from man’s will, the nation of Israel comprised of believers and
unbelievers alike, being the prime example of such election, but the election
referred to here in verses 7-8 is not corporate: the reference is to believers
only.
But the question, “When the
Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” reminds us that one
condition necessary for effective prayer is faith to believe that God will
grant our request. Such faith is rare today, and will be also apparently in
the coming Tribulation era. The context makes it clear that the faith spoken
of here is not the faith exercised by the sinner when he trusts in the Lord
Jesus Christ as his Savior, but rather the faith exercised by the believer
relative to prayer.
18:9.
“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they
were righteous, and despised others:”
The parable was undoubtedly
directed to the self-righteous Pharisees, but applies with equal force to all
who hold such views of themselves. Few things are more abhorrent to God than
self-righteousness, for it carries the implication that the sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ was either inadequate or unnecessary, for it is simply the
outward evidence of trust in one’s own good works for salvation.
18:10.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a
publican.”
The publicans were Jews hated
and despised by their own people because they had taken service with Rome as
tax collectors, and in addition often extorted more than was due. The two men
represented the antipodes of society, the Pharisee symbolizing
self-righteousness; the publican, unrighteousness; yet both prayed; and it is
the same today: whether good or bad, most men pray at least some times, even
if only in deep distress.
18:11.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am
not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican.”
It is instructive to note that
he “prayed ... with himself.” Self-righteousness has no access to God,
nor does its darkened mind know anything of the Divine standard of
measurement. It can only evaluate itself by the flawed standard of its own
creation. The Pharisee couldn’t see that his very self-righteous pride was
worse than any of the sins he mentioned, for pride heads the list of things
which God hates, as it is written in Pr 6:16-17 “These six things doth the
Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look....”
18:12.
“I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”
This twice weekly fasting was
not mandated, but any merit there might have been in it was lost by his
self-righteous attitude. Fasting was the symbolic demonstration of refusal to
cater to the lusts of the flesh, and has no place in the life of the Christian
during this present Church age. The symbol is to be replaced by the actual
refusal to indulge the flesh. And as for his tithing, it was nothing about
which to boast, for he was only doing what was commanded, the tithe being the
acknowledgment of God as the Giver.
18:13.
“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a (the)
sinner.”
The correct rendering is “the”
not “a” sinner. This penitent publican wouldn’t just classify himself as one
of many sinners, but rather as “the” sinner, i.e., a vile sinner with nothing
to commend him to God. This is the acknowledgment of unrighteousness which
must be made by every man who would be saved and justified in God’s sight
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
18:14.
“I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other:
for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.”
This verse needs little
comment. It declares the imperative of one’s taking a low place before God in
order to be forgiven and receive God’s gift of eternal life through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He who refuses to take that low place and exercise
that faith will be cast down to hell.
“Justified” describes the
state of the believer, and embraces the idea of being freed from guilt,
accepted by God, approved of God, forgiven, acquitted of all sin, on a
perfectly just basis: Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary. It reminds us that
believers’ sins have been fully atoned for. The life forfeited by the sin of
Adam, the federal head of the human race, has been yielded up to God at
Calvary by the last Adam, the federal Head of the new creation, believers.
All the claims of His holy throne have been met, and a basis of perfect
justice laid, upon which He can come out to the penitent sinner and declare
him guiltless. Man has no part in it except to receive its blessings, for all
the work necessary to make it possible was finished at Calvary when the Lord
Jesus Christ said, “It is finished.”
18:15.
“And they brought unto him also infants, that he might touch them: but when
his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.”
It isn’t disclosed what
benefits the parents of these infants expected to come to the children as a
result of the Lord’s touch, nor is it stated what blessing did attend His
touch, but one thing has to be ruled out: it did not confer salvation. No
infant is capable of the mental processes involved in being saved, for that
requires the ability to understand the consequences of sin, and to grasp even
in the most general way that salvation comes only to those who confess
themselves sinners going to hell, and who believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
has died in their place, for their sins, and that in response to that faith
God pardons their sin, and bestows His gift of eternal life.
No infant is capable of such
reasoning.
This is not to say, however,
that only adults can be saved. Many who were saved as children have gone on
to demonstrate the reality of their conversion; but at the time of conversion
they were old enough to engage in the reasoning mentioned above. No age can
be set as to when a child reaches this point, for obviously all children don’t
develop at the same rate.
Why the disciples rebuked the
parents isn’t disclosed either, though possibly it may have been that they
were afraid the children would distract the Lord while He was speaking, or
perhaps prevent Him getting needed rest. The reasons are of little
consequence, for the incident is recorded to teach a much higher truth, as is
made clear in the next two verses, though before examining those verses, it is
necessary to consider a few practical truths relative to bringing infants and
young children to meetings.
There are those who use this
passage to teach that infants and young children should be brought to every
meeting, including the Lord’s supper, it being deemed that even though the
children can’t understand what is being said, there is some virtue just in
their being there. The intentions of the parents may be virtuous, but it is
impossible to conceive what possible benefit can accrue to the infant. There
is, however, an overwhelming weight of evidence to indicate the wisdom of
keeping infants and unruly children at home.
It has to be remembered that
there is a very great difference between an open air meeting, and one being
held indoors; between the informal teaching and preaching given by the Lord
outdoors, and that given in the more formal setting of a building. In the
open air, noises and movements are very much less distracting to speaker and
audience alike than they are indoors. The writer has seen many a Lord’s
supper spoiled by the activities and noises of children who should have been
kept at home. He can recall one in which a mother, supposed to be there to
worship, changed her crying baby’s diaper, with the result that no one was
able to worship. At another he witnessed a baby being permitted to crawl
among the worshipers, and pull itself to its feet by grasping the leg of a
brother who was standing up praying! And at yet another he saw a father walk
across the circle of worshipers nine times to take his crying baby to
the bathroom, and later when the elders spoke to the man he was highly
indignant, and went off to another church. He has seen a brother who was
giving thanks for the bread, drowned out and obviously distracted by the
crying of his own baby, yet the mother made no attempt to silence it or take
it out. Many times he has seen parents at the Lord’s supper, leafing through
picture books with their children, and others by their whole demeanor
indicating that they were far more interested in their infants or children
than in worship. He has witnessed a brother standing up to speak at the
Lord’s supper, having to stop and let the assembled worshipers wait while he
tried to settle a dispute between two of his very unruly children.
The very high number of prayer
and Bible study meetings, of solemn Gospel meetings ruined by disruptive
infants and young children, indicates that many professing Christians have
little concern for the fact that reverence becomes us in the presence of God.
The failure of elders to put a stop to such irreverence indicates that they
may have equally little concern; or if they do, that they fear man more than
they do God.
18:16.
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto
me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”
18:17.
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
As noted above, what may be
acceptable at an open air meeting isn’t therefore acceptable also indoors
where movements and noises are much more distracting to speaker and audience
alike. But the primary lesson the Lord would teach in this instance isn’t the
distinction between what is appropriate conduct at a meeting, and what isn’t.
He wished to demonstrate that simple childlike faith is needed by those who
would enter the kingdom of God; and this is simply a continuation of what He
had been teaching in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican.
18:18.
“And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?”
It is significant that the one
who was ignorant of the way of salvation was a ruler, one who should himself
have been able to instruct others; and it is of further significance that his
question was “What shall I do, etc?”, for this reveals the attitude of
the natural man: he is convinced that he must do something in order to be
saved, the implication being that he doesn’t consider the work of Christ
sufficient. He, however, who fails to recognize the sufficiency of the Lord’s
sacrifice at Calvary, cannot be saved, for that recognition is the very
essence of salvation.
It is instructive to note that
a child never thinks he must do something to earn food, clothing, toys, etc.
He just accepts them without question, and that same attitude must mark every
man who would receive God’s gift of eternal life.
18:19.
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one,
that is, God.”
It is worth noting that the
Lord, instead of answering the man’s question, asked instead this seemingly
irrelevant question. But it wasn’t irrelevant, for the clear implication is
that since only God is good, then all men are not good, as it is written,
“There is none righteous, no, not one.... there is none that doeth good, no,
not one,” Ro 3:10-12. Before a man can be saved he must accept God’s
indictment, and acknowledge, as did the publican, that he has no
righteousness. It is refusal to make this confession that keeps multitudes
out of heaven; and the reason the Lord emphasized this fact when dealing with
the questioning ruler, was because, like the Pharisee in the temple, the
rulers refused to admit that they were sinners, and that they needed a Savior.
18:20.
“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother.”
The Lord Who perceives the
thoughts and intents of every heart, knew what was in the ruler’s mind. He
was of the same ilk as all the Pharisees: he was convinced that law-keeping
was the way to heaven, and he may have been convinced that he kept the law,
though his question may also indicate that he may perhaps have had an uneasy
feeling as to whether he kept it well enough to fit him for heaven.
18:21.
“And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.”
If he did entertain any doubt
he obviously wasn’t ready to admit it. Like the Pharisee already mentioned,
he focused attention on his punctilious keeping of the law, and there are many
today who make the same fatal mistake, not realizing that it is beyond the
ability of any man, save the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep God’s perfect law.
18:22.
“Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one
thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”
The Lord’s reply touched the
very heart of the matter, not only for that Jewish ruler, but for every man
who would be saved by law-keeping. In chapter ten of this same Gospel, the
Lord when dealing with another ruler asked that lawyer to give a summation of
the law, and the man’s response, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy
mind; and thy neighbor as thyself,” elicited the Lord’s comment, “Thou hast
answered right: this do, and thou shalt live,” Lk 10:26-28.
Love for God and man is the
essence of the law, and a cold legalistic attempt to achieve an outward
conformity to each part falls very far short of keeping the law. The truth
is, in fact, that it is impossible for any man, except the Lord Jesus Christ,
to keep God’s holy law, for no man is capable of the degree of love which it
demands. The law wasn’t given as a means of justifying men, but of showing
them their inability to keep it, and therefore bringing them to Christ to
obtain the salvation purchased by His death at Calvary, and offered as God’s
gracious gift to all who will receive it by faith.
Nor does the Lord’s command,
“Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven: and come, follow me,” teach that good works can buy
salvation. What is being taught in this is that good works are the evidence
of saving faith, and the man’s refusal to obey the Lord proved, in spite of
his assurance that he had kept the law from his youth, that he wasn’t saved.
He who professes to be a believer, but who refuses to obey the Lord, would be
well advised to reexamine his profession.
A further lesson we might
learn, incidentally, is that God isn’t afraid to test profession, nor should
elders interviewing those seeking fellowship in a local church. Unfortunately
the quest for numbers, together with the fear of giving offense, has led to an
unquestioning acceptance of every profession, however unconvincing it may be,
and the result is that many unconverted are received into fellowship, to the
detriment of the assembly, and terrible danger to the man’s soul; for his
being accepted into fellowship simply reinforces his delusion, with the result
that he is likely to drift on unaware of his true state, until he wakes up in
hell, to curse eternally those whose negligence helped to take him there.
The profession that won’t
survive testing on earth, won’t save men from hell and fit them for heaven.
It is a terrible injustice to any man to accept his profession of faith
without any question, for the inquiry that may reveal its unreality provides
also the opportunity to point him to the Savior.
18:23.
“And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”
If he continued to the end of
life valuing his riches more than his soul, then his eternal sorrow would be
infinitely greater, for he would bewail for ever in the torment of the lake of
fire the folly which had impelled him to clutch a little gold to the exclusion
of God’s priceless gift of eternal life, his remorse being the greater from
discovering that what he refused to give up voluntarily, he was compelled to
relinquish at death. So will it be with every man who sets his heart on this
world’s wealth, his pursuit of it causing him to lose his soul.
18:24.
“And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
18:25.
“For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Since literal riches were one
of the evidences of God’s blessing upon His earthly people, the Lord’s words
must have been inexplicable to His audience, but the point He was making was
that the love of money was evil, a truth also emphasized by Paul in 1 Tim
6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
Satan has few weapons in his
arsenal more powerful than money for keeping men from Christ, and for keeping
saints from obedience to Him.
Since it is impossible for a
camel to go through the eye of a literal needle, so is it also impossible for
any man to be saved who values this world’s wealth more than he does his
soul. This is not to say that rich men can’t be saved. They can, but they
must not allow their concern for their wealth to stand in the way of trusting
Christ as Savior, and demonstrating the reality of their profession by obeying
the Lord relative to the use of the money of which they are but stewards.
The Lord’s command to the rich
ruler is clearly not a universal requirement of salvation, for others who were
obviously of considerable means were saved apart from meeting any such
condition. In his case it was obviously to test whether he was prepared to
trust Christ implicitly, and clearly he wasn’t.
18:26.
“And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?”
18:27.
“And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
God can give the wisdom to
assess correctly the relative worth of earthly riches and salvation.
18:28.
“Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.”
The Lord’s reply seems to
indicate that Peter’s remark implied the question as to what reward might be
expected for having sacrificed earthly things in order to follow Him; nor may
his implied question be taken to indicate regret at having made such a
sacrifice, but rather the very legitimate question as to what advantage the
believer has over the unbeliever who gives up nothing.
18:29.
“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left
house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s
sake,”
18:30.
“Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to
come life everlasting.”
For all of these things which
believers might have given up in order to obey Christ, there was recompense,
not only in eternity, but here also on earth. The homes of Christians would
be made available for lodging as they went from place to place in the Lord’s
service. The places of earthly parents would be taken by spiritual fathers
and mothers, i.e., those who led others to the Lord; and spiritual brethren
and sisters would take the place of literal siblings. The love of a wife
would be compensated for by the spiritual love of other believers. Likewise
those willing to deny themselves the daily enjoyment of their literal children
would find the lack made up in the joy of begetting spiritual children, i.e.,
men and women led to the Savior.
But beyond earth there was the
certainty of the enjoyment of eternal life in heaven, and an abundant
recompense for everything sacrificed on earth for Christ’s sake.
18:31.
“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son
of man shall be accomplished.”
Having taught what men must do
to enter the kingdom of God, the Lord then instructed the twelve, and through
them, us, what He Himself must do to save men from hell and fit them to enter
heaven. Man’s part is easy, requiring nothing more than the acknowledgment of
sin, and the exercise of simple childlike faith to believe God’s Word; but the
Lord’s part was difficult beyond description: He must suffer more than finite
minds can grasp, and give His life to make atonement for man’s sin. And
Jerusalem was the place where that great work was to be done, for in spite of
all the outward religious form so much in evidence there, it was in Jerusalem
that sin in its worst form - hypocrisy - reigned supreme, the hypocrisy so
great that it made man righteous, but God in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, a blasphemer!
The magnitude of Divine grace,
however, is disclosed in the fact that even before God had made man, He knew,
not only the terrible harvest that would result from the disobedient sowing of
Adam, but also what man would do to the Lord Jesus Christ when He would come
down from heaven to deliver men from the consequences of their folly. He had
caused His servants the prophets to announce it during the long years that
intervened between Adam’s sin, and the coming of the last Adam to make
atonement for that sin which is imputed to all men, for it is to be remembered
that as federal head of the human race Adam’s sin is imputed to all his
descendants. Men don’t become sinners by committing sin: they commit sin
because they are born sinners, and all of man’s rebellion against that
imputation doesn’t alter it. But man’s rejection of the Divine indictment has
blinded him to the fact that imputation is also the principle which brings
salvation through the Gospel. Man, because of the choice made on his behalf
by Adam, is born into this world a sinner; but such is the grace of God, that
man, by an act of his own choice to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior, has his sin put away, and has imputed to him all of Christ’s
righteousness.
What folly it is for a man to
remain heir of eternal torment because of the choice made for him by Adam,
when by his own choice to trust Christ as his Savior, he can make himself an
heir of eternal life and blessing.
An incidental lesson we may
learn from its being said that he took unto him “the twelve” is that since
twelve is the number of those under God’s government, and since the doctrine
taught by those twelve is the foundation (Christ of course, being the great
foundation) upon which the Church is built (Eph 2:20), He would have us
similarly instructed in all that pertains to Him.
18:32.
“For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and
spitefully entreated, and spitted on:”
18:33.
“And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall
rise again.”
All these things are found
written by the prophets, and the miracle of spiritual blindness is that the
Jewish leaders could, out of those same Scriptures, inform Herod of the place
of the Savior’s birth, and yet remain blind to what was also written
concerning His death and resurrection. This is just another example of the
fact that the natural man can neither understand the Scriptures, nor anything
else that relates to the Spirit.
18:34.
“And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them,
neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
Were it not that it is
recorded in God’s Word, it would be impossible to believe that the Apostles
themselves should have been unable to understand such plain language, but such
was the case, and it reminds us that apart from the illumination given by the
Holy Spirit, we would be equally ignorant of the meaning of Scripture.
But an obvious question
presents itself here. Since, with the exception of Judas, they were all
believers, why couldn’t they understand? The explanation is that the Holy
Spirit hadn’t yet been given, as it is written, “I have many things to say
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of (by)
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew
you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and
shall shew it unto you,” Jn 16:12-14.
18:35.
“And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind
man sat by the way side begging:”
Before considering this verse
it is necessary to note that Matthew and Mark also record what appears to be
this same incident, but with differences which have led some to conclude that
the accounts are contradictory. While Mark, like Luke, speaks of one blind
man, Matthew mentions two; and Matthew and Mark declare the miracle to have
occurred, not as the Lord was entering Jericho, but when He was leaving it.
There are, of course, no
contradictions in God’s Word, so another explanation must be sought for this
seeming contradiction. As to there being two blind men, Matthew may have been
describing a second miracle involving two men, or Mark and Luke may have
focused on one of two who was also healed spiritually, similar to the healing
of the ten lepers, only one of whom was healed spiritually as well as
physically.
As to whether He was entering
or leaving Jericho, there were two Jerichos: the old and the new, so that an
observer might have described the Lord as entering one, or leaving the other,
without there being any contradiction.
If this is the same miracle as
is described by Mark, then the man was Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus (Mk
10:46), and his name means son of one esteemed: son of one unclean, and
his father’s name means highly prized. The meanings combine to declare
that while all men are unclean, they are highly esteemed or prized in God’s
sight, so much so that He has been willing to redeem them even though their
redemption has cost the life of His only Son.
Jericho is a picture of this
world, for it is the city which God has cursed, as the world also lies under
His curse. But in the meanings of its name let him smell it: place of
fragrance: his fragrance, it is also the symbol of the world from man’s
perspective, for though it lies under the curse of God, man would try to
forget that fact, and expect God to accept his humanly devised “worship,”
incense being the Biblical symbol of true worship.
The blind man’s condition is
symbolic of the spiritual state of all men: they are born into this world
spiritually blind, and will die in that condition unless born again through
faith in Christ as Savior.
His sitting by the wayside
begging enhances the typological picture, for man in his spiritual blindness
also sits by the highway of life awaiting that moment to which he rarely gives
a thought, when he will be called into eternity. Man in his unconverted state
is also a beggar, the bondslave of Satan, begging each day for a few of the
worthless baubles with which the arch deceiver lulls his dupes, and distracts
them from considering the state of their precious souls.
18:36.
“And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.”
The thoughtless multitude
rushing to destruction along the highway of life, makes a great deal of noise,
none of it unfortunately having any significance relative to the salvation of
souls. But here and there are the few who will ask the meaning of earth’s
clamor, and it is to such inquiring souls that God reveals Himself.
18:37.
“And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.”
Jesus is the name uniquely
associated with Christ as Savior, as was announced prior to His birth, “Thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins,” Mt
1:21. But Nazareth also has its special significance, for it means a
branch: preservation, and at least six times in Scripture the Lord is
referred to under the figure of a branch; and in connection with the meaning
preservation there is not only the thought of His own preservation
through His resurrection, but He is also the only One through Whom men can be
preserved from hell and fitted for heaven.
In regard to His passing by,
an old Gospel hymn based on this very incident proclaims the solemn warning
against procrastination, “Jesus of Nazareth hath passed by.”
18:38.
“And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.”
His describing the Lord as the
son of David implies that he had some knowledge of the One whom the multitude
simply called Jesus of Nazareth, and it is significant that this is virtually
the same title as was used by the multitude when the Lord later rode into
Jerusalem on the ass’s colt, presenting Himself as the Messiah. It is for
just such a penitent cry that the Lord listens, and no man can be saved until
he is so convicted of his sin that those words describe the true attitude of
his heart. The state of soul described by such a cry is very far from the
proud complacency which marks the self-righteous who are ignorant of their
desperate need of the Savior.
18:39.
“And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he
cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.”
There are still those who
would silence the cry of the penitent, for such a wail grates on the ear of
the natural man who will not confess his own equally great need of Christ.
The reason for their rebuke isn’t recorded, nor is it important for us to
know, but a reason easily discerned is that which prompts the same rebuke
today: the natural man will neither admit his own spiritual need, nor can he
bear to hear another confess that need, for such a cry in some strange fashion
reprimands his own self-righteousness.
18:40.
“And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was
come near, he asked him,”
18:41.
“Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I
may receive my sight.”
The Lord is never too busy to
attend to the heartfelt cry of a convicted soul.
18:42.
“And Jesus said unto him, receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.”
How easy God has made it for
us to receive salvation! We have but to confess our need, and have faith to
believe that He will meet it in a measure exceeding our wildest dreams. The
words “thy faith hath saved thee” rebukes the false philosophy of those who
hope to be saved by their vain attempt to keep the law.
18:43.
“And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and
all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”
The healing was
instantaneous. Scripture knows nothing of gradually growing into salvation;
nor does it know anything of a genuine conversion that isn’t accompanied by
the glorification of God through an obedient life.
The fact that all the people
praised God when they saw the miracle may not be taken to imply that they too
had trusted Christ. They were impressed by the miracle they had just
witnessed, but only the man had had the faith to believe that Christ could
heal him before He did so. That is saving faith. Their response
simply teaches the lesson that the natural man may be thankful for the
transformation wrought in men’s lives through conversion, but their admiration
is for the moral, not the spiritual blessings that accrue to society as a
result of the changed lifestyle. The unconverted are all too ready to concede
the blessings which Christianity brings to society, but that is very different
from their being themselves willing to be converted.
[Luke 19]