• Luke 18:1-43
  • Luke 18:1-8 – At all times we should pray and not lose heart.
    • Luke 18:7 – The elect are those who choose to follow God.
    • Luke 18:8 – It is not clear if this is part of the same conversation as Luke 17. It is hard to know if Jesus is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem or the end of the world. Either way, the point is that God will answer the prayers of those who are faithful if people will be faithful!
  • Luke 18:9-14 – We must be humble and exalt ourselves. With his comments here, Jesus is also cutting through bias and prejudice. The Pharisees carried an air of superiority.
  • Luke 18:15-17 – We must receive the kingdom of God like a child. He is primarily talking about their innocence, but this also shows that Jesus did not consider children to be guilty of inherited sin as some claim.
  • Luke 18:18-27 – The parable of the rich young ruler
    • Luke 18:22 - We are not instructed anywhere to give up all our wealth, so this was apparently a command specifically for this man.
    • Luke 18:25 – It is difficult to be wealthy and obey God. But nearly everyone in the United States is wealthy, relatively speaking! There are many examples in the Bible of wealthy people who obeyed God: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Daniel, and others. It is possible!
  • Luke 18:28-30 – God will take care of those who follow Him. This may not necessarily involve earthly wealth, but God will take care of His own.
  • Luke 18:31-34 – The disciples again misunderstand a very straightforward statement from Jesus because of their ignorance. It is easy for us to do the same thing.
  • Luke 18:35-43 – Jesus heals a blind man. The man addressed Jesus with respect and persistence. See Mark 10:46-52.