Luke 18

My notes from March 19, 2008

Luke 18
reminder and intro
Luke is a gentile writing to the Greeks
He holds Jesus up to be the perfect man
Things are going to be coming to a head in Jerusalem soon
We get to be a fly on the wall and listen in to the same training sessions that the disciples had

Luke can be divided into 3 main parts
Luke 1 through 4 deals with the Son of Man's coming
Luke 5 through 21 deals with the Son Of Man's career
Luke 22 through 24 deals with the Son of Man's cross

Luke 18 is about 5 encounters
I Demanding Widow
Luke mentions widows more than any other gospel. Court in the day was not like courtrooms of today. It was a tent and the judge, not the law, set the agenda. The judges assistants determined who would be heard (usually because of bribes)
The widow had 3 things hindering her.
1. she was a woman and so couldn't come to court alone
2. no husband to stand with her
3. poor - no bribe

She just kept coming so finally they dealt with her so she would go away.

The purpose of the parable is not to show what God is like but to teach us to pray and not lose heart.

We are not strangers - we are Gods kids - if you are a parent you know that your kids have access.

This woman is a widow - we are the bride - a bride has access to the husband

How much more will god work in our lives His bride, His kids

Question - if God is our Father and we are his kids, then why would we have to keep asking and praying . Why do we pray and sometimes nothing happens?

God is a triune being - father son spirit
We are created in his image body mind spirit
In the garden of Eden the spirit was foremost and God and man fellowshipped
Then came sin and man's triune self flipped upside down. That spiritual connection has never been the same.

our real need is for connection with the true and living God

we try to fill the gaps with things that may be sinful and sometimes may be philanthropic but still won't fill the void

We say we need bread
He says He IS the bread of life
We say we need peace
He says He IS peace
We pray for help with decisions - we need to find the way
He says He IS the way

We pray for our needs - He says we need Him
How to pray - keep asking, keep seeking, don't lose heart
We need the connection

II. Deluded Pharisee
Praying with himself - glad he isn't like others including the tax collector
Tax collector prays have mercy on me a poor sinner

The pharisees fasted on what would now be Monday and Thursday because these were market days and everyone would see that others were buying food while the Pharisees fasted

We need to know WHO we are praying to. the Pharisees were praying to themselves. eg we pray sometimes Lord please let my wife feel moved to give me a back rub - kids praying before Christmas bless my family and please let them give me that Thomas the Tank bike.... know who we are praying to.

Prayer needs to be based on mercy
Know why we have access to God - we are His kids not because we are so sweet. we are His bride - not because we are beautiful but because at some point we come to Him as a humble sinner who needs a savior

III Devoted Fathers
Always thought this was mothers bringing their children to Jesus but the verb autios is plural masculine. Challenge to today's fathers who leave the spiritual teaching of their kids to the moms.

Job frequently got up early and made burnt offerings because his sons may have sinned in their hearts. We say we are busy but at least we don't have to kill and burn a bull. The sacrifice has already been given - if Job had time - we have time to bring our kids to Jesus

Parents have a great privilege and if not bringing our kids before the Lord then we leave them unprotected from the enemy

IV Dishonest Youth
Rich young ruler asking how to inherit the kingdom
Matthew's account tells us he was young and rich
He basically had it all but it wasn't filling the void
He was being dishonest. He called Jesus good - jews reserved good for God. When Jesus asks him why he called him good he is asking him to search his heart. If he thought Jesus was God he should be confessing his sin. When Jesus said he would have to keep the commandments he said he had which is saying he never sinned.
The bible never says you cannot be saved if you have wealth. David, Abraham, and Solomon were all wealthy. Riches keep you out of the kingdom if they possess you and you depend on them . Jesus is trying to get him to admit his sin and his need for a savior.

Jesus will put the holy finger of His spirit on the things that have a hold on our souls.

Illustration of monkeys being trapped by putting their hands in a coconut and taking a hold of some marbles and then they are caught because they will try everything they can to get loose except LETTING GO.
Don't let issues make a monkey out of you.

Jesus tells the disciples the truth about his coming death and He also tells the truth about the sin in our lives.

V. Determined Beggar
Contrast with the rich ruler
Three characteristics that put the beggar in a position to go home joyful
1. Humility - he asked the Son of David to have mercy on him - (wonder if we would have the same tone if we had been blind for years) When we approach with pride it quenches what god wants to do in our lives

aside: We ask why do bad things happen to good people. Biblically there are NO good people. we have all sinned. We think of others as being good but if we go back to the rich ruler calling the rabbi good we remember that Jews reserved the title good for God.
The real question should probably be why does anything good ever happen to evil , sinful people

Back to the beggar:

2. Determined - even when others told him to be quiet he just cried out louder
Illustration: Great oak tree is just a little nit that held it's ground

told a story about the British in WWI Dardenelles, Turks
The British were losing ships and retreated not knowing that the Turks had maybe 30 seconds of ammo left and were already planning their surrender. WWI would have ended much sooner and so many people might have been saved

How often are we 30 seconds from victory in prayer and we give up - continue to cry out to the Lord

3. He was expectant. the account in Mark tells us he threw off his beggars garment. The garment was like a handicapped parking sticker - it said he could collect alms in the town. He came to the Lord with humility, determined and throwing off the beggars garment and didn't give up.