Luke 18

¹Luke 18:1. Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:²Luke 18:2. “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men.³Luke 18:3. And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’⁴Luke 18:4. For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,⁵Luke 18:5. yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Otherwise, she will wear me out with her perpetual requests.’”⁶Luke 18:6. And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge.⁷Luke 18:7. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay in helping them?⁸Luke 18:8. I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

⁹Luke 18:9. To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:¹⁰Luke 18:10. “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.¹¹Luke 18:11. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.¹²Luke 18:12. I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’¹³Luke 18:13. But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’¹⁴Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁵Luke 18:15. Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them.¹⁶Luke 18:16. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.¹⁷Luke 18:17. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

¹⁸Luke 18:18. Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”¹⁹Luke 18:19. “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.²⁰Luke 18:20. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’”²¹Luke 18:21. “All these I have kept from my youth,” he said.²²Luke 18:22. On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”²³Luke 18:23. But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

²⁴Luke 18:24. Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!²⁵Luke 18:25. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”²⁶Luke 18:26. Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”²⁷Luke 18:27. But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”²⁸Luke 18:28. “Look,” said Peter, “we have left all we had to follow You.”²⁹Luke 18:29. “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God³⁰Luke 18:30. will fail to receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

³¹Luke 18:31. Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.³²Luke 18:32. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.³³Luke 18:33. They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.”³⁴Luke 18:34. But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.

³⁵Luke 18:35. As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging.³⁶Luke 18:36. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.³⁷Luke 18:37. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.³⁸Luke 18:38. So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”³⁹Luke 18:39. Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”⁴⁰Luke 18:40. Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had come near, Jesus asked him,⁴¹Luke 18:41. “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “let me see again.”⁴²Luke 18:42. “Receive your sight!” Jesus replied. “Your faith has healed you.”⁴³Luke 18:43. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.