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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadSpurgeon Verse Expositions - Luke 18:1 - 18:14
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Luk_18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
“Not to faint” in their expectation of answers to their supplications, and therefore give up prayer; but to persevere in presenting their petitions at the throne of grace, because prayer is never lost labour. There may be a time during which God does not appear to answer prayer, but he will ultimately answer it; therefore, “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” in prayer. If they do not pray, they will faint in many ways. Their courage will faint. All their hope as to the future will faint, and fall into a dead swoon as it were. So, dear friends, you have your choice between praying and fainting. The doctrine our Saviour laid down was “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” and this is the parable which he related in illustration of that truth: —
Luk_18:2. Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
He was a most unfit person to be a judge, as many in Eastern cities still are. They are ready enough to take bribes, but they are not so prompt in giving just judgments. They generally attend to the business of the rich and the powerful, but neglect the poor and needy. So was it with this judge, who “feared not God, neither regarded man.”
Luk_18:3. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Probably someone had come, and taken away from her the little bit of land that her husband had left her, upon the produce of which she and the children might have lived; and she could not get it back again. So she comes to the judge, and cries, “Avenge me of mine adversary.”
Luk_18:4. And he would not for a while —
He had plenty of applicants who could pay him better than this poor woman could, so he disregarded her petition; but he little knew that, in her, he had to deal with a woman who meant to be heard, and who intended to press her suit until she won it. She was evidently a very determined character. Though a broken-hearted widow, yet she was not broken-spirited even though the judge refused for a while to attend to her plea.
Luk_18:4-5. But afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
She came again, and again, and again, and again; she would not leave off coming, for she meant to have the justice she sought, and she did get it. Now that is the way to pray, as if we would even weary God with our supplications, though we never can do so. It is impossible to weary him with earnest believing entreaties, yet we must show the same determination in prayer which this importunate widow manifested while pleading with the unjust judge.
Luk_18:6. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
He is unjust, but he is obliged to be just now. He is hard-hearted, but he is compelled to yield. The widow has conquered him, not by her money, but by her importunity. She is there so often that she troubles him, and he says he must give in, and grant her request.
Luk_18:7. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
He may seem to be slow about it; but when his people cry to him, he will hear them ultimately if he does not at once. Do not imagine that the children of God will always be laughed at, and downtrodden. God will yet arise, and take their side. They may be pushed into a comer for awhile, but they shall come out into a large room in due season, for God will certainly avenge his own elect.
Luk_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?
If anybody could find it, he would, for he creates it all, and he knows where to look for it; yet there is so little of it that even he, whose eyes can detect the faith that is as small as a grain of mustard seed, can scarcely find it. There is all too little real faith in the world; and those who think they have most of it, when they get into troubled waters, soon find they have not any to spare, and much that they thought was faith does not turn out to be so. O men, brethren, fathers, how little do we trust our God compared with what he deserves!
Luk_18:9-10. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray;
They were both alike in going up to the temple, but they were very different in coming back from the temple. It is a very important thing to come to the house of God in a right state of heart; and it is a still better thing to go away from the Lord’s house really benefited and improved. These two men went up to the temple with the same object; each of them went there “to pray.” Both intended to pray, though they did not both do so; yet that was their ostensible object.
Luk_18:10. The one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
A tax-gatherer, one of the most hated people in Christ’s day, because none but the lowest class of Jews would collect taxes for the Romans; and as a general rule, they farmed the taxes, and greatly increased them by demanding of the people much more than was due. They were therefore held in the worst possible repute. I am not sure that tax-gatherers are the objects of much love anywhere; but, among the Jews, they were detested because they were collecting tribute for the Romans whom the conquered nation abhorred.
Luk_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.
So it is evident that he noticed one person who was there, though I do not find that the publican took any notice of him. We can tell by this remark that the mind of the Pharisee was wandering from his supposed devotions. It is a bad sign in a so-called worshipper when he knows a great deal about other people who are in the Lord’s house. I have known many people, whose recollection, after a sermon, has been quite as much about who was there, and who was not there, as it has been about what was in the sermon, and what was not in it. So this Pharisee’s eyes went gadding about, and he spied out the poor publican; but, after a contemptuous reference to him, he returned to the catalogue of his own virtues and excellences: —
Luk_18:12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
There his prayer ended, and he stood in a most enviable state of contentment, delighted with himself, lost in the contemplation of his own ineffable purity. I think I see him in all his glory, yet I quickly turn to the other part of the temple, further away from the most sacred place, for there I behold the true worshipper.
Luk_18:13. And the publican, standing afar off, —
Not afar off from the Pharisee only, but afar off from the sacred shrine, the innermost temple, as if unworthy to be there at all: “the publican, standing afar off,” —
Luk_18:13. Would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, —
That throne of the Highest, — as if even a glance from his unholy eyes might defile that sacred place. He bowed his eyes downward, as if to read in the earth the record of his sin; he did not dare to look up; —
Luk_18:13. But smote upon his breast, —
His heart smote him, and he smote upon his heart, —
Luk_18:13-14. Saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
The great Lord and Master acts as he would have his true servants do. It was said of some of them that they turned the world upside down, and that is exactly what he does. He abases those who exalt themselves, and he exalts those who abase themselves; he lifts up the lowly, and casts down them of high degree in their own estimation; and so shall it be to the end of the world.
Luk_18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
An old writer says that many of Christ’s parables need a key to unlock them. Here, the key hangs outside the door; for, at the very beginning of the parable we are told what Christ meant to teach by it: “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” And this is the parable: —
Luk_18:2. Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
It is a great pity for any city and for any country where the judges do not fear God, where they feel that they have been put into a high office in which they may do just as they please. There were such judges in the olden times even in this land; God grant that we may not see any more like them!
Luk_18:3. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
She had no friend to plead for her, she had nobody to help her; and, therefore, when she was robbed of her little patrimony, she went to the court, and asked the judge for justice.
Luk_18:4. And he would not for a while:
He preferred to be unjust; as he could do as he liked, he liked to do as he should not.
Luk_18:4-5. But afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
She seems to have gone to him so often that he grew quite fatigued and pained by her persistence; the Greek words are very expressive, as though she had beaten him in the eye, and so bruised him that he could not endure it any longer. Of course, the poor woman had not done anything of the kind; but the judge thus describes her continual importunity as a wounding of him, as an attacking of him, an assault upon him, for he had perhaps a little conscience left. He had, at least, enough honesty to confess that he did not fear God, nor regard man, and there are some, of whom that is true, who will not own to it; but this judge admitted it, and though he was but little troubled about it, he said, “that I may not be worried to death by this woman’s continual coming, I will grant her request, and avenge her of her adversary.”
Luk_18:6-7. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which I cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
He is no unjust judge; he is One who is perfectly holy, and just, and true, and who appears in a nearer and dearer character than that of judge, even as the One who chose his people from eternity. “Shall not God avenge his own elect?” Ay, that he will; only let them persevere in prayer, and “cry day and night unto him.”
Luk_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?
If anybody can find it, he can, for he is the Creator of it; yet, when he comes, there will be so little of it in proportion to what he deserves, and so little in proportion to the lovingkindness of the Lord, that it will seem as if even he could not find it, although, if there were only as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, he would be the first to spy it out.
Luk_18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
It seems as if these two things went together, and that, as our esteem of ourselves goes up, our esteem of others goes down; the scales seem to work that way.
Luk_18:10. Two men went up into the temple to pray;
It was the place that was specially dedicated for prayer; it was the place where God had promised to meet with suppliants. They did well, in those days, to go up into the temple to pray to God, though, in these days, —
“
And every place is hallowed ground.”
Luk_18:10-11. The one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 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 possible that this was all true; we have no indication that he was a hypocrite, and if what he said was true, there was something in it for which he might well thank God. It was a great mercy not to be an extortioner, nor unjust, nor an adulterer, but what spoilt his expression of thankfulness was that back-handed blow at the other man who was praying in the same temple: “or even as this publican.” What had the Pharisee to do with him? He had quite enough to occupy his thoughts if he could only see himself as he really was in God’s sight.
Luk_18:12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Observe that there is no prayer in all that the Pharisee said. There was a great deal of self-righteousness and self-congratulation; but nothing else. There was certainly no prayer at all in it.
Luk_18:13. And the publican, standing afar off, —
Just on the edge of the crowd, keeping as far away as he could from the most holy place, —
Luk_18:13. Would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
That was all prayer; it was a prayer for mercy, it was a prayer in which the suppliant took his right place, for he was, as he said, “a sinner.” He does not describe himself as a penitent sinner, or as a praying sinner, but simply as a sinner, and as a sinner he goes to God asking for mercy. Our English version does not give the full meaning of the publican’s prayer, it is, “God be propitious to me,” that is, “be gracious to me through the ordained sacrifice;” and that is one of the points of the prayer that made it so acceptable to God. There is a mention of the atonement in it, there is a pleading of the sacrificial blood. It was a real prayer, and an acceptable prayer, while the Pharisee’s boasting was not a prayer at all.
Luk_18:14. I tell you, this man —
This publican, sinner as he had been, though he had no broad phylacteries like the Pharisee had, though he may not have washed his hands before he came into the temple, as no doubt the Pharisee did, — this man, who could not congratulate himself upon his own excellence, “this man” —
Luk_18:14. Went down to his house justified rather than the other:
He obtained both justification and the peace of mind that comes from it. God smiled upon him, and set him at ease concerning his sin. The other man received no justification, he had not sought it, and he did not get it. He had a kind of spurious ease of mind when he went into the temple, and he probably carried it away with him, but he certainly was not justified in the sight of God.
Luk_18:14. For every one that exalted himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
God turns things upside down. If we think much of ourselves, he makes little of us, and if we make little of ourselves, we shall find that a humble and contrite heart he will not despise. May he teach us so to pray that we may go down to our house justified, as the publican was!
Luk_18:1-7. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
He hears their prayer a long time because it does not weary him. It pleases him, he loves to hear their sighs and cries, but will he not yield to their entreaties? What think you? Shall not the good, gracious, loving God yield at length?
Luk_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?
Faith enough to make such prayers as this; faith enough to pray with importunity? Oh, if we had faith enough to resolve to have a blessing, and determined never to cease crying to God until we had it, we should have far more favors than we have hitherto gained from our God.
Luk_18:9-12. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 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. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
A fine peacock, truly! See how he spreads out his feathers, and struts before God, glorifying himself.
Luk_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 sinner.
“The sinner,” it should be; it is so emphatically in the Greek. There is a Pharisee, the righteous man according to his own estimate, and all the rest were sinners. Here is the publican, he is the sinner, and he thinks everybody else is righteous. These were two very conspicuous individuals, the self-righteous man and the sinner; and they are both here tonight. I will not ask them to stand up; but no doubt they are both of them present. Now what became of them?
Luk_18:14. I tell you, this man —
The sinner —
Luk_18:14. 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.
It is God’s usual method to reverse what man does, and to turn things the other way upwards: “Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” You remember how the Virgin Mary, in her song, praised the Lord for this very habit of his: “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.” That is his regular way of working, and he will continue so to do.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 122 and Luk_18:1-14.