Luke 18

18 ¹Then Jesus told them a parable about the need to always pray and never lose heart.

²"In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. ³A widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' ⁴For a while he refused, but then said to himself, 'Though I don't fear God nor respect people, ⁵since this widow keeps troubling me, I'll grant her justice, so she doesn't wear me out with her endless visits.'"

⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷Won't our Father bring justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he keep delaying? ⁸I tell you, he will grant them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

The Humble Heart Finds Mercy

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves as righteous and despised everyone else:

¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you I'm not like other people—robbers, wrongdoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.' ¹²'I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, 'our Father, have mercy on me, a sinner.' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went to his home justified, not the other. Everyone who lifts himself up will be humbled; the one who humbles himself will be lifted up."

The Father's Kingdom Belongs to Children

¹⁵People were even bringing their infants to him to touch them, but the disciples saw this and warned them off.

¹⁶But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me; don't stop them—the kingdom of our Father belongs to ones like these. ¹⁷Truly I tell you: whoever doesn't accept the kingdom of our Father like a little child will never enter it."

The One Thing Wealth Cannot Buy

¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁹Jesus said to him, "Why call me good? No one is good except our Father alone. ^a a v19 Jesus points the young man's heart to our Father as the source of all goodness—not denying his own goodness, but turning the man toward the Father.

²⁰You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Honor your father and mother.'"

²¹"All these I have kept since my youth," he said.

²²Hearing this, Jesus said, "One thing you still lack: sell all you own, give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

²³But when he heard this, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the wealthy to enter our Father's kingdom! ²⁵For it's easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich person to enter our Father's kingdom."

²⁶Those who heard it asked, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷But he said, "What is impossible for people is possible for our Father."

²⁸Then Peter said, "Look, we have left our own homes and followed you."

²⁹He said to them, "Truly I tell you: no one has left house, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of our Father's kingdom, ³⁰who will not receive many times more now, and eternal life in the age to come."

The Son of Man Goes to the Cross

³¹He took the Twelve aside and said, "Look, we're going up to Jerusalem, and all the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³²For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted, and spit on. ³³They will flog him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise."

³⁴But they understood none of this; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Sight Restored by the Father's Son

³⁵As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶Hearing a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." ³⁸So he called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" ³⁹Those who were in front rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered him brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked,

⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me see again."

⁴²And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has saved you."

⁴³At once he could see and followed Jesus, glorifying our Father. All the people who saw it praised our Father too.