Story of Jesus, December 18th

Luke Chapter 18

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show them that they should always pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

For a while he refused, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!'”

Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says and learn a lesson from him. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

He also told this story to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else. Jesus said, “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a despised a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people; cheaters, sinners, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of all I get.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, for I am a sinner.’

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

People were also bringing their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.

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. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child with total dependence, full trust, frank openness, and complete sincerity will never enter it.”

Once a religious teacher asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.'”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”

He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he recovered his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.