10 `Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer;
And Peter and John were going up at the same time to the temple, at the hour of the prayer, the ninth `hour',
`Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens -- and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,
And Hezekiah saith unto Isaiah, `What `is' the sign that Jehovah doth give healing to me, that I have gone up on the third day to the house of Jehovah?'
which of the two did the will of the father?' They say to him, `The first.' Jesus saith to them, `Verily I say to you, that the tax-gatherers and the harlots do go before you into the reign of God, for John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye did not believe him, and the tax-gatherers and the harlots did believe him, and ye, having seen, repented not at last -- to believe him.
And all the people having heard, and the tax-gatherers, declared God righteous, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees, and the lawyers, the counsel of God did put away for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
saying to them, `It hath been written, My house is a house of prayer -- but ye made it a den of robbers.'
and Paul having known that the one part are Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the sanhedrim, `Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee -- son of a Pharisee -- concerning hope and rising again of dead men I am judged.' And he having spoken this, there came a dissension of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and the crowd was divided, for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both.
knowing me before from the first, (if they may be willing to testify,) that after the most exact sect of our worship, I lived a Pharisee;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Luke 18
Commentary on Luke 18 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 18
In this chapter we have,
And these four passages we had before in Matthew and Mark.
Luk 18:1-8
This parable has its key hanging at the door; the drift and design of it are prefixed. Christ spoke it with this intent, to teach us that men ought always to pray and not to faint, v. 1. It supposes that all God's people are praying people; all God's children keep up both a constant and an occasional correspondence with him, send to him statedly, and upon every emergency. It is our privilege and honour that we may pray. It is our duty; we ought to pray, we sin if we neglect it. It is to be our constant work; we ought always to pray, it is that which the duty of every day requires. We must pray, and never grow weary of praying, nor think of leaving it off till it comes to be swallowed up in everlasting praise. But that which seems particularly designed here is to teach us constancy and perseverance in our requests for some spiritual mercies that we are in pursuit of, relating either to ourselves or to the church of God. When we are praying for strength against our spiritual enemies, our lusts and corruptions, which are our worst enemies, we must continue instant in prayer, must pray and not faint, for we shall not seek God's face in vain. So we must likewise in our prayers for the deliverance of the people of God out of the hands of their persecutors and oppressors.
Luk 18:9-14
The scope of this parable likewise is prefixed to it, and we are told (v. 9) who they were whom it was levelled at, and for whom it was calculated. He designed it for the conviction of some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. They were such as had,
Luk 18:15-17
This passage of story we had both in Matthew and Mark; it very fitly follows here after the story of the publican, as a confirmation of the truth which was to be illustrated by that parable, that those shall be accepted with God, and honoured, who humble themselves, and for them Christ has blessings in store, the choicest and best of blessings. Observe here,
Luk 18:18-30
In these verses we have,
Luk 18:31-34
Here is,
Luk 18:35-43
Christ came not only to bring light to a dark world, and so to set before us the objects we are to have in view, but also to give sight to blind souls, and by healing the organ to enable them to view those objects. As a token of this, he cured many of their bodily blindness: we have now an account of one to whom he gave sight near Jericho. Mark gives us an account of one, and names him, whom he cured as he went out of Jericho, Mk. 10:46. Matthew speaks of two whom he cured as they departed from Jericho, Mt. 20:30. Luke says it was en toµ engizein auton-when he was near to Jericho, which might be when he was going out of it as well as when he was coming into it. Observe,