Luke 18 - How to Receive from God

Question:

1. What do we learn from the parable about the widow who pesters the unjust judge until she gets what she wants?

   1. If we pray and keep on praying, we will get what we want from God.

   2. If an unrighteous judge gives a persistent widow what she asks, our Father will give us justice swiftly when we cry out to Him.

   3. When we have persistent faith and continue in prayer, God will answer our prayers.

Jesus tells three parables related to how we can receive from God in Luke 18, then answers a question about receiving Heaven, and heals a blind man to confirm that these instructions are from God.

The first parable is about a widow who pesters an unrighteous king for justice. The king states he will give her what she asks because her persistent asking will wear him down. Jesus follows the parable with this statement:

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:6-8 ESV)

Many had claimed that Jesus is telling us that we will receive what we want, as long as we persist in prayer. If we look at persistent prayer as a way to “get what we want,” then we are placing what we desire above God: we are trying to force Him to follow our will instead of submitting to His will.

We must consider the word Jesus uses twice: justice, which means what is fair and right, what brings righteousness. It is the Greek word ekdikēsis, and although it is translated as both justice and vengeance, it also means meting out justice; doing justice to all parties. God will not take vengeance or remove a punishment unless it is fair and righteous.

Answer: B

The wicked will give someone what they want because they continually demand it, regardless of whether it is right or not. God is the Just and Righteous Judge. He only delivers justice, and He does so speedily when His people cry out to Him. If you are not receiving an answer to your prayer, continuing to demand that God act may not be the answer. Perhaps there is something you need to change in your life so that you are aligned with righteousness, God’s way of doing things, then He will act speedily!

Question:

2. What is required to receive help from God?

1. Trusting in, relying on, and clinging to God, and God alone.

2. Giving tithes and large offerings to God.

3. Making sure you have followed the Ten Commandments and fasts often.

Jesus followed the parable with another one to illustrate exactly what type of prayer will be received by God.

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, 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 who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14 ESV)

The Pharisee prayed a self-righteous prayer. He was glorifying his works and promoting himself instead of focusing on how great God is. If we pray to prove that we should receive something from God, then we have prayed a prayer to exalt ourselves.

The tax collector knew how awesome and righteous God is and how inadequate he was in comparison. A humble attitude causes us to lean on and trust in God for His grace and mercy, knowing that we have done nothing to deserve a healing, blessing, or even making it to Heaven. We see that this attitude is what is necessary to receive healing because of how people approached Jesus:

And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2 ESV)

This is the attitude of every person who sought healing from Jesus. Like this leper, most knelt before Jesus as a sign of honoring and submitting to Him as being greater than they are. Next, they asked for healing and stated His ability to do it. They didn’t demand healing, they didn’t declare that they were healed, they ASKED for it, “if it was HIS will.”

The only exception to this was the woman who touched the fringe of Jesus’ garment. In that particular case, it was the Holy Spirit to urged her to get close to Jesus, close enough to touch the hem of his robe. When she followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, her faith in His ability, which drove her to go to where He was, at great risk to herself, made her whole. If we are determined to be where Jesus is, that may also bring healing.

After giving these two parables, Luke recounts the fact that people were bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed. When the disciples tried to shoo them away, Jesus said this:

But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17 ESV)

Two important facts are given in a few short sentences. First, little children go to Heaven! Because Israel is God’s nation and He taught them His ways, we can look at Judaism for many insights about our Heavenly Father and His ways. Judaism supports this conclusion: kids under the age of twelve are below the age of accountability and will go to Heaven when they die. After the age of twelve, they are responsible for knowing right from wrong.

Next, we see that we must have a childlike attitude if we are going to get into Heaven. What does that mean? We refer to God as our “Father,” and we need to consider that we are like a child in comparison:

1. God loves us.

   1. He took part of Himself to become the perfect Man, Jesus, so that He could pay for the sins we commit and be in our lives now, and we could be with Him in Heaven.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

2. God knows way more than we do.

1. Even if He doesn’t always explain why we should do something, we should do what He says.

   1. Has your parent even said to do it, “Because I told you to?”

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

3. God is bigger and stronger than we are.

1. God can do things that seem impossible to us.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 ESV)

4. Like a good father, God corrects and disciplines us because He loves us.

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of His reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom He loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV)

When we remember these aspects of our Heavenly Father, when we have childlike faith in God to do all things for our good as an earthly father would, then we remain humble. Even if we don’t know why something is happening, we will trust in Him. We won’t throw a fit and demand what we want; instead, we will run to Him, share our lives with Him, and ask, knowing that He knows what is best!

The next event recorded in this chapter reveals just how much we must depend on God to get into Heaven and what real faith in God looks like. A ruler approached Jesus and asked what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus asks the ruler if he is obeying the commandments that pertain to his actions with other people: murder, stealing, lying, and honoring his father and mother. The ruler confirms that he was obeying the Ten Commandments when it came to other people. Next, Jesus said something startling:

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Luke 18:22 ESV)

What an awesome opportunity! Jesus was inviting this man to come and be His disciple. What kept him from following Jesus, his money.

But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! (Luke 18:23-24 ESV)

The Greek word echō is translated as to “have” money, but it more fully means to adhere or cling to. God doesn’t expect us to give all that we have to the poor to receive eternal life? But God knows our hearts. He knew this man was clinging to and trusting in money more than God. This is considered idolatry and violates the second commandment about idolatry. There is only one thing we should cling to and rely on:

Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; (John 11:25 AMPC)

Answer: A

When the Bible says we must “believe in” Jesus, it means we must trust in, cling to, and rely on Him: this is when God will hear and answer our prayers. We cannot pay the price for our sins, but Jesus did. It isn’t about doing everything right; that is self-righteousness. It isn’t about how much we give. It is about being like a child and humbly relying on God.

This is why it is hard for a rich man to go to Heaven, because when you have a lot of money, it is hard not to cling to it as your answer to every problem. Giving the money away was only necessary because he had clung to it as his answer.

After teaching people God’s ways in the first half of this chapter, Luke recounts how Jesus carried them out. He recounted to the disciples a third time how he would be crucified. He is the Son of God, and He submitted to the will of the Father. Yes, He asked three times for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him the night before going to the cross, but Jesus always ended those requests with, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”

The final event in this chapter clearly illustrates these principles in action. When a blind man heard that Jesus was passing by, he took action:

And he (a blind man) cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when He came near, He asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Luke 18:38-43 ESV)

Prophecy said that a “Son of David” would be the Messiah. This man was calling out, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah in faith and asking for mercy. When we ask for mercy, we recognize that we have done wrong. He didn’t try to justify his actions; he just knew that Jesus was close and continued to cry out for mercy. God acted swiftly, and the blind man received his sight!

These are two crucial steps in receiving from God. First, we must know that God is near. Then we must cry out, knowing that we need His mercy. This is how great our God is. If you need help knowing God is near, it is time to begin learning about Him! He is able to do amazing things if we go to where He is!