Apr 7, 20226 min read

The Parables of the Persistent Widow & the Pharisee and Tax Collector. Bible Study. Luke Ch 18 Pt 1

Here is a teaching on part 1 of chapter 18 of the book of Luke. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our minds, and our hearts to you Lord. Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Luke Chapter 18 Part 1:

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Alright, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So first I just want to point out that the word adversary means "one's opponent as in a suit at law." So this judge didn't fear God or care about people, but because of the woman's persistence, he gave in to her request for justice. In verses 6-8, God loves us unconditionally and He's full of mercy, grace, and righteousness. God will bring justice to those who continually pray to Him. We have to be consistent in prayer and present our requests to God. In verse 8, unless we know God and we pray continually without giving up then we won't have the kind of faith that Jesus, the Son of Man, will look for whenever he comes back for his people. In our Bible study in part 1 of chapter 17 of the book of Luke, we saw about having the faith of a mustard seed. It's not about how much faith someone has, but the kind of faith that we have.

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So in these verses, we can't look down on others or try to praise ourselves for the good that we do. Whenever we pray to God we have to humble ourselves under his mighty hand. God knows everything, He knows what's in our hearts, He knows everything that we've done, and it does no good for us to try and praise ourselves to God. Our deeds won't get us to heaven. We are all sinners and we all make mistakes. We have to humble ourselves and know that Jesus is the only way to heaven.

This Pharisee tried to exalt himself and talk about all of the things that he does and how he's grateful that he's not like other sinners, But the tax collector humbled himself, acknowledged his guilt, and he will have more justice than the Pharisee that tries to praise himself. In verse 14 when Jesus said "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted," he also said that in our Bible study from chapter 14 of the book of Luke.

Oh hey friend, sorry to interrupt this blog post, but I just wanted to remind you guys that "Christ Transforms Me," my 90-day journal is available for purchase on Amazon. Until further notice, all of the money that I receive from the purchases of that journal will be donated for the disaster relief of the people that were affected by the tornadoes that hit my hometown in Kentucky. To learn more about the journal or to purchase one, go to www.faithfuelsmyfire.com/journal

15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 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. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Alright, so those are all of the verses of part 1 of chapter 18 of the book of Luke, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. Children are innocent and they have so much to learn. The older that we get, the more set in our ways we can get and it can affect us negatively whenever we are trying to learn new things. We are all God's children and we should always be open to learning about God and the teachings of Jesus Christ, just like a child is open to learning new things. Also, another thing about children is that they are often fearless and we have to fearlessly go after Jesus, follow him, humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, and joyfully receive Jesus. We have to let go of our pride, greed, and sinful nature and receive Jesus openly just like a child.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. We have to pray continually and not give up

2. We shouldn't look down on others

3. We have to be open to learning about God and the teachings of Jesus, just like a child

Luke Ch 18 Part 1 Study Guide

Why should we be consistent in prayer?
Why is it important to humble ourselves?
What is the only way to heaven?
In verse 17, what does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like a little child?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on part 1 of chapter 18 of the Book of Luke. Tomorrow we're going to go into part 2, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.

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