Luke 18 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Luke [music] 18:1
2. 0:02Now he was telling them a parable to
3. 0:04show that at all times [music] they
4. 0:06ought to pray and not to lose heart
5. 0:10saying in a certain city there was a
6. 0:13judge who did not fear God and did not
7. 0:16respect men. There was a widow in that
8. 0:19city and she kept coming to him saying
9. 0:23give me legal protection from my [music]
10. 0:25opponent.
11. 0:28For a while he was unwilling.
12. 0:31But afterwards he said to himself,
13. 0:33[music]
14. 0:34"Even though I do not fear God nor
15. 0:36respect man, yet because this widow
16. 0:39[music] bothers me, I will give her
17. 0:41legal protection. Otherwise, by
18. 0:44constantly coming, she [music] will wear
19. 0:46me out."
20. 0:48And the Lord said, "Hear what the
21. 0:51unrighteous [music] judge said.
22. 0:53Now, will not God bring justice for his
23. 0:57elect who cry to him day and night? And
24. 1:02will he delay long over them? I tell
25. 1:05you, he will bring about justice for
26. 1:07them quickly. However, when the son of
27. 1:10man comes, will he find faith on the
28. 1:13earth?
29. 1:16So in this parable, Jesus is not at all
30. 1:19suggesting that God is unjust.
31. 1:22But he is suggesting [music] that
32. 1:24sometimes God feels unjust to us in the
33. 1:28way he waits and delays to answer our
34. 1:32prayer. And his point is that we should
35. 1:36keep faith alive [music] and not quit
36. 1:38praying.
37. 1:39But Jesus is saying that we've got to be
38. 1:43as persistent as that poor widow. Not
39. 1:48because God is unjust. [music] God is
40. 1:50not unjust. But because God's delay
41. 1:53feels like injustice to us. And he says
42. 1:57we've got to keep knocking. We got to
43. 1:59keep asking. We got to keep praying. And
44. 2:01we got to put the delay part in God's
45. 2:03hands. But we have got to be vigilant to
46. 2:07stay after him. And through persistence,
47. 2:10through patience,
48. 2:12we will keep our prayers alive and we
49. 2:15will keep our faith alive. And then when
50. 2:18he [music] comes,
51. 2:20he will find faith on the earth.
52. 2:25And he also told this parable to some
53. 2:27people who trusted in themselves that
54. 2:29they were righteous and viewed others
55. 2:32with contempt.
56. 2:35Two men went up to the temple to pray,
57. 2:38one a Pharisee and the other a tax
58. 2:41collector. The Pharisee stood and was
59. 2:45praying this to himself.
60. 2:48God, I thank you that I am not like
61. 2:52other people,
62. 2:55swindlers,
63. 2:56unjust,
64. 2:58adulterers,
65. 3:00or even like this tax collector.
66. 3:03I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all
67. 3:08that I get.
68. 3:12But the tax collector, standing some
69. 3:15distance away,
70. 3:17was even unwilling to lift up his eyes
71. 3:20to heaven,
72. 3:21but was beating his breast, saying,
73. 3:24"God,
74. 3:26be merciful to me, the sinner."
75. 3:31And then Jesus says, "I tell you, this
76. 3:35man went to his house justified
77. 3:39rather than the other.
78. 3:41For everyone who exalts himself will be
79. 3:44humbled, but he who humbles himself will
80. 3:48be exalted."
81. 3:50So in this story
82. 3:53Jesus says that there are people who
83. 3:56justify
84. 3:58themselves
85. 4:00and [clears throat] imagine that they
86. 4:01are righteous and they view others with
87. 4:04contempt.
88. 4:06So the Pharisee tells God first what he
89. 4:09doesn't do.
90. 4:10I don't swindle. I don't commit
91. 4:13injustice. I don't commit adultery. I'm
92. 4:17not like this tax collector. And then he
93. 4:19tells God what he does do.
94. 4:21I fast twice a week. I pay tithes.
95. 4:26So this is where his trust is. His trust
96. 4:30is not in God.
97. 4:32His love is not in God. It's in himself.
98. 4:35He trusts in himself.
99. 4:38And the tax collector is completely
100. 4:41different. Let's look at how the tax
101. 4:43collector behaves. The tax collector is
102. 4:46standing some distance away.
103. 4:51So, he still honors God's presence. He
104. 4:54still feels the shame of his own sin.
105. 4:59He still feels the fear of God.
106. 5:03So much more honor is in his heart for
107. 5:05God.
108. 5:07And he's not willing to lift up his
109. 5:09eyes. He is ashamed.
110. 5:15He's beating his breast.
111. 5:20He sees who he is in the light of God's
112. 5:23presence, God's glory,
113. 5:26and he says, "God,
114. 5:29be merciful to me, for I know who I am.
115. 5:32I know what I am. I am a sinner." His
116. 5:36whole relationship with God is right
117. 5:40because he remembers who God is. He
118. 5:42honors who God is. He believes in who
119. 5:45God is. And he knows who he is. He is
120. 5:48nothing. He is broken. He is unworthy.
121. 5:52He is a sinner.
122. 5:54And he goes home justified. And the
123. 5:57other man goes home condemned.
124. 6:02and they were bringing even their babies
125. 6:04to him so that he would touch them. But
126. 6:07when the disciples saw it, they began
127. 6:09rebuking them. But Jesus called for
128. 6:11them, saying, "Permit the children to
129. 6:13come to me, and do not hinder them, for
130. 6:15the kingdom of God belongs to such as
131. 6:18these. Truly I say to you, whoever does
132. 6:21not receive the kingdom of God like a
133. 6:24child will not enter it at all." So this
134. 6:28is doubling down on the same pride that
135. 6:32the Pharisee had. Jesus is saying if you
136. 6:35don't come like a child,
137. 6:38if you don't feel the joy of a child, if
138. 6:41you don't feel the humility of the
139. 6:43child, if you don't run to your father,
140. 6:45if you don't feel the weakness of a
141. 6:47child,
142. 6:49you're not going to enter.
143. 6:51A ruler questioned him, saying, "Good
144. 6:53teacher, what shall I do to inherit
145. 6:55eternal life?" And Jesus said to him,
146. 6:58"Why do you call me good? No one is good
147. 7:00except God alone. You know the
148. 7:02commandments."
149. 7:04Do not commit adultery. Do not murder.
150. 7:07Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.
151. 7:09Honor your father and mother. Now, these
152. 7:12are exactly the commandments that the
153. 7:14Pharisee just mentioned that he
154. 7:16observes.
155. 7:19And Jesus knows they're not enough. But
156. 7:22he wants to see if the ruler knows
157. 7:23they're not enough.
158. 7:25And he said, "All these things I have
159. 7:28kept from my youth." Well, there's your
160. 7:30pride. When Jesus heard this, he said to
161. 7:33him, "One thing you still lack.
162. 7:39Sell all that you possess and distribute
163. 7:42it to the poor and you shall have
164. 7:44treasure in heaven and come follow me."
165. 7:48He told him, "You lack something."
166. 7:51He asked for eternal life and he said,
167. 7:53"You lack something." But then he told
168. 7:55him to sell things. How do you gain
169. 7:57something? By selling something.
170. 7:59Only if the things that you sell have
171. 8:02become substitutes for what you lack.
172. 8:05And what this man lacked was faith to
173. 8:09follow Jesus.
174. 8:11He didn't have a guiding light in his
175. 8:14life. He didn't have the joy of being
176. 8:17part of the Jesus band.
177. 8:20But he couldn't be part of that until he
178. 8:23gave up the idols that had taken the
179. 8:26place of following Jesus. He was
180. 8:29following his possessions like Peter was
181. 8:32following Jesus. So the thing that he
182. 8:34lacked was being part of Jesus's band.
183. 8:38He says, "Sell everything you lack and
184. 8:40come follow me and you're going to have
185. 8:42treasure in heaven."
186. 8:44But when he heard these things, he
187. 8:46became very sad, for he was extremely
188. 8:48rich.
189. 8:50And Jesus looked at him and said, "How
190. 8:53hard it is for those who are wealthy to
191. 8:56enter the kingdom of God."
192. 8:58You want to enter that place where
193. 9:00there's righteousness, peace, and joy in
194. 9:02the Holy Spirit. You want to enter that
195. 9:04place where the kingdom and the reign of
196. 9:07God is inside of you. You want to enter
197. 9:10that place where you don't brag to God
198. 9:12about all the things you haven't done
199. 9:13and all the things you have done since
200. 9:15your youth. You want to enter that place
201. 9:18where you find what you lack. You become
202. 9:20part of the team. You find your purpose.
203. 9:23You find your your your team. You find
204. 9:26your brothers. You find your Lord.
205. 9:30You got to stop putting your trust in
206. 9:33your wealth. He says, "It is easier for
207. 9:35a camel to go through the eye of a
208. 9:36needle than for a rich man to enter the
209. 9:38kingdom of God."
210. 9:40The eye of the needle was the name for a
211. 9:42very small door in the great big gate to
212. 9:46the city of Jerusalem. And at nighttime,
213. 9:48[clears throat] when the big gates of
214. 9:50the city were shut, they would open a
215. 9:52small gate. But only a man could get
216. 9:55through. But sometimes a camel could get
217. 9:57through if he got down on his knees and
218. 10:00wiggled through. and if they took off
219. 10:02all the baggage on his back. So he's
220. 10:06Jesus is saying you're going to have to
221. 10:07get down on your knees and you're going
222. 10:09to have to lose all the things you think
223. 10:11you've gained, all the baggage on your
224. 10:13back, but you can get through the eye of
225. 10:15the needle. They who heard it said,
226. 10:18"Then who can be saved?" Because they
227. 10:21thought the rich were the closest to the
228. 10:24kingdom of God. [snorts] But he said to
229. 10:27them, "The things that are impossible
230. 10:29with people are possible with God."
231. 10:32Peter said, "Behold, we have left our
232. 10:34own homes and followed you."
233. 10:38And he said to them, "Truly I say to
234. 10:39you, there is no one who has left house
235. 10:44or wife or brothers or parents or
236. 10:47children for the sake of the kingdom of
237. 10:50God
238. 10:51who will not receive many times as much
239. 10:55at this time and in the age to come
240. 10:59eternal life."
241. 11:01Then he took the twel aside and said to
242. 11:04them, "Behold, we are going up to
243. 11:06Jerusalem, and all things which are
244. 11:08written through the prophets about the
245. 11:10Son of Man will be accomplished, for he
246. 11:13will be handed over to the Gentiles, and
247. 11:16will be mocked and mistreated and spit
248. 11:19upon, and after they have scourged him,
249. 11:23they will kill him.
250. 11:25And the third day he will rise again."
251. 11:30But the disciples understood none of
252. 11:32these things, and the meaning of this
253. 11:34statement was hidden from them, and they
254. 11:37did not comprehend the things that were
255. 11:40said.
256. 11:42As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a
257. 11:44blind man was sitting by the road
258. 11:46begging.
259. 11:47Now, hearing a crowd going by, he began
260. 11:50to inquire what this was. They told him
261. 11:54that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by
262. 11:57and he called out saying, "Jesus, son of
263. 12:00David, have mercy on me."
264. 12:03Those who led the way were sternly
265. 12:06telling him to be quiet. But he kept
266. 12:08crying out all the more, "Son of David,
267. 12:12have mercy on me."
268. 12:15And Jesus stopped and commanded that he
269. 12:18[clears throat] be brought to him. And
270. 12:19when he came near, he questioned him,
271. 12:22"What do [music] you want me to do for
272. 12:23you?" And he said,"Lord, I want to
273. 12:26regain my sight."
274. 12:29And Jesus said to him, "Receive your
275. 12:31sight. Your faith has made you well."
276. 12:35Immediately he regained his sight and
277. 12:37began following him, glorifying God. And
278. 12:41when all the people saw it, they gave
279. 12:43praise to God.
280. 12:45So Jesus is starting out on a journey
281. 12:47and the journey is a journey of total
282. 12:49sacrifice.
283. 12:51You can't come and follow him unless
284. 12:55you're willing to give up everything
285. 12:57else. And a rich man tries to follow and
286. 13:00that's really what he lacks. He's not
287. 13:03part of the journey with Jesus. But
288. 13:06Jesus says, "You can't follow me until
289. 13:07you sell everything." And the rich man
290. 13:09walks away sad because it's hard to give
291. 13:13up your substitutes, your idols, and
292. 13:16come follow Jesus.
293. 13:18But Peter says, "We've abandoned
294. 13:20everything. We've given up houses to
295. 13:22follow you." And Jesus says, "And you're
296. 13:24going to find a hundred times more than
297. 13:26you've given up in this life and in the
298. 13:28life to come." But then Jesus tells
299. 13:31them, "Where I'm going is a place of
300. 13:33total sacrifice. They're going to spit
301. 13:35on me. They're going to mock me. and
302. 13:37they're going to kill me, but I'm going
303. 13:39to rise again. And that's where
304. 13:41ultimately all of you are following me
305. 13:43to. You're following me to pain and
306. 13:46sacrifice, misunderstanding, [music]
307. 13:48betrayal, and death. But you're also
308. 13:51following me to resurrection and
309. 13:53indestructible life.
310. 13:56So then we end with a man who is able to
311. 14:00find what he lacks. The rich man said,
312. 14:03"I lack something, but he never found
313. 14:05it. He never was able to follow. But
314. 14:07Baremus, the blind beggar,
315. 14:11he ends up crying [snorts]
316. 14:13out and he ends up being healed and he
317. 14:17ends up following and everyone is
318. 14:20glorifying God.
319. 14:23[music]