Luke 18

Several compelling parables here. The parable of the persistent widow is framed by two great verses: Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up...... "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" I still find it amazing that Jesus tells us to pray this way. We talked about the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector early on in our semester together. They went up to the temple "to pray" meaning to worship God. In the shadow of the sacrifice system, the tax collector prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." To Jesus' Jewish audience, that's really significant.

(18:22) The call to be a talmid of Jesus supercedes any and every other thing. For this man, his great wealth held him back.

(18:38-43) Again with the theme of faith leading Jesus to act with power. Given the title that this man calls Jesus ("Son of David") I'm not convinced that this man had a clear understanding of Jesus' mission. The zealots would have seen Jesus as the "Son of David" coming to kick the Romans out. Even so, this man's confession of Jesus as the Messiah, even apparently not a complete understanding is recognized by Jesus as faith. A comforting thought, indeed.