18 1Then Jesus taught the followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. He used this story to teach them: 2"Once there was a judge in a town. He did not care about God. He also did not care what people thought about him. 3In that same town there was a woman whose husband had died. She came many times to this judge and said, 'There is a man who is doing bad things to me. Give me my rights!' 4But the judge did not want to help the woman. After a long time, the judge thought to himself, 'I don't care about God. And I don't care about what people think. 5But this woman is bothering me. If I give her what she wants, then she will leave me alone. But if I don't give her what she wants, she will bother me until I am sick.'"6The Lord said, "Listen, there is meaning in what the bad judge said. 7God's people shout to him night and day, and he will always give them what is right. He will not be slow to answer them. 8I tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Mana comes again, will he find people on earth who believe in him?" 13"The tax collector stood alone too. But when he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He felt very humble before God. He said, 'O God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!' 14I tell you, when this man finished his prayer and went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee, who felt that he was better than others, was not right with God. People who make themselves important will be made humble. But those who make themselves humble will be made important." 19Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 20And you know his commands: 'You must not commit adulterye, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, you must respect your father and mother ….'"i 21But the leader said, "I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy." 22When Jesus heard this, he said to the leader, "But there is still one thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the money to those who are poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me." 23But when the man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn't want to do this, because he was very rich. 24When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, "It will be very hard for rich people to enter God's kingdomh. 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's kingdom." 27Jesus answered, "God can do things that are not possible for people to do." 28Peter said, "Look, we left everything we had and followed you." 29Jesus said, "I can promise that everyone who has left their home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for God's kingdomh 30will get much more than they left. They will get many times more in this life. And in the world that is coming they will get the reward of eternal life." 37They told him, "Jesus, the one from Nazareth, is coming here." 38The blind man was excited and said, "Jesus, Son of Davidl, please help me!" 39The people who were in front leading the group criticized the blind man. They told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, "Son of David, please help me!" 40Jesus stopped there and said, "Bring that man to me!" When he came close, Jesus asked him, 41"What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, I want to see again." 42Jesus said to him, "You can see now. You are healed because you believed." 43Then the man was able to see. He followed Jesus, thanking God. Everyone who saw this praised God for what happened. aSon of Man The name that Jesus most often used for himself. The phrase in Hebrew or Aramaic means “human being” or “mankind,” but in Dan. 7:13-14 it is used of a future savior and king, and this was later understood to be the Messiah, the one God would send to save his people. bPharisee A person who belonged to a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. ctax collector A Jew hired by the Romans to collect taxes. Tax collectors often cheated, and the other Jews hated them. dTemple The permanent building in Jerusalem that replaced the portable “Holy Tent” that was used by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the desert to the reign of King Solomon, when the first Temple was built. Like the Holy Tent, the Temple was the center of Israelite worship, although provision was made for it to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7). eadultery Breaking a marriage promise by committing sexual sin. ffast To live without food for a time of prayer or mourning. glay hands on This act was a way of asking God to bless people in a special way - to heal them, to cause the Holy Spirit to come into them, or to give them power for a special work. hGod’s kingdom The “reign” or “rule” of God over all people who submit to him by accepting Jesus as the Messiah (the appointed king), who represents God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus was the perfect example of submission to the will of God. When people give control of their lives to Jesus, they become part of God’s kingdom and begin to enjoy the blessings he has promised his people from the beginning. (Note that in Matthew this term also translates the Greek word “kingdom” by itself or the phrase, “the kingdom of the heavens,” which was used by Jews as a way to avoid saying the divine name.) i18:20 Quote from Ex. 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20. japostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul’s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of “messenger” or “representative.” kprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say. lSon of David A name for the Messiah (Christ) because it was prophesied that he would come from the family of David. See “David.” |