I fast twice per Sabbath, I pay a tenth of everything that I aquire.

Luke 18:12

The Pharisee was very impressed with himself and felt God should be as well. Outlining good deeds, he sought to qualify himself as a very righteous individual.

Fasting twice a week was not required in the law. There were required fasts, but not with this regularity. The tithe was the law, though the Pharisees tended to make paying it an art form. They would bend over backwards to ensure a tenth of absolutely everything was paid.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the abundant gifts You have blessed us with. Our obedience to Your commands is only a just response to Your goodness. We are not righteous and are nothing on our own. But I praise You for Christ! By Him alone we may come to You and live in His righteousness. To be righteous is a wonderful blessing, but it is nothing we could ever earn, and wholely trust in Christ for it. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

The Pharisee, having stood to himself, was praying like this, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortionists, lawbreakers, adulterers, or even as this customs official.’

Luke 18:11

This Pharisee was providing the Lord with a laundry list of his own sins. The Pharisees were a sort of racketeering group that had set up shop and were able to extort from any one that they pleased. Although many of them pretended to be unaware of their own hypocrisy, they knew exactly what they were doing.

The Pharisee goes on to say that he was not a lawbreaker or an adulterer. These two convey the idea of those who are not keeping the law, and those who are spiritually unfaithful to God, both sins of which the Pharisees were guilty.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us. Though we are so often hypocritical, You work in our lives. Without the grace brought to our lives by the cross, and the Holy Spirit living within us, we could never defeat sin. You have made a way to escape the horrible fate to whcih we would otherwise succumb. We will sing of your glory in this for all of eternity! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one was a Pharisee, and the other was a customs officer.

Luke 18:10

Those among the Jews who had taken up the mantle of the customs official for the Romans were hated in more ways than one. Viewed as traitors, they were considered the apex of sinfulness by the religious elite. They often enriched themselves by exacting more than their due.

The Pharisee on the other hand was a special breed of the religious oligarchy that actually had a fairly biblical view for the most part. Where they lacked was in their application of the law. Hypocrites to an extraordinary degree, they would enrich themselves to the detriment of the poor, homeless, and widowed.

Going up to the temple was possibly a special event for the tax man. He may not have visited on a regular basis. In any event, a visit to the temple was a privilege.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the great blessings that You give us every single day! Your mercy, and Your grace, are absolutely overwhelming. May we live to praise You! Guide us with Your great wisdom, and in Your profound love. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves and treated others with contempt, convinced that they were righteous.

Luke 18:9

The hight of hubris! And yet this is so common a feeling among our proud species. We are so often full of our own conceit and think others are far worse than ourselves. This tendency is at the root of why we are condemned from birth. In our hearts we swell with pride and think that we are right regardless of any evidence found to the contrary.

Very many choose not to glorifiy God and bring Him constant praise, feeling that nobody is worthy of that. And yet, these same will constantly praise themselves to themselves and among themselves. Mankind is always looking for the chance to give credit, and we will give it to ourselves if we find no other worthy object.

Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to serve You. Deliver us from pride! Remind us always that You are the Powerful and Glorious One. We are nothing, and yet blessed to know You. It is in that that we can find glory, not in ourselves, or our feelings about ourself. We praise You for ever! In the Name of Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

I tell you that He will accommplish vengance quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes will he really find faith on the earth?

Luke 18:8

This is perhaps one of the most unsettling verses in all of Scripture. Though on the one hand it is great to have assurance of God’s judgement of evil, on the other the Lord is encouraging us to be sure that faith survives. In other words, trusting in the Lord is the main thing. His timing for vengance is up to Him. Trusting He will do it is up to us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your precious promises. We will honor You for them by our belief in them. We believe what we value and know to be true. You are True and Faithful always regardless of what we do. You are worthy of praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Shall not God most assuredly accomplish vengace for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and be very patient with them?

Luke 18:7

This passage employs a double negative, which is allowed in Greek, and makes this question very ephatic. God will not by any means fail to do justice on behalf of His own. His patience is longsuffering and faithfull.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing love. Your patience is greater than anything we could possibly hope for. You are faithful beyond our wildest expectations. We will forever praise You for Your long suffering faithfulness and amazing love. You are worthy of all the honor and glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the corrupt judge said.’

Luke 18:6

Not only the Lord Jesus, but also Luke calls special attention to the words of this unscrupulous judge. The point is to make careful note of his thought process, and to think of that in comparison and contrast to the response given by God.

We can compare the Lord and the unscrupulous judge in that they both are petitioned by someone repeatedly. Although the Lord does not want us to use mindless reptitions when we’re praying, He does want us to pray on a consistent basis. Bringing the same issue before him over and over is not a bother to Him. We are thus meant to parallel the widow in this story. And she had every intention to continue coming to the judge for the rest of her life.

We can contrast the Lord and the unrighteous judge in their reasons for listening to petitions. The judge only listens because he’s annoyed. The Lord, on the other hand, listens to us because He truly cares for us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for listening to us. Thank You for really caring for us. You are always kind, good, and gracious. Your response is considerate. What a wonder! The Lord of all takes my frailty into consideration as He listens to me. You are HOLY! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

yet, on account of this widow continually being a bother to me, I will give her justice, so that she will not torment me by cominng to me perpetually.

Luke 18:5

The construction of the wording here is quite specific. It really paints a temendous picture for us, and Jesus is the best storyteller ever. The idea is of this widow coming to the judge incessantly. The language here gives us the idea that she would be continuously bothering him over and over again for the remainder of his career. The judge invisioned in his mind this widow incessantly, consistently, and annoyingly bothering him for years and years.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the fact that you are not annoyed by us, and you care. Unlike this unjust judge, You do not care only because we are annoying to You. You care because You love us and You value us. You are just, and You always provide for Your own. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And he did not want to for a period of time, but after this he said to himself, ‘Although I do not fear God, and do not respect men;

Luke 18:4

The inhibitions of this unjust judge were not strong. Somewhat of a wishy-washy person to begin with, it did not take him long to become impatient with what he saw as incessant whining from the widow.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with us. It would be easy for You to give up on us because we are so small and insignificant. But it is not on the basis of us that You do what You do, but on the basis of You and Who You are. You are good, and You are amazing! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But in that city was a widow, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Get me justice from my adversary.’

Luke 18:3

This woman evidently had a suit of some kind against someone who had done wrong. She was asking the judge to do what was right, and to punish the offender. We do not know the specifics of her suit, but it seems from the way Jesus presents it, we are meant to take the widow’s grievance as legitimate.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your care for the less fortunate, and for teaching us to care for them. Your love, grace, mercy and wisdom are amazing. You alone are able to bring final justice for any wrongdoing. We will look to You for vengeance, and not to ourselves. You are the perfect Judge. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.