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In Luke 18 the first two parables are about vindication by God. The first parable has vindication in the context of prayer,in asking God to avenge those who have been killed for the gospels sake. The second parable speaks about how a sinner is justified or vindicated before God as opposed to self righteous Pharisees self justification. In the 1st parable we see that the word for vindication is also the word used for justification. Though the same word is used in both parables it means different things in each of the parables. The first parable is about God eventually hearing our prayers for him to avenge His people who have been murdered by the wicked . Though it seems to us that God is taking a long time to avenge His people, He is in actual fact not forgotten about them nor ignoring His peoples prayers. He will answer His peoples prayers because He won't not deal with the issue, like the unjust judge does. So His people must take courage because they will be vindicated, and God will dispense justice to His enemies who kill His people. So God wants us to pray to Him to avenge His people who have been murdered so unjustly and because of His name and gospel. This is a prayer that has fallen on hard times. I don't know anyone who prays for God to avenge His people. This is what the parable is actually about. Indeed those who call to God day and night for Him to avenge His peoples blood will be answered even if they have to wait awhile. To be praying such a prayer is to be asking the final day of the Lord to be brought forward. If then God appears to avenge the blood of His people, then the wicked will be paid back, wrongs will have been made right and God kingdom will have been consumated. So this another way of praying for Gods kingdom to come. This is very much the theme of Psalm 2 where the wicked will be smashed to pieces when His Kingdom comes.
This parable about the persistant widow serrves as an excellent example of how words don't mean the same thing wherever they are found in scripture. The word vindicated also translated justified doesn't mean the same thing in the the persistant widow as it does in the parable that follows it, of the tax collector and Pharisee praying in the temple. Vindication in the persistant widows context is about a woman trying to get justice from a judge about someone who is her adversary. She keeps going to him to be vindicated,until he relents and vindicates her.This vindication has certainly got nothing to do with been forgiven or found not guilty by the judges court of law. It is about her been found in the right in a dispute with her adversary. She was asking the judge to give her justice from her adversary. After a lot of nagging the judge says okay I will avenge her and gives her justice. It is put in the context of Gods peoplke asking God to vindicate his murdered children and God then arising to avenge them. When they are avenged they will be declared to be in the right and those who murdered them will be seen to be in the wrong. Even as Jesus was justified or vindicated by his resurrection. When Jesus was raised to life and seated at Gods right hand he was vindicated as a man who was not an evil doer and the sentence the Romans passed on him was seen to be wrong and an injustice. The second parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is more about being found to be forgiven and accepted by God. This context fits what Paul teaches in Romans about justification by faith, where the wicked are justified through faith in Jesus. It is more about the individual who is indeed guilty, been forgiven his or her lawlessness. In the parable of the persistant widow it was the innocent who had been found guilty unjustly. Only later were they declared by God to have done nothing wrong and have the unjust verdict reversed. When we see how context gives meaning to words and not words give meaning to context then we can understand the supposed paradox between Paul and James. As has already been stated in Paul has the meaning of the wicked been forgiven and reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. So when James speaks of a man not being justified by faith alone but by faith and works, we must look at the context thatJames uses it in. He speaks of the event of Abraham offering Isaac to God. This event happened years after Abraham first believed God and had it credited to him as righteousness. So clearly James isn't using it in the sense of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God. Rather James is using justification or vindication in the sense of the obedience which comes from faith. So therefore Paul and James aren't contradicting each other but are speaking in different contexts. The second parable is about God vindicating or justifying the man who has nothing to bring to God. It is indeed about, who does God justify. Indeed God justifies sinners and those who are only too aware of their sinfulness. All they can hope for, and do hope for, like the tax collector does, is in Gods mercy. This man is contrasted with a self righteous Pharisee. The scripture actually says the Pharisee is praying to himself and not to God in verse 11. He is boasting in himself and has no insight into his sin. Such a man will not be vindicated and justified. This is more about justification by grace than justification by faith. In the context of Jesus ministry and preaching this parable answers the question,"Who will be in the Kingdom?" The answer is it is the man who hopes in Gods mercy and has no self righteousness. God justofies the ungodly who hope in Him for mercy. Therefore a man is justified by Gods mercy and nothing of himself. Luke then continues to answer the question about what kind of person will be in the Kingdom. you will see later, he continues to reinforce that a man is only saved by Gods grace, by telling the story of the rich ruler. Firstly Jesus tells them they are to receive the message of the Kingdom as little children. We are then told the whole interaction between Jesus and the rich ruler. The rich ruler comes to Jesus and recognises Jesus as a teacher of Gods word and also as a good man. He immediatly asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life? Jesus doesn't answer him immediatly, but first asks him,why do you call me good? No one is good except God. It is extremely important to see that Jesus is making a point that men are not good, before answering how to inherit eternal life. He answers the question about inheriting eternal life by saying to the ruler,you know the commandments. Is Jesus saying we can be saved by keeping the ten commandments? Why isn't Jesus saying something along the lines of have faith in God and repent and you will inherit eternal life. Instead Jesus is mentioning the 10 commandments in answer to how to appropriate eternal life. Jesus mentions the commandments on adultry,murder,stealing,lying, and honouring your parents. The ruler replies confidently that he has kept all these commandments since his youth. He must be thinking he is surely in line to inherit eternal life with such an answer. Jesus however answers that he still lacks one thing. Well what is it that he lacks? He tells him to sell everything he has and distribute it to the poor. Jesus tells him if he does this, he will have treasure in heaven. Jesus then adds that he is to follow Him. Humanly speaking Jesus is asking him to give up everything. It is because Jesus knows what is in the rulers heart that he asks him to sell everything and give it to the poor. It is not a one size fits all statement, that all rich people must sell everything before they can have eternal life. Jesus sees the rulers heart is full of greed and while been moral isn't actually keeping the command to worship God alone and have no other Gods before Him. But more than that Jesus is demanding the rich mans allegiance, by telling him to follow him. In otherwords allegiance to Jesus is what the ruler will ultimately stand or fall by. Jesus is demanding of him allegiance that God demands of men in the first commandment. So in otherwords the man is not really keeping Gods commandments nor discerning the time as the hour of the Kingdom. We see that the ruler became very sorrowful in response to Jesus demand, because he was very rich. Jesus then responds saying how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. How horrible! the man has just been disqualified from the Kingdom of God,because his riches are worth more to him than the Kingdom of God.Thats why Jesus says its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.Jesus is saying this is an impossible thing.It is impossible when men have allegiance to riches and God, and are serving two masters. The man isn't single minded about God and His Kingdom and has a divided heart and allegiance. Now the reaction of the disciples who have watched this whole interaction comes into play. They say who then can be saved.!!? Jesus answers them saying it is only possible with God for such a man to be saved. The human side is cancelled out. If man is left to himself, he will never be saved. Man doesn't just accept the message like a child and do the will of his father. Rather it is the Father who must show mercy and work His power, then only will man be saved. Luke is reiterating the point and building on the teaching that a man can only be saved by Gods grace as taught in the parable of the tax collector and Pharisee. Peter then pipes up saying we have left all and followed you. In otherwords he has done what Jesus said is impossible for the rich man,yet required that response from him. In otherwords God has made it possible for Peter that he should giv e his allegiance to Christ. So the application is simple. The keeping of the law can't save you, but an undivided allegiance to Christ will certainly not save you. Faith is interpreted in terms of allegiance very often in the gospels. However if God works His power in the mans life, he will be healed of greed and disloyalty and will be saved. Again salvation by Gods mercy is being taught. After the encounter with the rich ruler,Jesus again confides in his disciples about what must happen to him in Jerusalem. And that what will happen in Jerusalem is to fulfill what the law and prophets have spoken concerning the Christ. Again they failed to understand what Jesus was saying. So Jesus and the disciples set off to Jerusalem and were near Jericho. There a blind beggar at the side of the road heard the multitude passing by and asked what is was about.They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. However the beggars response to all this is quite amazing. He recognises this Jesus of Nazareth as the son of David. To recognise Jesus as the son of David shows he knew the promised Christ would come from Davids seed and take Davids throne as taught in 2 Samuel 7. This blind man was clearly one who was waiting for the restoration of Israel, and waiting for the son of David to bring the promised restoration in. So when he cries son of David have mercy on me, Jesus responds. Jesus clearly knows he is the son of David who will take Davids throne, as he responds to being called the son of David. Jesus stopped because he saw the blind man recognised who he was. Jesus commanded that the blind man be brought to him. He asks what it is, that the blind man wants him to do. Because the blind man asked the son of David to have mercy on him. The blind man asks for his sight to be restored. Jesus replies, "receive your sight" your faith has made you well. Jesus is acting as God did in the beginning, when all he did was to speak the word and creation came out of nothing. Here Jesus is recreating and is bringing about the mans recreation before the last day. Clearly the Kingdom is being enacted before their very eyes. The man isn't made well because he had faith in Jesus to heal him. He did have faith, that Jesus could heal him. Rather he is healed because he believes that Jesus is the son of David, the promised Christ. Jesus was not just a miracle worker to the blind man, but rather the Christ!! So immediatly he received his sight and immediatly the man glorified God as did all those who saw it. And immediatly the man followed Jesus unlike the rich ruler who would not follow Jesus.This is the last miracle of Jesus ministry before entering Jerusalem, where the fulfillment of his ministry was about to take place. The blind man is healed by believing that Jesus is the promised son of David. When we are told your faith has made you well it can also mean whole. So the man was not only made physically well, but is also made whole in his standing before God.The tax collector asking for mercy and also the rich man only being able to be saved by God showing mercy and now the blind man hoping in Gods mercy in Jesus Christ shows that salvation by grace is the theme of Luke 18. We are now moving toward the climactic events, the mighty acts of God in Jesus Christ that would change the world forever in Jerusalem. |
