Luke 18:1-14

Parables on Prayer

¹Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, ²saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. ³Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ ⁴For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, ⁵yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” ⁶And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; ⁷now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? ⁸I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹Now He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Rich Young Ruler

Bartimaeus Receives Sight