What Do We Learn... 

From the persistent widow? 

As the Lord guided Old Testament prophets, he did likewise with disciples and others such as Paul and Luke, to complete the record we know as the Bible. Luke, the rare Gentile among them, wrote his gospel some 30 years after Jesus ascended. But God. He knew, and still knows, the words his Son spoke on earth. Luke heard, and he wrote:  

     In Luke 18:1-8, a parable, a poor widow persisted in pleading with an unjust judge to give her justice, wearing him down. We learn that God will entertain our requests indefinitely, as we pray for his will to be done (as Jesus the Son persisted in prayer on the Mount of Olives). 

     The more we persist, the more God is pleased with our faith and confidence. We have a big need. We might have to pay for it with persistence. (I can attest.) 

From the Pharisee and the tax collector?

     Another parable, vv. 9-14. A Pharisee and a tax collector went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee thanked God he isn't like ordinary men and reminds God how much he fasts and gives of his wealth. 

     The tax collector stands off, looking down, beating his breast as he pleads for God to have mercy. The latter, in Jesus' story, goes home justified before God. 

     Self-righteous people rely on their own efforts, unaware of their constant need for God's help, mercy and grace. The tax collector (bad guys at that time) was conscious of his guilt, appealing to God for forgiveness and mercy. He was the true child of God.

To be continued