Category Archives: Luke

To Such Belongs the Kingdom

One of the key principles of faithful Bible reading is that context informs interpretation. It is a dangerous thing to extract a verse from its setting and make it say what we want it to say, rather than what God has actually said. And few verses have suffered more sentimental misuse than the words of our Lord in this passage: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). These words are beautiful and encouraging. Our Savior welcomes little children brought to him and rebukes those who would keep them away. He is not inconvenienced by the weak, the small, the needy, or the overlooked.

But here is the caution: We must guard against using or welcoming this verse as a child-centered mantra that distorts its proper use in its original context. Children are not the ultimate theme of this passage. Grace is.

A Tale of Two Prayers

Our parable today is quite short, because prayer is never merely about the words we say. Prayer is an approach to God. It is a posture of the soul before the Lord of heaven and earth. Our parable involves two men, two prayers, and two postures. Two men in the right place, at the right time, doing what appears to be the right thing.

Persisting in Hopeful Prayer

If you wonder what our passage is about today, wonder no more. Luke tells us pointedly: “[Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). But in addition to knowing what this parable is about, we also ought to ask: Why is this here, in this specific place in Luke’s Gospel? What has happened up to this point that would lead Jesus to provide this parable?

Already, Not Yet, and Suddenly

At some point in his onward journey to Jerusalem, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God will come. It’s a question that seems out of context, given the preceding passages. But it is important to remember that Luke’s placement of this question follows Jesus’s miraculously healing of ten lepers, an event surely to have caused attention and drawn curiosity. Miracles didn’t happen every day, or any day. But everywhere Jesus went, preached, and ministered, there was miracle after miracle, including ten in one day. And this was sure to lead some to wonder if Zephaniah’s prophesied “day of the Lord” (Zeph. 3) was soon to come, when Israel’s Messiah would come and establish his kingdom forever. And so, the Pharisees ask, “When will the kingdom come?”

The Grace of Forgiveness

So, the question is not “Can I forgive?” but “Do I believe the gospel?” Do I believe that God has shown mercy to me? Do I believe that God has bestowed his grace upon me? It’s a matter of faith. And by this very same faith, we too can show mercy, bestow grace, forgiving as we have been forgiven. Such is the grace of forgiveness.

Faith Alone Is Never Alone

Is there outward evidence of your Christian faith? Or is faith a private matter kept quietly between you and God? Whether quiet or not, the Apostle James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (Jas. 2:14). Of course, James is not disparaging faith by asking, “What good is it?” Rather, his rhetorical intention is to connect the dots between faith and the practical outflow of it, that is, works. In other words, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17). James’s argument does not deny that we are justified as righteous through faith alone in Christ alone. Rather, faith alone is never alone. It proves itself true through fruit. No fruit, no faith.

Irresistible Grace

One of the key tenets of faithful Bible reading and study is: Context informs interpretation. It is a dangerous thing to extract verses out of context and form opinions in isolation. The result may be as innocent as a momentary misunderstanding or as catastrophic as leading the innocent astray. I am reminded of a man I knew who claimed he could make the Bible say whatever he wanted, plucking verses here and there to support his biases and often his pleasures. Let us not be guilty of the same.

Made for More than Mammon

You and I were made for more than mammon? Let us then use wealth wisely in light of eternity, stewarding resources faithfully as those accountable to God, resting ultimately in Christ, our true and lasting treasure. Trusting in Christ alone, examine your heart and ask yourself: Am I investing my resources in what will last forever? Am I faithful with what God has entrusted to me today? Is Christ truly my treasure—or merely an addition to it? The call of Christ Jesus is clear and uncompromising: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” And let us thank God this is true! For He offers us something far greater than wealth—Himself. And in Him, we find riches that cannot fade, cannot fail, and cannot be taken away.

The Lavish Love of God

Let us then examine ourselves in light of this parable. Perhaps you recognize yourself in the younger brother. You have wandered far from God. You have squandered his gifts. The message of this parable is simple: Return. As the prophet Joel says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:12).

Was Lost, but Now Am Found

We find factual statements of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible. We may think, for example, of the protoevangelium in the third chapter of Genesis, where God promises the offspring of a woman victory over Satan.[2] We may think of the ram in the thicket substituted for Issac in Abraham’s sacrifice on Mount Moriah.[3] We may think of the statement of redemption in the introduction to the Ten Commandments.[4]