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He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up,
Verse 1. Always to pray, that is to pray daily, and frequently; ( Witham.) and also to walk always in the presence of God, by a spirit of prayer, love, and sorrow for sin.
saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man.
Verse 2. This judge, who feared not God, nor cared for man, yet yielded to the importunity of the widow, represents the absolute and sovereign power of God. But we must not suppose the Almighty has any of the faults we see in this iniquitous judge. Comparisons are not meant to hold good in every particular. The only consequence to be drawn from the present parable, is this: if a man, who has neither piety nor tenderness for his fellow creatures, yield to the importunity of a widow, who is not wearied out with repeating her petitions; how much more will God, who is full of bounty and tenderness to man, and only seek occasions to grant him his gifts, hear the prayers of the fervent, and fill with benedictions the petitioner, who can continue like the widow to importune his interference, and can beg without languor or discouragement? Calmet.
A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’
Verse 3. Avenge me; that is do me justice. It is a Hebraism. Witham.
He wouldn’t for a while; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
Verse 4. And he would not for a long time. The Almighty does not always hear us as soon as we could wish, nor in the manner that seems best to us; but if we are not always heard according to our desires, we always are as far as is conducive to our salvation. He sometimes delays, in order to exercise our patience, and increase our ardour: sometimes he grants, in his anger, what, in him mercy, he would refuse. Let us then pray always, desire always, love always. Desire always, and you pray always. This is the continual voice of prayer, which the Almighty demands of you. You are silent, when you cease to love. The cooling of charity, is the silence of the heart. Saint Augustine in Ps. xxxvii. Witham.
yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”
Verse 5. She weary me out. [1] This, as much as I am able to find out, seems the literal signification both of the Latin and Greek text. Witham.
The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.
Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Verse 8. In the Greek, although he suffer for the present the elect to be oppressed. V.—Our divine Redeemer adds, this, to shew that faith must necessarily accompany our prayers. For whosoever prays for what he does not believe he shall obtain, will pray in vain; let us, therefore, entreat the Father of mercies to grant us the grace of prayer, and firmness in faith; for faith produces prayer, and prayer produces firmness of faith. Saint Augustine de verb. Dom. Serm 36.—But of this there is little left on the earth, and there will be still less at the second coming of the Son of God.
He also spoke this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others:
Verse 9. In this chapter we have three examples of prayer: one of the persevering widow; another of the poor publican, who solicits the divine mercy by the acknowledgment of his crimes; and the third of the proud Pharisee, who only goes to the temple to pronounce his own panegyric, and enter upon a accusation of his humble neighbour, whose heart is unknown to him. Calmet.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Verse 11. The Pharisee standing. The Greek is, standing by himself, that is separated from the rest. Some understand this term, standing, as if in opposition to kneeling or prostrating, which they suppose to be the general posture in which the Jews offered up their prayers, and that of the humble publican. The Christians borrowed this practice from them. We see the apostles and disciples praying on their knees: Acts 7:59, 9:40, 20:36. In the Old Testament, we see the same observed. Solomon, (3 Kennicott. 8:54) Daniel, (6:10) and Micheas, (6:6) prayed in that posture. Others however, think that the people generally prayed standing, as there were neither benches nor chairs in the temple. Calmet.—There are four ways by which men are guilty of pride: 1st, By thinking they have any good from themselves; 2nd, by thinking that though they have received it from above, it was given them as due to their own merits; 3rd, by boasting of the good they do not possess; and fourthly, by desiring to be thought the only persons that possess the good qualities of which they thus pride themselves. The pride of the Pharisee seems to have consisted in attributing to himself alone the qualities of which he boasted. Saint Gregory mor. l. xxiii, chapter 4.—He who is guilty of publicly speaking against his neighbour, is likewise the cause of much damage to himself and others. 1st, He injures the hearer; because if he be a sinner, he rejoices to find an accomplice; if he be just, he is tempted to vanity, seeing himself exempt from the crimes with which others are charged. 2nd, He injures the Church, by exposing it to be insulted for the defects of its members. 3rd, He causes the name of God to be blasphemed; for, as God is glorified by our good actions, so is he dishonoured by sin. 4th, He renders himself guilty, by disclosing that which it was his duty not to have mentioned. Saint John Chrysostom Serm. de Phar. et Pub.
I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’
Verse 12. See how the Pharisee here, by pride, lays open to the enemy his heart, which he had in vain shut against him by fasting and prayer. It is in vain to defend a city, if you leave the enemy a single passage, by which he may enter in. Saint Gregory mor. l. xix. chapter 12.
But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Verse 14. If any one should ask why the Pharisee is here condemned for speaking some few words in his own commendation, and why the like sentence was not passed on Job, who praised himself much more; the difference is evident: the former praised himself without any necessity, merely with an intention of indulging his vanity, and extolling himself over the poor publican; the latter, being overwhelmed with misery, and upbraided by his friends, as if, forsaken of God, he suffered his present distress in punishment of his crimes, justifies himself by recounting his virtues for the greater glory of God, and to preserve himself and others in the steady practice of virtue, under similar temptations. Theophylactus.
They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.
Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”
A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one: God.
You know the commandments: ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ ‘Don’t murder,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ ‘Don’t give false testimony,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
He said, “I have observed all these things from my youth up.”
When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.
Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!
For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Peter said, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake,
who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”
He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed.
For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on.
They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.”
They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.
Verse 34. They understood well enough the sense of the words he spoke to them. But they could not understand how they could be reconciled with the idea they had previously conceived of the Messias. They were scandalized in the first place, to think that God should suffer any thing inflicted by man; they were scandalized in the second place, to hear that sufferings and death could lead to victory and empire; and lastly, they were scandalized, (their own feelings taking the alarm) lest they should be forced to imitate their Master in this part which he had chosen for himself. A.
As he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.
Verse 35. This blind man is, according to some interpreters, different from the other two whom Jesus Christ cured as he was going out of Jericho. V.—See Matthew 20:29 and Mark 10:46 et dein.
Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.
They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those who led the way rebuked him, that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “You son of David, have mercy on me!”
Standing still, Jesus commanded him to be brought to him. When he had come near, he asked him,
“What do you want me to do?” He said, “Lord, that I may see again.”
Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”
Immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.