Lesson 19: “Thy Faith Hath Saved Thee”

Luke 18-19
John 11

Purpose: To help class members develop greater faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Lesson Development

1. Jesus presents the parable of the unjust judge and the widow.
2. A blind man demonstrates his faith and is healed by Jesus.
3. Jesus is received in Zacchaeus’s home.
4. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

Scripture Discussion and Application

The way we tend to jump around the New Testament in the Sunday School curriculum tends to obscure significant ideas that we might see if we were more systematic in our study. Today, although we’ll focus on Luke 18 and 19 as directed by the Sunday School board, I’d like to go back a little bit and put the teachings of these chapters into context.

Jesus has spent most of his mortal ministry traveling around Israel. He avoids the larger Greek and Roman towns that have been built in Palestine, and teaches in the Jewish towns and in the deserts and lake shores near them. He has also avoided the city of Jerusalem. But now, in the Gospel of Luke that we are focusing on now, Jesus is nearing the end of his ministry. He sets out on the road to Jerusalem itself, the headquarters of all the political and religious groups that until now have only been murmuring and challenging him in small ways. Then everything – his identity as the Messiah, his rejection by the rulers of his people – will come to a head, and he will be arrested, tried, and executed … and in the midst of all that, complete his saving work of the atonement and resurrection.

But he hasn’t yet arrived at Jerusalem, in our reading. He is on the way, and as he passes through one region after another, more and more people gather around him, proclaiming him the Messiah. Most of these people will abandon him when public opinion turns against Jesus in Jerusalem, but for the time being they are enthusiastically following Jesus on the road.

At the beginning of this journey toward Jerusalem, Jesus tries to warn the people that following him will require endurance and sacrifice. Let’s turn to Luke 14, the beginning of the road to Jerusalem, and read these verses about discipleship as a warning, since we do know that most of the disciples here will not stand by Jesus to the end.

Luke 14:25-33

25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Put yourselves in the shoes of the crowds following Jesus at this time. Do you suppose they sincerely intended to be Jesus’s disciples? Do you suppose they really understood what would be required of them, if they remained true to their discipleship?

How about us – is there any one of us in this room who intends to actively follow the Lord up to a certain point and then drop away? Should we read Jesus’s conditions of discipleship here as relating to us, as well as the Jews in his own time?

As Jesus continued his travel toward Jerusalem, accompanied by ever-increasing crowds, he teaches the people what some writers have called “the Gospel of the Outcast.” He begins with several parables about things or people that have been lost – they are out of sight, seeming to be no longer a part of Israel. Glance over Luke 15 – which parables are included there? [The lost sheep, a lost silver coin, the prodigal son.] In all these parables, the lost object is gone – out of sight – easy to overlook and forget. But what is the point of each parable? .[A concerned person – the shepherd, the woman, the father – cares about them, and either actively seek what is lost, or welcome home what has been lost.]

In a broader sense, what is Jesus trying to teach the people about being lost? [That a merciful God knows where each of us is, that righteous stewards will seek out the lost, that heaven and earth rejoice when a lost soul repents and is found again.]

Next, Luke gives us a series of parables who aren’t physically lost, like the lost sheep or the lost coin, but are lost spiritually or morally. Let’s read one of those:

Luke 16:19-25:

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, it is not the condition of being wealthy that was in any way wrong – what is it, according to this parable that condemned the rich man?

The parable shows the beggar asking for food at the rich man’s door; can we tell from this parable whether or not the rich man gave those crumbs to Lazarus?

We have probably all had the experience of being approached by panhandlers on the streets, or of being solicited for charity in other ways. How often do you know the background of these panhandlers? Do you know their names, or where they’re from? Look at verse 24 again – after the rich man ends up in hell, he seeks relief and asks specifically for Lazarus – he knows his name, and calls for him by name. What do you think Luke might have meant by including that detail – what might it tell us about the earthly relationship between the rich man and the beggar?

As Jesus continues on the road to Jerusalem, he passes between Samaria and Galilee – he is in very familiar territory now. His parables become even more close to home – he now tells stories about people who are recognizably part of Israel – the lepers he heals know the Jewish ritual of presenting themselves to the priest to be declared clean. They are practicing Judaism, but they are still outcasts in a sense, because of leprosy, because of blindness, because of poverty.

He also reminds his disciples that even those among them who consider themselves to be servants of God – he is speaking directly to the Twelve now (see verse 5) – are still servants, not masters, doing only their duty and not anything for which they can justly demand to be rewarded.

Luke 17:7-10:

7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Jesus has been teaching about outcasts in all their variety. Is he telling the disciples here that they are outcasts, despite having done all they could to serve the Lord?

King Benjamin included a few words in his great sermon that elaborate on the theme of our unprofitability as servants of God:

Mosiah 2:21-24

21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Just as Jesus’s earlier parables taught that the lost, or the rejected, will be redeemed and ultimately blessed by the Lord far beyond anything they could have rightfully demanded, Jesus teaches his disciples here that even when they have served God and done all they could do, their reward, coming as it does by the grace of God, will be far, far better than anything they have any claim to.

So, this far in the “Gospel of the Outcast,” Jesus has taught about the lost, then the outcasts of society, then about those who remove themselves from the Kingdom of God through their selfishness, and finally those who, although they do all that they can as servants, are still doing no more than their duty.

Now Jesus turns the attention of his parables to people who are not outcasts in the usual sense – they are not ill, they are not maimed, they are not poor. They are instead people who hold positions of power in Jewish or Roman society. And yet, Jesus teaches, they are still outside of the Kingdom of Heaven for one reason or another. And, like all these other classes of “the lost” that Jesus has preached about on his way toward Jerusalem, there is hope for them, too, to be redeemed.

Jesus introduces another parable at the beginning of Luke, chapter 18, where he addresses a group of Pharisees – now that he is drawing closer to Jerusalem, more of them are coming out to hear him. Luke opens his record of this parable a little differently than the way the gospel writers usually do. Normally, they tell the story first and then give the interpretation afterward. In this case, though, we learn the “moral of the story” before we hear the story. What does Luke tell us is the lesson of the parable we are about to hear? [That men ought always to pray, and not to faint.]

I’ve learned that whenever something in the scriptures is different from expectations, I should take a close look at it. So, thinking generally, and not specifically about this parable that we haven’t yet read together, why might a teacher or speaker give his audience the punchline at the very beginning, instead of waiting for them to discover the meaning themselves at the end?

Let’s read this one.

Luke 18:1-8:

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Why does Jesus label this man an “unjust” judge? What in his behavior demonstrates that he is in fact an unjust judge?

Why do you suppose Jesus tells this parable with a widow seeking justice? Wouldn’t a man – a strong one, a wealthy one – also be entitled to justice?

The judge finally agrees to grant the widow’s petition for justice – why?

Does Jesus mean to tell us that God will grant our petitions if we just become big enough nuisances to get his attention? Then what does he mean, by telling us “always to pray” and showing us a widow who is persistent in her petitioning?

Going back to the point at the beginning of this parable – do you have any ideas now as to why Luke gave us the meaning of the parable before he told us the story?

Let’s jump ahead to the opening of Chapter 19 and look at another story – not a parable this time, but an actual event – where Jesus deals with a man who is both at the center and also an outcast: Zacchaeus is the city’s chief tax collector, which makes him a rich and powerful man. But by virtue of being a tax collector working for the Romans, Zacchaeus is also seen as a traitor, a collaborator, and therefore an outcast from the rest of Jewish society.

Luke 19:1-10

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

8 And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

What is your impression of Zaccaeus – what is his personality? Is he a good man despite being a tax collector, or a bad one?

The grammar of verse 8 is ambiguous, apparently in Greek as it is in English. How do you read it? Has Zacchaeus been a regular giver-of-goods-to-the-poor in the past? Or is he giving his goods now, as a token of his conversion? Or is he pledging to do that in the future?

I love what Jesus says at the end of the story: “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Throughout his travels toward Jerusalem, Jesus has illustrated his mission: To seek and to save that which was lost.

He begins with stories of people seeking that which was lost – the lost sheep, the lost coin.

With the parable of the prodigal son, he tells us that the lost who repent will always be welcomed home.

We see him reaching out, either through parable or through healing, to those who are lost from Jewish society.

He shows us that the Kingdom of God turns ordinary human society on its head: those who live humbly now will receive all that the Father has to give.

He shows us that we cannot earn that blessing, but that it will be given us by the grace of God.

He shows us people who, while living with great privilege now, can still take themselves out of the Kingdom by their unjust actions.

And yet, he seems to assure us, through the story of Zacchaeus, that he will keep his covenant with Abraham. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

By the end of Chapter 19, after another parable or two, Jesus will enter Jerusalem and begin his last ministry there, where he will complete his work of Atonement that will save all “that which was lost.”