Luke 18:12

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. I FAST TWICE IN THE WEEK, I GIVE TITHES (OR THE TENTH) OF ALL THAT I POSSESS, [ ktoomai (G2932)] - or 'acquire;' 'of all my gains' or 'increase.' Not confining himself to the one divinely prescribed annual fast (Leviticus 16:29), he was not behind the most rigid, who, as Lightfoot says, fasted on the second and fifth days of every week, and gave the tenth not only of what the law laid under tithing, but of "all his gains." Thus, besides doing all his duty, he did works of supererogation; while sins to confess and spiritual wants to be supplied he seems to have felt none. What a picture of the Pharisaic character and religion!...

12._I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. _This is equivalent to saying that he performed more than the law required; just as the Popish monks talk loftily of their works of _supererogation, as _if they found no great difficulty in fulfilling the law of God. It must be admitted that each of us, according to the measure of the virtues which God has bestowed upon him, is the more strongly bound to thank the Author of them; and that it is an exercise of holy meditation for each of us to ponder on the benefits which he has received, so as not to bury in ingratitude the kindness of God. But there are two things here that must be observed: we must not swell with confidence, as if we had satisfied God; and, next, we must not look down with disdainful contempt upon our brethren. In both respects the Pharisee erred; for, by falsely claiming righteousness for himself, he l...

9-14 This parable was to convince some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. God sees with what disposition and design we come to him in holy ordinances. What the Pharisee said, shows that he trusted to himself that he was righteous. We may suppose he was free from gross and scandalous sins. All this was very well and commendable. Miserable is the condition of those who come short of the righteousness of this Pharisee, yet he was not accepted; and why not? He went up to the temple to pray, but was full of himself and his own goodness; the favour and grace of God he did not think worth asking. Let us beware of presenting proud devotions to the Lord, and of despising others. The publican's address to God was full of humility, and of repentance for sin, and desire toward God. His prayer was short, but to the purpose; God be merciful to me a sinner. Blesse...

Verse Luke 18:12. _I GIVE TITHES OF ALL THAT I POSSESS._] Or, _of all I_ _acquire_, κτωμαι. _Raphelius_ has well observed, that this verb, in the _present tense_, signifies to _acquire _- in the _preter_, to _possess_: the Pharisee's meaning seems to be, "As fast as I gain any thing, I give the tenth part of it to the house of God and to the poor." Those who dedicate a certain part of their earnings to the Lord should never let it rest with themselves, lest _possession_ should produce _covetousness_. This was the Pharisee's righteousness, and the ground on which he builded his hope of final salvation. That the Pharisees had a strong opinion of their own righteousness, the following history will prove:- "Rabbi Simeon, the son of Jochai, said: The whole world is not worth thirty righteous persons, such as our father Abraham. If th

I FAST TWICE ... - This was probably the Jewish custom. The Pharisees are said to have fasted regularly on the second and fifth days of every week in private. This was “in addition” to the public days of fasting required in the law of Moses, and they, therefore, made more a matter of “merit” of it because it was voluntary. I GIVE TITHES - A tithe means the tenth part of a thing. A tenth part of the possessions of the Jews was required for the support of the Levites, Numbers 18:21. In addition to the tithes required strictly by law, the Pharisees had tithed everything which they possessed even the smallest matters - as mint, anise, cummin, etc., Luke 11:42. It was “this,” probably, on which he so particularly prided himself. As this could

EXPOSITION LUKE 18:1 _The Lord speaks the two parables on prayer_—_the importunate widow, and the Pharisee and publican._ LUKE 18:1 AND HE SPAKE A PARABLE UNTO THEM TO THIS END, THAT MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY, AND NOT TO FAINT. The formnla ἕλεγε δὲ καί, literally, "and he spake also," calls attention to the fact that the parable-teaching immediately to follow was a continuation of what had preceded. Indeed, the connection between the first of the two parables, which urges restless continued prayer, and the picture which the Lord had just drawn of men's state of utter forgetfulness of God, is obvious. "The Son of man has been rejected; he has gone from view; the masses are plunged in gross worldliness; men of God are

I FAST TWICE IN THE WEEK,.... Not "on the sabbath", as the words may be literally rendered, and as they are in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions; for the sabbath was not a fasting, but a feasting day with the Jews; for they were obliged to eat three meals, or feasts, on a sabbath day, one in the morning, another at evening, and another at the time of the meat offering: even the poorest man in Israel, who was maintained by alms, was obliged to keep these three feasts f. It was forbidden a man to fast, until the sixth hour, on a sabbath day; that is, till noon g: wherefore, it is a great mistake in Justin h and Suetonius i, that the sabbath was kept by the Jews as a fast. But the word is rightly rendered, "in the week"; the whole seven days, or week, were by the Jews commonly called the sabbath; hence, אחד בשבת, "the first of the sabbath", and the second of the sabbath, and the third...

Luke 18:1. _And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;_ «Not to faint» in their expectation of answers to their supplications, and therefore give up prayer; but to persevere in presenting their petitions at the throne of grace, because prayer is never lost labour. There may be a time during which God does not appear to answer prayer, but he will ultimately answer it; therefore, «men ought always to pray, and not to faint» in prayer. If they do not pray, they will faint in many ways. Their courage will faint. All their hope as to the future will faint, and fall into a dead swoon as it were. So, dear friends, you have your choice between praying and fainting. The doctrine our Saviour laid down was «that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;» and this is the parable which he related in illustration of that truth:...

CHAPTER 18 _ 1. The Unjust Judge and the Avenging of His Elect. (Luke 18:1)_ 2. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. (Luke 18:9) 3. The Little Children and the Required Lowliness. (Luke 18:15) 4. The Rich Young Ruler. (Luke 18:18) 5. Rewards Promised. (Luke 18:28) 6. The Renewed Prediction of His Suffering, Death and Resurrection. (Luke 18:31) 7. The Blind Man near Jericho Healed. ...

PARABLE OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN (Lk. only). In Luke 18:9 we should perhaps translate concerning those who trusted, etc. The parable, not necessarily spoken on the same occasion as the preceding one, also deals with Prayer, though with its spirit rather than its subject. When ye pray, think not so much of the sins of others as of your own. The Pharisee draws a rigid line between himself (and his class) and the rest of men; they are outside the pale. His prayer is the prototype of that of Burns's Holy Willie. Fasting, though only enjoined by the Law for the Day of Atonement, was regularly practised by many Jews; _cf._ Matthew 6:16 *. In the matter of tithes also they went beyond the farm crops suggested in Numbers 18:21