Day 44 · Honest scales
Do the 5-minute lesson, then read today's Gospel portion and the bridge.
Luke 17–18 · about 7.7 min · Berean Standard Bible
Luke 17
1Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. 7Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8Instead, won’t he tell him, ‘Prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? 9Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told? 10So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” 11While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance 13and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed. 15When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan. 17“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine? 18Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?” 19Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!” 20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. 21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” 22Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. 24For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. 25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: 27People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. 32Remember Lot’s wife! 33Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left. 35Two women will be grinding grain together: One will be taken and the other left.” 37“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Luke 18
1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart: 2“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men, 5yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge. 7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help? 8I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” 9To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 15Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. 16But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 18Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’” 21“All these I have kept from my youth,” he said. 22On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 23But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy. 24Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” 27But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28“Look,” said Peter, “we have left all we had to follow You.” 29“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30will fail to receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.” 31Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.” 34But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying. 35As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. 36When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. 38So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had been brought near, Jesus asked him, 41“What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “let me see again.” 42“Receive your sight!” Jesus replied. “Your faith has healed you.” 43Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people who saw this gave praise to God.
Public domain (BSB). Printed here for offline use.
Honest scales. Luke 17–18 teaches forgiveness, faithful duty, a persistent widow seeking justice, and a tax collector who tells the truth about himself in prayer. Honesty is measured in public courts and in private prayer.
The Pharisee's prayer compares; the tax collector confesses. Honest scales start with honest words about yourself.
Where does today's law show up in today's reading?
In Luke 18, the tax collector prays, "God be merciful to me a sinner."
Luke 18:13.