Luke 18:3-21

³“In the same town lived a widow who time and again went to the judge, saying, ‘Give me justice in the case against my enemy!’

⁴For a while he didn't want to do anything about it, but eventually he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't respect God or care about anyone,

⁵this widow is so annoying I'll make sure she receives justice. Then she won't wear me out by her coming to see me so often.’

⁶Listen to what even an unjust judge decided,” said the Lord.

⁷“Don't you think that God will make sure his chosen people receive justice, those who cry out to him day and night? Do you think he will make them wait?

⁸No, I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. However, when the Son of man comes, will he find people on earth who trust in him?”

⁹He also told this story about those who are so sure that they are living right, and who put everybody else down.

¹⁰“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed to himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—cheats, criminals, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

¹²I fast twice a week, and I pay tithe on my income.’

¹³But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn't even look up to heaven. Instead he beat his chest and prayed, ‘God, please be merciful to me. I am a sinner.’

¹⁴I tell you, it was this man who went home right in God's sight and not the other. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, while those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹⁵Parents were bringing their infants to Jesus to have him bless them by his touch. When the disciples saw what was happening, they tried to stop them.

¹⁶But Jesus called the children to him. “Let the little children come to me,” he said. “Don't prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them.

¹⁷I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

¹⁸One of the rulers came to Jesus and asked him, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good, only God.

²⁰You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.”

²¹“I've kept all these commandments since I was young,” the man replied.