Luke 18:1-8

Butler's Comments

SECTION 1

Pessimism (Luke 18:1-8)

18 And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; 3and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, -Vindicate me against my adversary.-' 4For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, -Though I neither fear God nor regard man, 5yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.-' 6And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Luke 18:1-5 Vigilance: Jesus had just told His disciples He would not always be with them in this world, physically, as He was then. They would have to stay behind in a world of self-indulgence, irreverence, confusion about the kingdom and downright wickedness comparable to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:20 ff.). It is going to be a rotten world, ready for the vultures. The question a disciple of Jesus would have is, What am I to do living in a society like Noah's or Lot'S? Jesus is coming back but no one knows when that will be. In the meantime, He is to be crucified, raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. And His disciples must live in an indifferent society. There will be people like this judgeindifferent, callous and impervious. The poor and powerless will despair of ever receiving justice or being vindicated. Their rights will be trampled, they will be exploited and no one will care enough to make things right for them. What are they to do? How can the powerless and poor go on without just giving up and becoming like the rest of the world?

Necessary to the survival of one's spiritual life in a society like that is persistent, unbending, unending prayer. Jesus taught this parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. One's trust that God will ultimately answer with vindication is the one imperative for spiritual survival. The Christian's relationship to God must be steadfast for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. The Christian must pray without ceasing. The Christian must be like the widow of this parable who would not capitulate to her adversary. She was clinging to the hope that the judge would eventually vindicate her. This judge was about as indifferent to the woman's plea as a human could possibly be. Finally, out of some selfish motive of his own to rid himself of an inconvenience, he gave in and did what he did not want to do at first. But our God is not like that! It is not by praying that we wear God downit is by persistent faith we put ourselves in the right attitude to receive what God wants eagerly and speedily to give us. This parable is teaching the same lesson as the one in Luke 11:5-13 (see comments there).

But how can a person always pray or, pray without ceasing? Aren-'t there other things in life, even the Christian life, to do besides praying? We must understand what prayer is. Prayer is far more than uttering words in some public meeting, or even alone at one's bedside. Prayer is the urge or bent of one's life toward God. Prayer is the continual conscious and unconscious focusing of the mind on that which is above. Prayer is the communication of an attitude of faith, trust and love, whether that be communicated in words or deeds or both.

Luke 18:6-8 Vindication: Here is what this parable says: If an indifferent, self-serving, callous judge like that will finally give justice to a poor, defenseless widow because she did not give up, is not our gracious God eager and able to give complete justice to us! Shepard says Jesus-' argument in this parable is a fortiori (with stronger reason). God will speedily vindicate His elect. He does not need persuading, He only needs people who are preparing themselves by unswerving faith to accept His way and His time schedule. Some are not willing to exercise the persistent faith to accept God's way of vindicating them. Some, thinking God ought to work as man works, are unable to accept delay. Many are impatient with God, They will not accept the longsuffering of God so that all may have an opportunity to repent. It may appear to many that God delays for a long time. But we must understand the word speedily from God's perspective. God may have vindicated us immediately upon our asking and because we had no spiritual maturity we did not see it or understand it. He does not always vindicate in ways we would hope or expect or even comprehend. What we must have is faith in the absolute faithfulness of God to answer always, speedily, though the answer may be contrary to our expectations and understanding (cf. Isaiah 55:6-11). Remember the faith of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and remember that it took all the centuries until the first coming of Christ to vindicate their faith!

Jesus did not mean to suggest that He would find widespread wickedness and chaos when He said, ... when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? At least He did not mean to suggest that here, in this context. The Greek text has the definite article before the word faith and Jesus-' statement should read, ... will he find the faith. the particular kind of dogged faith that produces persistent prayer in time of trouble. The Bible indicates there will be believers still alive on earth when Jesus, returns (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51 ff.; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 ff.). So His question here is more in the form of a challenge. He asks, Will there be any believers on earth praying with the persistence of this widow when I come back or will they have despaired and fainted and resigned themselves to the idea that God is not aware of their needs, or He doesn-'t care? That is very near unbelief. That is pessimism. That is the way the world thinks. The disciple of Jesus must think differently.

Applebury's Comments

The Parable of the Widow and the Judge
Scripture

Luke 18:1-8 And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: 3 and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft 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 she wear me out by her continual coming. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is long-suffering over them? 8 I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Comments

to the end that they ought always to pray.A lesson on persistence in prayer is the purpose of the parable. There is no reason to lose heart simply because prayer may not be answered as soon as we expect. There will be trials and hardships before the Lord comes again, but that is all the more reason to keep on praying.

Some have assumed that the Lord has delayed His coming because there has not been enough praying. Peter, however, makes it clear that His coming is delayed because of God's long suffering; He wants all men to come to repentance. See 2 Peter 3:9.

This parable does not teach the same lesson as the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-13). There the thought was: Don-'t be ashamed to ask God. Here it is: Keep on praying. Both emphasize this: God does answer prayer.

There was in the city a judge.The wicked judge is contrasted with the gracious heavenly Father. We miss the point of the parable if we fail to see this contrast. The judge was about as indifferent to the needs of others as a man could possibly be, but the Father is kind and eager to help those who call on Him. The judge delayed action until he was forced to do something; the Father, as Jesus put it, will speedily avenge those who call on Him.

and she came oft unto him.Again the contrast must be noted: the widow kept coming, apparently with the same request. But the heavenly Father is ready to hear the prayers of His children at all times. The only reason the wicked judge paid any attention to the widow's request was a selfish desire to be rid of her. The heavenly Father demonstrated His eagerness to help His people when He sent the Christ into the world to give help to the seed of Abrahamthat is, to the men of faith (Hebrews 2:16). The Lord said, Hear what the wicked judge saidthat is, about being troubled and worn out by the widow's continual coming.

And shall not God avenge His elect.If the unrighteous judge was willing at last to render justice in the case of the widow, certainly God will see that justice is done in the case of His chosen. The elect are the ones who choose to be members of the family of God by dedicating themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ through faith and obedience to His Word. The chosen are those who choose to accept Jesus as the Christ. All who will may make this choice for themselves (Revelation 22:17; John 3:16).

he is longsuffering over them?God will see that His chosen ones are given just treatment before Him; He does not grow weary with their coming to Him day and night. This is the point of the parable. God is not a wicked judge nor a pevish parent that grows weary listening to the cries of His children.

he will avenge them speedily.Some assume that Jesus was saying that His coming and judgment on the wicked were to come speedily. The lesson, however, is on prayer. Jesus was urging the disciples to pray always and not grow weary in doing so. The Father would hear them and answer their cry without waiting until the Judgment Day to do it. Christ, our high priest, is able to save completely because He lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh.Although God will answer their cries without delay, Jesus asks, Will there be that kind of faith on earth when the Son of Man comes? That is, will the elect show that kind of faith that will keep them praying without ceasing until He comes? It is a question that every disciple of Christ must ask and answer for himself.