The Parables of Jesus
The Unjust Judge
Luke 18:1-8
August 9, 2009
Here we have another parable with a theme of prayer. Like the parable of the BFF @ midnight, this parable is NOT praying the persistently the same prayer badgering God to get what we desire. In fact, NO WHERE in scripture is this kind of attitude and prayer endorsed. Those are false “conclusions” reading a human agenda into the text. Turn with me to Luke 18.
Boy had a pet parrot that he truly loved. One day, he went in to see the parrot and it had keeled over apparently dead as a doornail. The boy’s father seeing the devastated look on his face had a sudden inspiration for a plan to help his son through this.
“Son,” he said, “Here’s what we are gonna do. Dolly was a really special bird so we are going to celebrate how special she was. Everyday this week we are going to have cake and ice cream to celebrate Dolly. You can invite your all friends and we will just have a grand celebration.”
His son as you can imagine suddenly cheered up and a smile returned to his face as he thought about all the cake and ice cream. Just then the parrot let out a strange squawk and sat up straight back on his perch.
“That’s weird,” his dad replied. Then he mumbled out loud, “What am I going to do now?”
To which his son yelled, “Kill it!”
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ’Grant me justice against my adversary.’
"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ’Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ "
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Let’s begin by pointing out some cultural characteristics.
Cultural Information
Widows were recognized by their distinctive attire indicating their status. Since women married in their early teens, widows were numerous but not necessarily old. Since widows were often treated almost as property, they were left with no means of support unless they had a male, adult child. If her husband left an estate, she did not inherit, although provision for her would be made. However, even in these cases, she would be at the mercy of the person who took care of the estate often inviting abuse. If she remained in her husband’s family, she had an inferior, almost servile, position. If she returned to her family, the money exchanged at the wedding had to be given back. Widows were often sold as slaves for debts.
Information concerning how the judicial system functioned in the 1st century Palestine is sketchy. Conclusions based on this information needs to limited. And really because this is a parable, it doesn’t matter. We only need to know that many widows would be in desperate situations. More than likely, the widow here was petitioning for the return to property and there was a strong possibility of an unsympathetic and/or corrupt judge.
Jesus addressed this parable to his disciples. The basic idea is this: if even an unjust judge will vindicate a widow who keeps coming to him even though he fears neither God nor man, then how much more will God answer the cries for vindication from his people? If the wicked judge could be swayed by persistent entreaty, how much more certain may we be that God hears our prayers.
The parable addresses an implied question. “Will God respond to pleas for deliverance from his people?” The assumed answer is, “Of course!” But then a second question is added that truly speaks to us as followers of Jesus, “Will his people remain faithful?”
There are two main points to this parable. The first is a comparison of God to this unjust judge and the second addresses the response of his people.
Two Main Points
• God is merciful, patient, and eager to help his people.
The judge is uncaring, unrighteous and unjust. If even this judge who is the complete opposite of God will help this widow that does not give up, how much more so will God help his people? The second point is this:
• His people need to remain alert and ready for God’s certain vindication.
The ending question is so telling, “When Jesus comes, will he find faithful people?” When Jesus finally comes again and comes to judge, will Jesus find anybody who is still faithful? Or will he find a people who have given up on God and given up on prayer? Will he find a people that is really no different than the surrounding culture? Will his people stay alert and not fall asleep? Will we keep seeking his face? Will make serving the Lord the most important thing in our lives? Will his people be seeking first the kingdom? Will we be seeking to love the Lord with every part of our being and every area of our lives?
Essayist Noelle Oxenhandler writes, “But increasingly we live in the twenty-four-hour time of commerce, of convenience. It is 7-Eleven time, the fluorescent time of unmodulated, shadowless light, where coffee and doughnuts are available at all hours, where the rhythm of breakfast, lunch, and dinner has no meaning, and where Sunday is Monday… The twenty-four-hour availability of that which we crave does not really provide pleasure.”
As I mentioned, this parable is about prayer. It is not about prayer in general but it is about praying and not becoming weary (or giving up) while we wait for the end to come. This parable about prayer functions as a concluding thought of the end times teaching found in the previous chaper. Are people ready for the coming of Jesus? You who are called my disciples don’t give up on God. Don’t give up praying. Don’t grow weary. This parable gets its significance from the whole context of the end of chapter 17.
Jesus has already told his disciples that they will long to see Jesus come again but they will not. Jesus has said that people will get up in their own lives and because it seems as if it will never happen, they will be caught unprepared.
Don’t Grow Weary
• Steadfastness
This means being constant and unwavering. It implies dependability. Prayer and worship is not something a part of our lives when it is convenient. It means that you can be counted on. When we are weary, we waver. When we are tired, we can’t be counted on. We don’t want to be counted on. We are tired of being counted on.
The phrase that helps remind me of not giving in to weariness (and we all get tired) is: Keeping on Keeping On.
Again this is not praying the same prayer in order to wear God down, it is being consistent, constant, and unwavering even when we don’t feel like it. I’m sure the widow wanted to give up and quit but she didn’t. Her life literally would have depended on her persistence. Do we consider our own steadfastness in prayer to be matter of life or death? Jesus surely does.
• Faithfulness
People are to endure even when persecuted despite the fact that deliverance seems slow in coming. Jesus assures us that it is quick in coming even though we may wonder what in the world is taking God so long. Waiting and quickness of God’s coming need to be held in tension. Jesus will appear but will we remain full of faith?
Luke is not concerned with the actual timing of when Jesus will come. His concern is whether or not God’s people will become lax. Be full of faith even when it seems God is slow in acting. Don’t give up on God even when we think, “It will never happen.”
God is not like this uncaring, unjust judge. Where the judge does not care, God is patient. Verse 7 literally says that God is patient with us. NIV says, “Will God keep putting us off?” Another translation says, “will not God vindicate his chosen, who cry out t him day and night, while he listens patiently to them?” Literally, it says, “And he is having patience over them.” Without God’s patience, we could not expect to be judge favorably by God. God is patient and so should we be.
• Readiness
Lastly, we should be ready. This implies watchfulness. Prayer is in reality just that: being watchful. Prayer is learning to wait on God. Prayer is keeping on keeping on. It is constantly, steadfastly keeping watch for God’s working and God’s moving. Don’t give up. Be patient with others and be patient with God because surely God cares for you more than you will ever know.
How are we to be ready as we pray? Certainly not by repetitive prayers and manipulative prayers that attempt to coerce God to conform to our agenda. It is through quiet introspection. Verse 7 says that God is patient with us so as we prepare for Jesus, we need to examine our lives as we wait for the vindication of God. We patiently examine ourselves asking God to continually search our hearts to reveal our own defects and sins.
Will Jesus come and find his people faithful? Surely God will vindicate us when we have been wronged. Peter reminds us that is much better to be wronged for doing what is right than to do what is wrong in God’s eyes. This parable reminds us of how easily we can become distracted by life. This parable reminds us that except by grace we too might have missed the kingdom life. We could easily have given up on the judge, given up on God’s people, given up on God.
In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. SO in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would again visit them and destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people. The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state. The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they ordinary were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn’t be long before they would start feeding and destroy the wheat crop. On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result - it killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used, It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Will we be found to be full of faith? Will you be counted as one? Will you be called a person of prayer? As a prophetic parable, Jesus calls us, you and I, to be faithful people of prayer. I know that when that day comes, which will be quickly, I want to be found as one of the faithful people of prayer even if I’m that very last one.
