Luke 18: 1 – 8
Here Comes That Pain In The Neck Again
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
In the city of Philadelphia we have certain ways in which we communicate. For example, if you want to fit in as a Philadelphian then this is how you greet another person. You say, ‘How you doin?’ Now, the key point to understand is that we do not really care how you are doing, it is just a greeting. So, you answer back with the emphasis on the ‘You’. You respond, ‘how You doin?’
Another term in which we use is ‘straight up!’, which means that I am going to tell you the truth without any artificial sugar coating. So, as we begin, I am going to tell you straight up, that I have a hard time with these verses. I believe in the bible. I believe that every word is true and I know that Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High is Supreme. We will see how our Lord will state the possibility that there will not be any faith in any one by the time He returns.
You see I have been praying for over 20 years day in and day out for a woman to get a man from God Himself. This woman is pretty. She is Godly. She is outgoing. She is a school teacher. She is intelligent. She has remained pure and through all this time I see all these ugly women and women who will not wait for God get themselves a husband and their life is just pinky keen. This woman that I speak about is my daughter. As a temporary father, for God Himself Is her father, I see week in and week out the heartbreak of a faithful woman.
I know that God can do all things. What is filling my mind is that God just doesn’t want to bless His own daughter with the same thing that He has given to ever other woman whether they are a believer or not, their basic fulfillment. Can you see my issue? Sometimes I just want to say the heck with it and stop praying for her, yet I wind up beseeching the Lord over and over and over again on her behalf. Hey, I’m a Pastor, a servant of Him. I am suppose to have an inside track with Him, right? In many cases I go back to the book of Job. Even thought I am hurting, I answer myself, ‘Although He still will not answer my prayers, yet I believe in Him. I worship Him as the only true and living God. And even though He has not answered my prayers for over 20 years, I still believe that all good things come from Him and I will still keep knocking at His Heavenly door.’
Well, that is me, and more importantly let us look to His Word and find our answers.
In considering this parable we might well ask, why did our Lord Jesus not use the illustration of a righteous judge? And the answer is that our Master and King, our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to build into the parable the notions of delay and the need for persistence. Neither should occur with a righteous judge. They might occur if he was overwhelmed with work but our Lord Jesus would hardly want us to see God as overwhelmed with work.
The overall point, apart from the need for us to be persistent in prayer, is therefore that God will give His people justice, and will answer their cry at the most suitable time. This may sometimes be locally, but whatever happens there, in the end it will be true at the final consummation. So their future is guaranteed, but as regularly in Scripture, it is to go hand in hand with their persistence in prayer and their faithfulness in life. We pray knowing that we will receive what we ask for, because our praying is a part of how He brings it about.
Then He spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
This parable is so important that an explanation of its meaning and significance is given at its commencement. It is given as an encouragement and incentive to pray, and to go on praying without wilting as I have already explained how bad I am. Our lives should be firmly based on having fellowship with Him in prayer, and on an attitude of constant prayerful trust as we live our lives day by day. From it we recognize the importance that our Holy Adoni Yeshua placed on constant communion with God, and on praying regularly concerning the things of God.
2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
The parable opens with the description of a city judge who is absolutely resolute. He fears neither God nor man. He is seemingly unaffected by anything. He does precisely what he pleases. In this he is like God Who is over all and acts completely on His own without any restriction. The only distinction is that in the case of God, He does only what is right.
This judge is totally independent and makes up his own mind, one who is strong-minded and does not allow himself to be influenced by outside influences.
3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’
In contrast with the judge there was a widow. She was at the opposite extreme, powerless, helpless, with no one to act on her behalf and with few weapons in her armory. All she had was her persistence. To the judge she was a pain in the neck. Every time he showed up for work, there was this annoying woman.
We too are in the same position with God, except that we have One in Whose name we can come, which makes a huge difference.
In the Scriptures widows are always mentioned, along with orphans, as among the neediest, the weakest and the most dependent of people. They often have no one directly to look to but God. It is significant that Luke mentions widows nine times compared with Matthew’s one mention and Mark’s three. This confirms his greater emphasis on and concern about women. But Jesus’ use of the idea of a widow possibly has in mind the book of Lamentations chapter 1, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces has become a slave!”
We learn in this verse that Israel in her need is likened to a lonely widow who weeps bitterly in the night, thus here it is a suitable picture of the people of God, especially when they are in periods of distress.
This woman, in her need, came to the judge pleading for justice, and using the only weapon that she had, persistence. The verb is sometimes translated ‘avenge me’, but it does not necessarily signify a desire for revenge. It is more concerned with obtaining justice. It is on this case a demand for her legal rights. She probably wants what is due to her, or to be protected from interference. We could possibly better translate as ‘give me justice against my adversary’. But she knew that she had only one weapon, persistence. With her lack of influence that was the only way that she could hope to get a hearing.
4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
For a while the judge ignored her pleas, putting off her case and hoping that she would go away. But when she kept coming to him continually he gave in. He recognized that she was not just going to go away and that the best thing to do in order to obtain a quiet life was to deal with her request. Her persistence had won through.
In the parable the judge’s motives were not good ones. It was not his concern for justice that brought him to his decision, but his concern that he might simply be worn out by her constant pleas. The verbs used are strong ones. So he decided that in spite of the fact that he was usually unmoved by anything outside himself he would give her justice. One thing that he could not hold out against was an unwearyingly persistence.
We are not to see God as like this man. That is why the judge is differentiated from God by being called unjust. God does delay, but His delays are caused by other factors which He alone knows and is not sharing. We are thus to see it as saying, if men will act like this from a bad motive, how much more will God act like it from a good motive.
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.
Our Righteous Lord Jesus then said to His disciples, ‘listen well to what this unrighteous judge says’ This judge looked at things from a worldly viewpoint. He was not God-like.
The point being made here is that the widow’s constant pleas can be compared in some ways with genuine intercessory prayers to God, because they were effective in obtaining from the object of those pleas a ready and complete answer. The underlying lesson is that of persistence. But because he was ‘unrighteous’ we are to recognize that his reasons for giving way were totally unlike those of God. God does not respond to our prayers because He is weary of them. Nor will we get our own way by wearing Him down. In fact elsewhere He has stressed that He does not answer people’s prayers just because of their ‘much speaking’ as given in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6 verse 7. What He does guarantee to hear are genuine prayers concerning matters which are His concern, which because they matter a great deal to the suppliant, are persistent. And what our Lord Jesus Is urging here is that we continue constantly with such prayers. This is not speaking of prayers just for us. It has in mind prayers for what is right, prayers concerning the wellbeing, and spiritual growth and protection of His people.
7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
Thus, says our Great God and Savior Lord Jesus, ‘if even an unrighteous judge gives way before continual pleading, how much more we can be certain that God, the supremely righteous Judge, will listen to the voice, not of one who is just an unknown woman, but of those whom He has chosen Who are personally known to Him, when they cry to Him day and night.’ He may seem to delay, like the judge did. He may indeed wait for what seems to us a long time. But of one thing we can be sure, justice will come. God’s way, which is what should be the great desire of His people, will triumph, and His people will prosper and be blessed.
8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
In local situations deliverance may occur almost at once, and certainly after not too long a time, but overall it will occur in God’s time. Things will never get out of hand. The second part of the verse might be seen as favoring speed of fulfillment when the time comes. Once the time does come for God to act nothing will delay its accomplishment. It will be swift and sure. Thus He makes clear that all for which we pray should be prayed for, and seen, in the light of that Day. Our main thoughts in praying should therefore be set on things above, and on the fulfillment of His purposes. And as we pray we can then be absolutely confident that it will come about.
Now can you see how praying for 20 years and not having my Holy Lord give me an answer is hard? Yet just studying these verses inspire me to hang in there and keep up my petitions to our Supreme Holy Creator.
We see His challenge which shuts us up and renders our submissive will to His Perfect Will. The open question is as to whether when the end comes, and our Lord Jesus comes in His glory, will He find persevering faith on earth. Will He find persistent and continuing prayer. It is a challenge to His listeners. It is not said, however, in order to instill doubt, but in order to encourage persistence in prayer in the face of whatever comes on them.
I want to be open with you and reveal that I am not the good Pastor. I am weak and fail a lot. It is not an easy job being a Pastor. The heartache of bearing other people sorrows and hardships. We cry out not in a greedy way but of one that needs the same thing that everyone else who is alive needs. They say that you cannot give the flu to someone unless you first have it yourselves. A Pastor also needs the great and miraculous touch of God in order to redistribute it to others. Please pray for me and when He does grant to me my petition I will sing His praises from the roof tops. Thanks.
