Chapter 18 is a very rich chapter of the Essential Jesus. Jesus is coming to the end of his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. And there are some important interactions. He welcomes the little children when the disciples don’t want them to waste the Master’s time. But they come to him and accept him, and so serve as a model for all disciples. He meets the rich young ruler, who asks what he must do to have eternal life, but goes away sad. And this causes his disciples to fret and worry, for who then can be saved. But Jesus soothes their concerns and promises that their needs will be met, both in this life and the life to come. He again elaborates at quite some length about his coming sufferings. But the disciples still do not understand. And he is followed down the road by the blind beggar of Jericho, who is in many ways the model disciple. He sees that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah, and asks for mercy. And his faith saves him.
But I will leave these excellent stories for another day. Perhaps, when we study Matthew or Mark some time down the track, God willing, we will look at them.
But today I want to look at a parable unique to Luke. Luke begins chapter 18 with a short story not in Matthew or Mark. The Parable of the Unjust Judge It is a parable spoken along the way and explained by Luke before it is recounted It like the next one is about prayer.
Before we’ve read the parable of the Unjust Judge, Luke has told us why Jesus told the parable. He speaks this parable to his disciples.
At the end of chapter 17, Jesus has again reminded them that he will suffer and be rejected, He has revealed to them that there will be terrible days of judgment following his sufferings. The judgment of those days when the Son of Man is revealed is like that during the days of Noah, and of Sodom.
That is the context of Jesus’ parable. And so, what are the disciples to do in the face of the reality of the coming disaster. They should always pray and not be discouraged. Literally, it is necessary always for them to pray and not to become weary.
There are many things that make us weary in prayer. Not seeing the answers to our prayers. The answers not coming immediately, that we have to wait and see. And we might wonder, does it really work? Is God paying attention?
The thing I want is according to God’s revealed will. I want my spouse, my child, my parent, my sibling to become a Christian! Surely God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. What’s wrong with giving me that now? If I were God, I’d do it different.
Or it may be that a loved one is suffering terribly. And we pray for that person. And the person still suffers. The healing that we’ve asked for does not come.
There are other things that we might be praying for also. They might be financial, or relational, or emotional. It might have to do with work, or business, or home life, or family, or loneliness. It might involve physical or mental illness. And we have not even started dealing with the enormous tragedies of earthquake, tsunami, drought, flood, or war. And despite the prayers prayed, there is still difficulty, trouble, and mess. And we cannot see how God is answering our prayers.
So this parable is important for us. It is a parable teaching the disciples of Jesus, in the face of reasons to become weary, to persevere in prayer.
We are introduced to a judge. He neither fears God nor reveres man. He cares about no-one or nothing but himself. Again, like in the parable of the unrighteous manager, Jesus’ uses the sinful and corrupt behaviour he no doubt saw to make a point. There are judges who don’t give a stuff about justice – they just care about their own comfort and convenience.
And then there is a widow. Her situation as a widow alone put her in great difficulty, in the days before superannuation and social security. With no husband to provide an income and financial support, she was vulnerable.
But worse, she has an enemy. And she has no power to protect herself. So she goes to law. She goes to the judge.
We don’t know for sure what she wanted. It may have been protection and defence. It may have been vengeance, retribution and punishment. The word translated justice could mean either.
The judge and the law are meant to protect the weak and the vulnerable and punish the wrong doer. But this judge won’t do anything. He is lazy, and couldn’t be bothered. Because he doesn’t fear God nor care about people.
So what does she do? She camps in his office. She bombards him with letters and emails and faxes. She goes to A Current Affair and Today Tonight. She agitates and persists and doesn’t give up. She is the first person in the court in the morning and the last person to leave at night. And she asks the same thing.
And though the judge did not want to give her justice for a time, in the end he thinks. If I am not giving her justice to preserve my own comfort, it’s not working. She is causing me more trouble now than the pains it would cost me to fix up the mess she’s in.
Our translation says on page 56, second paragraph, last sentence, ‘otherwise she will eventually wear me out by her constant approaches’. But a more graphic and literal rendering would be, ‘so that by her coming she might not beat me black and blue to death’.
It’s a funny picture. A big strong judge, being beaten black and blue to death by the pleas of a persistent widow. If she was that powerful, I’m surprised she still needs recourse to justice. Surely she could have beaten her enemy black and blue, too.
So, is this simply a parable that teaches that ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease?’ Well, at one level it teaches this. And James tells us, ‘You do not have, because you do not ask’. So we need to be asking.
But Jesus also makes it clear how God is different to the unjust judge. The unjust judge doesn’t care about people. But God is different.
Jesus makes this clear with two rhetorical questions. Page 56, third paragraph, at the top.
Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God, then, bring justice for his chosen people, who cry out to him day and night? Does he delay in helping them? I tell you, he will bring justice for them quickly.
For Jesus is talking about God’s chosen people, his elect. He is talking about the ones who Paul says, ‘were chosen by God before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined them to be adopted as his sons in Christ Jesus.’ (Ephesians 1:4ff) Does not God care about them? Yes, is the answer. God does care about them. That is why they are elected by him, not appointed to suffer wrath but to take possession of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
So if an unjust judge will give a persistent widow justice, won’t the loving God give those he has elected justice? The answer is yes! The answer is, ‘How much more’! God will surely vindicate them. He will punish their enemies, and bring them through their many troubles into his eternal kingdom.
Now, the second rhetorical question Jesus asks, the Essential Jesus translates, ‘Does he delay in helping them?’ But there is probably a better way of taking it. The most straightforward way of taking the phrase is, ‘And he is patient over them, isn’t he?’ In other words, it is not a question expecting a no answer but a yes answer, like the first question.
Translating it ‘And he is patient over them, isn’t he?’ rather than ‘Does he delay helping them?’ therefore is a statement about God’s patience. God is not like the Unjust Judge, who fobs the persistent widow off and gives her what she wants to get her off his back. He is patient with us and our requests. He is longsuffering with us crying out to him day and night. And that is why we must not grow weary and give up. For God is patient with us. And so, there are two things, that seem to pull apart, that seem in tension. God will bring his justice quickly. That’s verse 8.
But God is also long suffering and patient with us. For there is a delay, and that delay might make us give up and grow weary. But Jesus here wants us to realize that the delay is God’s patience with us. He is patient with his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night. And that is how we should understand God’s delay. Other parts of the bible also teach this.
The souls of the martyrs under the altar, those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained cry out:
'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Revelation 6:9-11 NIV)
There is a delay. The wait is ‘a little while longer’. But there will be vengeance. And it will be quick.
The quickness of God’s judgment is difficult for us. After all, it has been almost 2000 years since Jesus rose from the dead and returned to the Father. In what sense is Jesus’ return ‘with speed’ or ‘quick’?
And it is at this point that we need to remember Peter’s words in 2 Peter 3. For many scoffers then mocked the promised coming of the Lord Jesus. Only a few decades after Jesus rose again, scoffers said ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation’.
And Peter’s answer is this:
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV)
Again, any slowness is to be seen as God’s patience. And from God’s perspective, which is the one that counts, the coming of Christ will be quick, with speed.
However, the last sentence in this parable is a challenge. The first sentence told us that this parable was a challenge to pray and not give up. But the last sentence reminds us that prayer is a product of faith. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find such faithfulness in the land? Prayer is faith articulated. Do I believe? Well, do I ask God?
And there are two applications of this parable. The first was for the disciples who heard this parable the first time. For they were going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man was coming to Jerusalem, as he said. Would he find faith among his disciples in Jerusalem? Would he find them praying in their hour of need? Or would they, in the Garden of Gethsemane, fail to watch and pray, and instead fall into temptation?
And the second is for us. Does this parable find us a praying people? Or have we already given up? Well, the patience of God means that it is not too late? We can repent and call upon God day and night. We can ask for his kingdom to come and his will to be done, and for our needs, and for forgiveness and help in temptation, and final deliverance from evil. So that when Jesus returns, which could be any time, he will find us ready. This is a call to persistent and patient praying. And if you’ve stopped praying, let’s make today the day that kickstarts your night and day calling upon God.
Let’s pray.