Luke Parables of Jesus: The Persistent Widow and Unrighteous Judge
Luke 18:1-8
“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1-8 NASB1995
Jesus continues His instructions to His disciples in Luke 18, with this parable about the persistent widow and the unrighteous judge. This parable is often seen as a lesson in being persistent in prayer (ask..seek..knock), but it also relates to the discussion at the end of Luke 17, where Jesus talks about His second coming to the sneering Pharisees and His disciples. The persistent widow wants justice because of an enemy of hers and she goes to the last guy who might give justice to her, a judge who does not believe in God (if he did, he would certainly fear God) and has no respect for his fellow humans. This judge, during the time of Jesus, was probably a political appointee in the local Judean civil courts. He finally gives in and provides the widow with legal protection just to get her out of his courtroom. Jesus tells us that God is nothing like this judge and He will not delay in bringing about justice quickly.
Precept Austin has a wonderful table showing the contrasts between the story of the widow and the judge and our relationship with God:
Losing heart [see my note at the end of this section]
Praying
The Widow
God's Elect
Widow was a stranger
We are God's children
Widow did not have open access (in that culture)
God's children have open access (Ephesians 2:18+, Ephesians 3:12+, Hebrews 4:16+, Hebrews 10:19+
Widow did not have an advocate
We have an Advocate (1 John 2:1), a continual Intercessor (Romans 8:34+, Hebrews 7:25+), a High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15+)
Widow had no promises she could claim
We have promises of God in His Word to claim (Luke 11:9-10+)
Widow had no internal helper
We have the Spirit Who helps us pray (Romans 8:26-27+)
Widow came to a court of law
We come to a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16+)
Widow pled out of her poverty
We plead from perspective of God's plenty (Philippians 4:19+)
The judge was unrighteous
God is righteous
The judge could be bribed (common in that time)
God cannot be bribed or argued with
Judge answered for fear of her forever wearying him
God answers for His glory and our good
In this commentary, I felt that losing heart was more appropriately matched with the story of the widow and praying is more appropriate for the contrast between the judge and God (they were reversed in the original table, which seemed strange to me - the widow is likely losing heart because she is dealing with that miserable judge, but is still insistent). Jesus did admonish us to not be repetitive like the Pharisees in prayer (which I see as being rote or recitative and looking for others to approve our piety) and to pray in secret (see the Sermon on the Mount devotional series), but prayer for the believer can become as natural as breathing. I love this Article on prayer from Guideposts magazine. Reaching out to God doesn’t require a script, although that it useful in intercessory prayer. Just reach out, as much as you can in your waking hours - He is there!
At the end of the parable, Jesus is concerned that when He comes in His glory, will He find faith on Earth? That is a really good question, as true and deep faith is fading rapidly, it seems. Believers have been waiting for His return for over 2,000 years; we still see many parts of the world that are resistant to the Gospel or still haven’t heard it (belying the command to bring the Gospel to all people). We must be persistent and hopeful and ready. Perhaps God knows that this exceedingly unfaithful, sinful and materialistic generation is poised to be the one that will be shocked by the returning glory of Jesus. Time has no meaning to God and only He knows when this will happen, so keep vigilant and be persistent in asking for His justice and grace.
My next devotional examines another parable in Luke 18: 9-14, The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.