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1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 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
So, today we transition into Luke 18 where the Lord Jesus turns our attention toward prayer, one of the disciplines that strengthens our faith in Him. To accomplish this goal, the Lord Jesus tells a story of a poor widow who persistently badgers an uncaring judge to hear her case. Incidentally, Luke mentions widows more than do all the other gospel writers combined.
Having just taught on the particulars surrounding His Second Coming, the Lord Jesus accentuates the person who persistently seeks Him. Prayer is a clear sign of our personal relationship and fellowship with the Lord Jesus.
Before we dive into today's text, I must highlight the difference between our relationship with the Lord and our fellowship with Him. One is a matter of birth, while the other is a matter of choice. Our relationship with God is based upon the performance of the Lord Jesus and our faith in His performance on our behalf.
Our fellowship, on the other hand, with God is based upon our choices to interact with Him on a daily basis. I find it very instructive that it is the pressures of this life that force us to consider the most important questions and drives us to His heart. In this parable we learn that if we pray, we will be strengthened in our faith by the person we seek.
In this parable the Lord Jesus is not comparing God to an unjust judge. The parable should be read in the context of His earlier comment: "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
So, if even the most unjust of judges concedes to the ceaseless petitions of a defenseless widow, how much more will God answer us when we persistently pray?
In v.2 of today's text, the phrase “did not respect” means "to be put to shame." This judge had no shame, and this was not a rare thing in that day. The Middle Eastern culture was a shame-honor culture. They did what brought them honor at all cost, and they avoided all things that brought them shame.
In v.3 we read, "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent." Someone had defrauded this lady and she was destitute. In their culture women did not have the right to appear before the judge. This lady in the story represents the destitute, the powerless, the helpless, the deprived, the lowly, the unloved, and the desperate.
In v.4 we read, "For a while he was unwilling." This man "was unwilling," in fact, he admits this at the end of v.4 "afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man." He was first to admit he had no noble motive whatsoever.
In v.5 we read, "yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out." This judge was literally saying, "She causes me trouble, she is irritating me.” Every day she was there and every day she was pleading her case. And, her persistence changed the mind of this unjust judge who did not fear God.
The phrase at the end of v.5, "wear me out," was a boxing term and it means "to strike someone with a full blow in the eye." This lady was beating this judge up repeatedly with her petitions. This powerful judge was defeated by this poor widow through her persistence.
In v.6-7 we read, "6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?"
If a judge who is like that will do what is right for someone for whom he has no concern, how much more will God do what is right for those who have been bought through the death of His Son on the cross?
Like this helpless widow, we are at the mercy of the judge. But this judge is not like the God of the Bible. He is as unlike God as you can get. The God of the Bible is always compassionate, merciful, gracious, tender-hearted, and kind. And He will do what He says He will do for His own. Of course, if we haven't believed in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, we do not have access to His loving heart.
And the key here is discovered in v.7 which reads, "Who cry to Him day and night." During the Tribulation, things will be so bad that those who believe in the Lord Jesus will find the conditions on earth to be so bad that their persistence in prayer will be natural. Our trials are truly more of a gift than we know for they drive us to converse with God.
In v.8 we read, "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?" God will bring about speedy, quick, and sudden justice. And, believers will keep praying because persistent prayer will be his joy and will keep him from losing heart.
The closing thought in v.8, "However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" is the focus. Genuine Christianity never loses its trust in Christ. But, it is easy to be distracted.
In Matthew 24:9-14 we read, "9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." The awful environment during the Tribulation will produce a persistently prayerful people.
We are all diamonds in the rough. A diamond is nothing more than a clump of carbon that refuses to give in to pressure. Diamonds are the hardest known natural material on earth. What makes the diamond so strong is the intense heat and pressure causes carbon to crystalize over the course of thousands of years. Formed deep within the earth, diamonds are brought to the earth’s surface by violent pressure and change. Interestingly, the very same thing that makes the diamond so strong is the very thing that makes it so beautiful.
As with diamonds, so it is with you and me. Life’s sudden upheavals bring us to the most valuable relationship we will ever have. The incredible pressure we face during our hardships and fiery trials drive us to the Lord Jesus Himself. As time continues, this hidden treasure within us begins to emerge. A diamond’s resilient nature makes it stable, pure, and strong. But this doesn’t happen overnight.
God uses the intensity of crisis and the force of adversity to rid us of self. When He finally emerges from the very darkest, crushing, breaking experiences in our lives, we appear to be the strongest and the brightest we’ve ever been. But, the reality is He is the treasure within.
