The Parable of the Persistent Widow I. Prayer II. Base Text: Luke 18:1-8 III. Context A. Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem for the final Passover (cf. Luke 17:11) B. Jesus will approach Jericho by Luke 18:35, will enter Jerusalem in Luke 19:28 C. Thus, all of His instruction at this time is tinged with the recognition of what is about to happen: Jesus is preparing His disciples not only for what will happen to Him, but for life in faithfulness when He is no longer physically present with them D. Jesus' parable of the persistent widow likely catalyzed by the conversation regarding the signs surrounding the coming of the Kingdom and the vindication of the Son of Man (Luke 17:20-37) 1. The Pharisees had asked when the Kingdom would come; Jesus told them the Kingdom did not come with observable signs, but was in their midst (Luke 17:20-21) 2. Jesus then turned to instruct the disciples: they would want to see a day of the Son of Man, but it would not come; they should not be led astray by claims of His appearance, for the day of the Son of Man comes like lightning; He must first suffer many things and be rejected by His generation (Luke 17:22-25) 3. These events would transpire as in the days of Noah or Lot: life would be normal until it would not be anymore, and there would be no escape; people would need to flee and not look back; one would live, and another would die; they would know where, for the "eagle" or "bird of prey" would be gathering where the corpse is (Luke 17:26-37) E. Jesus then sought to encourage the disciples with the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) IV. Interpretation A. Purpose of the Parable (Luke 18:1) 1. In a departure from convention, Luke first explained the reason for the parable: the disciples should always pray and not grow weary or faint 2. "Then" seems to logically connect what will be said with what had been said about waiting for the Son of Man (Luke 17:20-37) 3. Greek ekkakein: "utterly spiritless, wearied out, exhausted" (Thayer's Lexicon) 4. More contextual explanation will come at the end (Luke 18:6-8) B. The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:2-5) 1. Jesus introduced two characters: a judge who did not fear God and did not respect people, and a widow (Luke 18:2-3) 2. A hyperbolic contrast: a judge who did not fear God or respect people would most be full of power and without restraint; widows in the ancient world were among the most marginalized and powerless people, for they had no man to advocate for them before magistrates or the court 3. The widow wanted justice against her adversary (Luke 18:3); the specific injury or issue is left unaddressed, because it is not relevant for the story, and would be a distraction 4. She would keep coming to him; he refused for awhile, according to his nature, but then was worn down by her continual requests, and so gave her justice (Luke 18:3-5) C. Hearing the Judge (Luke 18:6) 1. Jesus told the disciples to hear what the unrighteous judge said 2. He wanted them to sort out the lesson for themselves: the widow got justice because of her consistent and insistent pleading; if she had tried once, or just a few times, and then gave up, she would not have received justice D. The Contrast (Luke 18:7-8) 1. Jesus then asked a rhetorical question for effect, and then answered it: shall God not avenge His elect, those who cry day and night, and yet is patient/longsuffering at the moment? He will avenge them speedily 2. Avenging the elect: presumption that the saints have been persecuted, consistent with the experiences of Christians in Acts, Revelation 3. "Patient/longsuffering" or "delay long": is God strengthening Christians to endure what they must endure? Is God being patient toward some for them to repent (2 Peter 3:9)? Some of both? 4. "Speedily": will it happen soon or when it happens, will it happen suddenly? Either is possible depending on interpretive framework 5. As in Luke 11:11-13, so here: Jesus used an illustration of a person who is immoral and unjust who nevertheless dispensed justice in order to heighten the expectation that God, who is moral and just, will dispense justice 6. To this end Jesus strengthened the disciples to persist in prayer, not allowing the temporary lack of fulfillment of their prayers to hinder them E. The Question (Luke 18:8) 1. Jesus ended His discussion of the parable with a haunting question: when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth? 2. Likely the reason why Luke explained the purpose of the parable in advance, allowing Jesus' question to maintain its great force and to be left ringing in the ears of the disciples and all who hear it (cf. Luke 18:1) 3. Will people endure despite persecutions and temptations, or will they fall away? V. Application A. Contextual application: prayers for vengeance and justice 1. We can find two levels of contextual application of Jesus' parable of the persistent widow: immediate and long-term 2. The immediate context in view, consistent with Matthew 24/Mark 13 parallels, is the upcoming "day of the Son of Man" which would be manifest in 70 (Luke 17:20-37) a. Jesus knew the disciples would undergo persecution and desire justice b. This parable, then, was to teach and reinforce the power of constantly praying for justice and for the day of the Son of Man to come c. There would be moments when that day might feel nearer than not (e.g. 40-41, 60-62), and yet it would not yet come; many pretended to be the Messiah and claimed the time of liberation had come, and yet it had not d. But once events began to take place from 68-70 they happened quickly; Jerusalem was filled with visitors who had no chance to escape; vengeance was taken for the rejection of Jesus as the Son of Man and the persecution of those who followed Him e. In one sense, forty years is not that long, especially compared to the lengths of time judgment was enacted against Rome (115-500 years after John saw the Revelation) and the almost 2,000 years which have passed without the final day of judgment and resurrection f. And yet, in the midst of that forty year period, after having experienced waves of persecution and distress, and without knowing when it would end, we can understand why Christians would grow weary of praying for justice g. If the Hebrews letter is indeed written in the 60s to a Jewish Christian community, we can see the prescience of Jesus' haunting question, since many Jewish Christians were tempted to give up and return to the old ways 3. The long-term context, also apparent in Matthew 24:37-25:46, would be the the day of the Son of Man against Rome, and the ultimate Day of the Son of Man, the day of judgment and resurrection a. For judgment against Rome we see much in Revelation, including a scene in which the martyrs want to know how long it will be before their blood is avenged (Revelation 6:9-11) b. Christians endured two hundred and fifty years of waves of harassment, pressure, and persecution from the Romans; it would have been good for them to take this parable to heart and not give up in their prayers for justice c. God would, and did, avenge their blood! d. To this day we await the return of the Lord Jesus to defeat death the final enemy and for justice and righteousness to be fully accomplished on the day of judgment; for this we are to cry out Maranatha, Our Lord, Come (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:22; Romans 2:5-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 4. We do well to remember, therefore, that this parable is contextually applied to Christians continually crying out to God for justice to be accomplished on the earth, for the righteous to be avenged, and their adversaries judged 5. Of all things in the faith this is one which many Christians today find embarrassing: how many are praying for the Lord to return at all, let alone for justice to be done in judgment? 6. Perhaps our difficulty is that we do not experience enough difficulty or suffering; we have not endured persecution as they have, and thus cannot sympathize with their plight 7. Some might even get haughty in their comfort and complacency and look down with scorn upon such Christians for praying for God to judge and condemn their enemies; should they not love their enemies, and desire their salvation (cf. Luke 6:30-36, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9)? a. In this we have the Lord Jesus Himself as an example: He is the God of love, died so all could be saved, and yet is the One who pronounced doom for the Pharisees and scribes, and condemned Jerusalem in its hardness of heart and rebelliousness (Matthew 23:1-24:36) b. So much is made of Jesus' nonviolent posture in life that it is forgotten that throughout He entrusted Himself to God who judges justly (cf. 1 Peter 2:18-25); Jesus would be vindicated and get glory over those who condemned Him, and it was manifest in judgment in 70 8. Romans 12:19-21: Paul did not chastise Christians for having a desire to see vengeance done, but urged them to give space for the wrath of God 9. Truly, if we do not pray for the Lord to return and for His justice to be accomplished on the earth, we are not truly seeking God's reign and righteousness; we ought to both love our fellow man and wish for iniquity and injustice to be made right 10. If we are not bothered by injustice and iniquity in this world, is it because we have grown weary? Desensitized? Or, God help us all, complicit? 11. When the Son of Man returns, will He find us praying for His justice to be accomplished and for Him to return? Or will He find us hardened in our cynicism and worn down by weariness, or even worse, complicit with the powers and principalities who oppress? B. The Power of Perseverance 1. While always recognizing the specific context of the parable in terms of praying for justice and the return of the Lord, we can also extend the principle to our prayers regarding other matters and our thoughts and practices as well 2. The persistent widow teaches us the power of perseverance! 3. In our prayer lives it is easy for us to grow scared and skittish: we might ask God for something once, get disappointed, and then think we should not keep asking for it 4. We ought not ask for worldly things that would hinder us in faith (cf. James 4:1-4) 5. Nevertheless, we must pray persistently for what we desire in faith, and must not grow weary just because it is not perfectly realized on our timetable 6. God wants us to cast our anxieties upon Him and to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 1 Peter 5:7); He knows what we need before we ask; in the Psalms we can see evidence of the boldness we can use in praying to God is we would manifest the faith to do so 7. Sometimes what we pray for does not come to pass because it really is not in our best interest; sometimes it is a process that takes time; sometimes it is a matter of timing 8. The more consistently, continually, and persistently we pray about such things, the more we can grow in faith; when we give up on such things in our prayers, we do not grow, and they do not happen! 9. This can be about prayer for justice, personal growth, evangelism, on behalf of others, etc. 10. It can also apply to practices: overcoming temptations to sin, the practice of righteousness in manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, the proclamation of the Gospel, etc. 11. In all of these things it is insufficient to try it once, or a few times, get disappointed, and give up; in all such things we must continually try again despite our failings and the rejections 12. If we persevere in practice, we have opportunities to grow and God can be glorified; if we do not, are we manifesting faith for the Son of Man to find when He returns? C. The Question 1. Jesus' final question is designed to haunt the world: when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? 2. He will no doubt find professors of the faith; but will He find trust in His people? 3. Will the people of God remain faithful to God and His covenant promises, persistent in prayer, yearning for justice, distressed at the sin around them, wanting the Lord to return so God may get all the glory? 4. Or will the Son of Man and find His people compromised, hardened in cynicism and despair, having capitulated to the powers and principalities, perhaps even complicit with them, not praying for His return or the institution of justice because they are afraid of what side of the ledger upon which they would find themselves? 5. It is not as if there will be no remnant; God always leaves for Himself a remnant 6. The question will be whether we are participating in that remnant or not! 7. Thus we all do well to consider ourselves, our prayers, and our conduct: do we manifest faith in Jesus, the Son of Man? Do we trust in God in Christ that He will return one day to judge the living and the dead and to uphold justice and righteousness on the earth? Do we persist in prayer that we might be vindicated and avenged for all we have suffered? D. Will the Son of Man find us faithful when He returns? May we put our trust in God in Christ, persist in prayer and in faith, and obtain eternal life in Him! E. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: And [Jesus] spake a parable unto [His disciples] to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1). Jesus had foretold the distress and calamity which the disciples would experience over the next forty years before a day of the Son of Man. He knew they would suffer greatly. Thus He would tell them a parable to encourage them to persist in prayer. To this end He spoke the parable of the persistent widow. May we persist in our prayers to God and trust in Jesus! 2: "There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, 'Avenge me of mine adversary'" (Luke 18:2-3). Jesus spoke of a judge who has power without restraint and a widow who had no power at all: a hyperbolic extreme. The widow wanted to be avenged of her adversary. The judge was so annoyed at her persistent pleading that he gave her justice. If she had not persisted, she would not have received justice. May we persist in our prayers to the most holy and righteous God, and ask for His justice and vengeance to be manifest in the world! 3: "And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them? I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily" (Luke 18:7-8a). In context Jesus encouraged the disciples to pray continually for God to avenge them for all they would suffer at the hands of others. This exhortation was not inconsistent with the demand to love their enemy and do good for all people. Jesus Himself loved everyone and wished for all to be saved, but He also pronounced condemnation on those who persisted in rebellion. May we pray for the Lord Jesus to return and establish justice and righteousness on earth as it is in heaven! 4: "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8b). Jesus ended His instruction with a haunting question. Would the Son of Man find His people persisting in faithfulness, praying for His return and for justice to be done while loving all people and doing good? Or would the Son of Man find His people jaded in cynicism, in despair over disappointment, no longer asking for justice to be done, or worse, actively complicit with the oppressive powers and principalities? May we maintain faith in God in Christ, pray for His return, yearn for His justice and righteousness to be accomplished, and obtain the resurrection of life!