The son of God told, Jesus, told to his disciple a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you; he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8 ESV)
Introduction
The parable consists of a widow and a judge. The widow keeps asking the judge for help, however the judge refuses to listen. Jesus commends the widow for her persistence. This parable shows us that we should always pray and not give up because we have the confidence that God will provide justice for his elect.
Contextual Analysis
Historical Context
The book of Luke, like many other books of the Bible, do not give us a specific date of the writing. In order to attempt to figure out the date of the book, other methods must be used. What are those methods? One method is to look at what is not included in the book. For instance, the fall of Jerusalem took place in A.D. 70. If the book of Luke had been written after the fall of Jerusalem, most likely Dr. Luke would have included the fall of Jerusalem in his writing. This makes us able to conclude that the book was written before A.D. 70. Another method is to look at the events that took place in the book. In this case, we also look at the book of Acts because it is closely related to Luke. In fact, most scholars believe that the two books were written during similar times. The last event in Acts is dated A.D. 62. Since we know this fact, it is safe to say that the book of Luke was written in the early A.D. 60s.
Literary Context
In defending my thesis, let us explore the book of Luke as a whole. Luke was written by Dr. Luke, a physician. Luke also wrote the book of Acts. Although it doesn’t tell us directly of its author, we can conclude by reading each book. Dr. Luke was not Jewish and worked side by side with the Apostle Paul. The book of Luke is generally trying to convince the Gentiles that Jesus is for them too. It is not surprising that the book of Acts also deals with the issue of Jews versus the Gentiles. The general outline of Luke according to the ESV Study Bible is:
I. The Prologue (1:1-4)
II. The Infancy Narrative (1:5-2:52)
III. Preparation for the Ministry of Jesus (3:1-20)
IV. The Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (4:16-9:50)
V. The Journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27)
VI. The Ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem (19:28-21:38
VII. The Suffering and Death of Jesus (22:1-23:56)
VIII. The Resurrection of Jesus (24:1-53)
Our parable is found in the section that mentions Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. In this section, there are several parables about the kingdom and prayer. For instance, we learn about the time that Jesus sent out seventy-two people to minister the surrounding villages. Jesus challenged them to take nothing along, but to pray. We also learn about Jesus teaching the disciples to pray using a pattern prayer that is well known today as the Lord’s Prayer.
In the immediate passage before the passage that we are examining, Jesus tells his disciples to be persistent and not give up. In Luke 17:26-30, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot-they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” The people of Noah’s day didn’t listen to God. God told Noah to build an ark to save the people. It would have been easy for Noah to just give up and not finish building the ark. Instead, Noah was persistent, even though no one believed him. This is the same message that Jesus is telling the disciples through the parable of the persistent widow.
Detailed Analysis
In verse one, Jesus tells a parable. Parables are, “Stories, especially those of Jesus, told to provide a vision of life, especially life in God’s kingdom.” Jesus is trying to help the disciples understand the Kingdom of God. Jesus focuses on encouraging them to always pray and not lose heart. In order for the disciples to understand, in verses 2-5, Jesus tells a parable about a widow and a judge. In verse two, we find out that the judge is evil. The judge does not fear God, nor does he respect man. In the parable, the widow goes to the judge to ask for justice against her adversary. The judge refuses to help the widow out. The widow then keeps on asking for help. After several times of asking for help, finally the judge decides to help the widow.
Widows in Jesus’ day often lacked any legal protection that a man would have in that society. In this parable, most likely a man, is trying to attack this woman for some sort of economic, legal, or physical gain. The widow in the passage specifically asks the judge for justice against her adversary. Most likely this was a common thing that the disciples easily understood. In the parable, Jesus makes a point about the judge. Jesus says that the judge neither fears God nor respects man. This does not seem to give a good image of the judge. The reason Jesus described the judge in such a way is to contrast the judge and God the Father. In verse six and seven, Jesus says, “Will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?” Even though the evil judge finally listened to the widow, God, who is good, will also listen. Jesus uses the example of an evil worldly judge to show how good God is. If an evil judge is willing to help the widow after she asks many times, how much more will a good God answer the request of His people.
In verse eight, Jesus reminds his disciples that God will give them justice. Jesus ends the passage by asking the question, when Jesus comes again will he find faith on earth? Jesus is comparing the widow’s action of persistently asking the judge to the disciples having faith when Jesus returns. In verse one, Jesus told the disciples to not lose heart and here again at the end of the passage, Jesus challenges the disciples with a similar thought. Will the disciples give up on Jesus or will they continue to have faith just like the persistent widow?
Jesus promises that His elect will be given justice when He returns should give believers confidence and encouragement that what Jesus says will come true. Jesus does not want His disciples or us believers to give up. It would be easy to give up faith since Jesus has not returned yet. The passage before this reminded us of Noah. Noah didn’t give up even though he didn’t see any rain. He kept believing until he was in the ark. Finally, once he was in the ark, the rain came just as God had told him. So like Noah, we and the disciples should continue to believe God and never give up faith even when our surroundings may cause us to doubt our faith.
Theological Analysis
In this section, we will look at a couple theological themes that are brought up in this passage. First, we will examine the theme of justice. In the passage, the widow is asking for justice from the judge. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 18, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourners, giving him food and clothing.” In the Old Testament, we observe from this passage that God is worried about justice for widows. In Psalms 146:9, “The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” This is another passage that also proves that God cares about justice for the widows. In Isaiah chapter one verse 17, we understand that “to do justice is to correct that abuse and to meet those needs.”
In the New Testament, in addition to the text of this paper, James chapter one verse 27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” In the New Testament, God is concerned for justice for widows and orphans. Both in the Old and New Testament, justice for those who cannot fight for themselves is important to God. God is concerned that His people are treated fairly.
Another theological term in this passage is the word elect. In this passage, the word elect that Jesus uses is referring to believers. In Colossians 3:12, “Put on then as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” Paul uses the words chosen ones to explain elect. The idea of election is simple that believers are chosen by God. Paul in his letters explain much more about election. Since God has chosen us, the elect, we should trust that God will fulfill His promises to us.
Application
As I look at this passage, we are reminded that we need to trust God and never give up. God is faithful to provide justice and care for His people. In my own life, this has happened to me during my first semester of college. My first semester didn’t go well because I wasn’t trusting God. There were times that I felt frustrated and instead of relying on God, I decided to rely on myself. The more I trust in Him and don’t give up, the more I can move forward with my studies in my life.
As I wrote this paper, I found that there could be questions about how we trust Him and how to be faithful? Does God always answer our requests? I know there are times when some of my motives might not be what He desires so it seems like He wouldn’t answer those requests. I also wonder if God helps us even when we don’t ask Him. Finally, I wonder does it matter how many times I ask God for help? Is it more that I just need to rely on Him daily? As I look at the application, I need to think about not only my requests, but how to rely on Him in a daily way. I am reminded in how much God loves us and wants to give us what we need in life both spiritually and our daily needs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brand, C. (2015). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group.
E.Gaebelein, F. (1984). The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing.
ESV Study Bible. (2008). Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles.
L.Bock, D. (1996). The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing.
Phillips, J. (2005). Exploring the Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications.
Zuck, J. F. (1986). The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, Illinois: SP Publications.