Trusting God while we wait for His Kingdom

Believers are called to be Persistent in Prayer (Luke 18:1)

Explanation: In the section of Luke’s Gospel immediately prior to this parable Jesus answered a question from the Pharisees concerning the time when Jesus would set up His Kingdom. Jesus does not give them a time, but He does give them some teaching about signs as to what the world will be like when He does come back. After Jesus finishes His answer, Luke’s next recorded words contain the following parable and the last sentence in the parable deals with the Return of Jesus.

Jesus introduces this parable with the stated purpose of continuing in prayer and not giving up. It is very possible to understand that Jesus is implying that there will be a lengthy interim period before He returns to set up His Kingdom. Those first believers may not have noticed this connection, but for those of us who live 2,000 plus years after the Cross, the timing is much easier to see.

The main point of this parable is for believers to trust God regardless of what we experience in our own lifetimes. Jesus is instructing His listeners to persevere in knocking, and seeking, and praying. He knows our frame, and He knows that we are fretful so He tells us not to give up and to keep praying. Believers are challenged with this same thought repeatedly in the NT (1 Thess 5:17; Eph 6:18; Romans 12:12; and Colossians 4:2 just to name some.

Believers can approach God with a sense of dependence and hope (Luke 18:3)

Explanation: Jesus begins the parable by introducing a secular judge. This man is an unbeliever (v. 6) who does not even regard his fellow man. He simply doesn’t care about others. Into this man’s court room comes a widow who is in need of justice. Because she is a widow she has no resources of her own and is entirely dependent upon the judge for rescue. While not name or described, the widow is being oppressed and she needs help. She comes to the judge and asks for help.

Argument: We don’t view ourselves as helpless widows without resources, but that is an apt description for us. We have no true resources of our own and we are entirely dependent upon God, whether we recognize that truth or not. We may have stuff, but He is the One who gave us the ability to get the stuff in the first place

Application: Be like the widow and own your helpless and dependent state and approach God accordingly. Allow God to be your first recourse, not your last. Acknowledge that God alone can help make a way.

The Believer’s prayer life is a reflection of our understanding of God (Luke 18:4-7)

Explanation: Jesus continues with the parable by relating that the unjust judge has absolutely no desire to give this widow justice. He doesn’t care about her or her case. While no details are supplied, he probably operated on a quid pro quo basis, and the widow could not give him anything in return so he decided to ignore her.

Ignoring her was harder than he thought because she wouldn’t go away. He kept telling her no, but she kept coming back. The text does not indicate how long this went on, but it must have be some length of time because she flat wore him out.

Imagine he coming to the court room morning after morning and hoping that today she would be absent. But, alas, there she was, back again. And again. And again. In his frustration, he yields. He has the authority and the power to grant her relief and he does, just so he can also have relief from her constant knocking on his door!

Argument: The parable proper ends in verse 5 and then Jesus tells His listeners to pay attention in v. 6 when He says, “hear what the unjust judge says.” This is much like the statement Jesus makes in Matthew 13:9 when He said, “who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus is telling them to listen because He is getting ready to make application.

The key verse in the parable is verse 7 when Jesus makes a startling contrast between this unjust judge and the Righteous Father. Jesus makes a lesser to greater argument by stating that if the unjust judge responded with an improper motive, how much more will the Righteous Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25) answer the cries of His own children?

NOTE: This parable does not teach that we can get what we want when we continue to pester God. The more we pray, the more points we earn and when we get enough God pays up IS NOT biblical and it is not what Jesus is teaching.

NOTE: The term elect is used to identify those to whom the Father responds. God does not answer all random prayers that are thrown His way. He answers prayers based on relationship.

This verse poses a challenge in our understanding of when God answers prayer. The contrast between the judge who delays a response until force is with the Righteous God who is declared to be the One who “will avenge the speedily.” (Luke 18:8) In the previous verse (v. 7) Jesus declares that God will “bear long with them” which gives the sense of a time lapse.

We know that God is not a genie in a lamp. The Almighty is not a cosmic bell hop who accommodates our desires when we hit the bell. At this juncture it is good to remind ourselves that God has the Agenda and the Plan. He is the King and it is His Kingdom and events take place according to His time. While it is not sinful to ask how long and to desire for justice to be meted out now, God is the One who determines the times and seasons (cf Rev 6:10-11).

God is outside of Time and He is the only One with an Eternal Perspective. Our view of time is not the same as His as we see in Peter’s letter to the persecuted church when he states,

2 Peter 3:8–9 (KJV 1900)

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

We are to trust God with the timing of His response and stay faithful (Luke 18:8)

Explanation: This thought leads to the final verse in the parable where Jesus makes reference to His return when He asks a question about the state of faith at that time. He asks the rhetorical question as to whether faith will still be in existence when He finally returns.

Jesus knew the time would be long (it has already been 2,000 years) and that many would think that He was wrong or misguided. Trust in the fulfilled word of God leads us to trust the Prophetic Word of God