Luke 18:1-14
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1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Opening:
Tell the relevant facts about the story
WHO:
Luke is writing this gospel.
The story is being told by Jesus.
The audience is the Pharisees. It states this in Luke 17:20 that he is in discussion with them. There is no break between that and chapter 18’s beginning. That changes things because we have to make sure we understand what Jesus is trying to say in light of the audience. It changes things that this is for pharisees instead of disciples. MAYBE!
WHAT:
This is a parable told by Jesus. I will get in to this more as I exegete the passage.
WHEN:
Later in Jesus’ ministry. Luke is the only writer that mentions this story. This was right after he cleanses the 10 lepers (only one comes back to thank Jesus), and right before the rich young ruler and Zaccheus. Im not sure that it matters the time period between this and the cross, but as far as timelines go, there isnt much left to happen before he enters Jerusalem and the passion story plays out.
WHERE:
Im not exactly sure where, although it seems to be outside of Jerusalem somewhere. I dont see any reason to dig further into the where because we already know the timeline and can guess where. Its not super relavent to the story impact either.
WHY:
This is a response to a conversation with the Pharisees about end times. They asked him when the kingdom of God would come. He seems to say its already started and it will continue to come later. It wont come like you want it to though and it will be devestating.
32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
begin telling the story by reading in ch. 18.
begin telling the story by reading in ch. 18.
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Obviously we know Jesus liked telling parables. It was his way of communicating a lot of the time.
I do want to dig in to this first statement though:
to the effect that they ought to always to pray and not lose heart.
NIV
to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
KJV
unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
NASB
to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
Im just thinking, this is a mighty encouraging thing to say to your enemy.
I consider the Pharisee his enemy. Or at least he always had harsh things to say to them.
Yet he seems to be actually trying to teach them something here. Maybe.
Or it could be he is teaching others by the conversation. I guess we’ll see.
SO: Always pray…not lose heart
Thats a powerful statement.
Do you feel like giving up this morning?
Let the gravity of Jesus words fill you with hope. He says keep praying.
He doesn’t say this casually or because he doesn't take our situations seriously.
This story is for those that feel like giving up and want to quit praying.
Always pray and dont lose heart
That actually brings to mind people and faces of individuals I know or have known that are like that.
Some are dead and gone to heaven, some are still on Earth, and some are in this church
What about you? Who do you think of that has always prayed without losing heart?
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
Lets take a second to look at the characters
Characters in the Parable:
Judge - didn’t fear God or man - probably means a bad dude - perceived strong.
He does what he wants. Ultimately he doesn’t care about justice or even what God wants, just what he wants to do.
Ever known anyone like that?
Widow -the question is she either a nuisance or persistent?
Used to have a husband but no longer has someone to protect and provide for her.
That is what is inferred by this title. - perceived weak
an unnamed adversary to the widow - we only know the widow feels violated in some way by this person
God’s elect - this is who the parable is actually meant to encourage - God’s people
4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”
He may think he’s the hardest screw on the planet, but this woman is harder.
But you may say, wait this is a little weak lady
She may seem delicate, but her persistance is much more determined than his hard heart.
The two phrases are “bothering him” and “worn out by her”.
Bothering means causing him trouble or irritating him. I think of a pebble in your shoe.
Worn out by her means beat up, like giving him a black eye. (from NIV commentary p454).
So obviously she isnt going to be him up and give him a black eye, this gets more to the point below.
This is the same with someone that seeks out peace vs someone that wants to fight when it comes to conflict resolution.
Someone may be loud and outspoken but that doesnt mean they will resolve things.
A lot of times it just means they are a person that will shout a few things then move on.
Someone that is seeking true peace will not let it go until its resolved.
They will not cower away in silence BUT they will not shout demands and then never come back.
They will remain steady.
That is this lady.
We learn so much about her and this man in this statement.
He isnt a weak man, BUT she is just stronger.
He justifies it too. Out loud.
4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”
He goes, you know Im still not scared and im not doing this because im scared but… this lady has won.
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
Wait, we just talked about that, why repeat it?
Jesus wants us to focus on what the judge said so
Lets do that. Lets hear what the unrighteous judge says again.
He said, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”
Why does Jesus want us to really focus in on what the judge says.
Because the bad judge is about to teach us about God.
That is what we want. TO KNOW GOD MORE.
THAT IS WHAT EFFECTS US. TO KNOW GOD MORE
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
This is what we learn
This Bad Judge:
Doesnt care about the woman or her problems.
Does what he wants
Denies her justice for a while
does the right thing because she asks
God the Good Judge:
Cares about his people and their problems
Always does the right thing
Listens to his people
Gives justice to his people
So how does this parable help us always pray and not lose heart?
So how does this parable help us always pray and not lose heart?
1. Prayer is worth your time because God is good and listens - v7
1. Prayer is worth your time because God is good and listens - v7
Do not stop, even when you want to quit.
If you arent praying regularly about things, you should start today
2. Praying for justice is necessary but it will be much harsher than we realize - ch17v37
2. Praying for justice is necessary but it will be much harsher than we realize - ch17v37
I originally started with chapter 18, but verse 8 doesnt make sense if we dont take a step back and look at context.
32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
Jesus’ conversation with the pharisees has taken a turn for the brutally honest and the picture Jesus is painting is getting grim.
They want to talk about victory in end times and he says, nope it wont be like you hope it will be.
Commentary says that the where is referring to the carnage that will exist after the final judgement.
Jesus is painting a gory picture of what it will be like after Jesus does bring justice to earth.
This should effect how we pray because we are not innocent:
If we pray for true justice this means our sins need punishment as well.
BUT JESUS died for ours sins
We should pray that people find Christ and at the end, KING JESUS rights every wrong in HIS timing
3. The challenge in the story to pray seems to be overwhelming but what Jesus seems to be saying is it should be relief not overwhelming. v6
3. The challenge in the story to pray seems to be overwhelming but what Jesus seems to be saying is it should be relief not overwhelming. v6
Being a persistent beggar is your greatest hope. Think about the insanity of that statement.
All other religions say otherwise, but Jesus is different and better.
Does thinking about how bad the world is, the end times and all that stuff bring you fear and anxiety?
A couple of verses come to my mind to give you.
Some passages that come to mind are:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
4. Pray!!! Stop complaining, stop avoiding, stop putting your head in the sand, stop dreading the end, JUST PRAY!!! v1
4. Pray!!! Stop complaining, stop avoiding, stop putting your head in the sand, stop dreading the end, JUST PRAY!!! v1
Prayer is not a cop out, its not avoiding the matter at hand.
It is the work. Its how we keep heart and don’t give up.
So pray.
Exegete
Exegete
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
WHO:
Luke is writing this gospel.
The story is being told by Jesus.
The audience is the Pharisees. It states this in Luke 17:20 that he is in discussion with them. There is no break between that and chapter 18’s beginning. That changes things because we have to make sure we understand what Jesus is trying to say in light of the audience. It changes things that this is for pharisees instead of disciples. MAYBE!
Characters in the Parable:
Judge - didn’t fear God or man - probably means a bad dude - perceived strong
Widow - either a nuisance or persistent. Used to have a husband but no longer has someone to protect and provide for her. That is what is inferred by this title. - perceived weak
an unnamed adversary to the widow - we only know the widow feels violated in some way
God’s elect - this is who the parable is actually meant to encourage
WHAT:
This is a parable told by Jesus. I will get in to this more as I exegete the passage. Jesus told so many parables. This one is only found here in Luke, and thats pretty abnormal.
Jesus is also telling this one to the Pharisees, which is not abnormal, but he does give the clear meaning from the beginnning which is a little abnormal.
He isn’t hiding any agenda this time.
WHEN:
Later in Jesus’ ministry. Luke is the only writer that mentions this story. This was right after he cleanses the 10 lepers (only one comes back to thank Jesus), and right before the rich young ruler and Zaccheus. Im not sure that it matters the time period between this and the cross, but as far as timelines go, there isnt much left to happen before he enters Jerusalem and the passion story plays out.
WHERE:
Im not exactly sure where, although it seems to be outside of Jerusalem somewhere. I dont see any reason to dig further into the where because we already know the timeline and can guess where. Its not super relavent to the story impact either.
WHY:
This is a response to a conversation with the Pharisees about end times. They asked him when the kingdom of God would come. He seems to say its already started and it will continue to come later. It wont come like you want it to though and it will be devestating.
32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
I originally started with chapter 18, but verse 8 doesnt make sense if we dont take a step back and look at context.
Jesus’ conversation with the pharisees has taken a turn for the brutally honest and the picture Jesus is painting is getting grim. They want to talk about victory in end times and he says, nope it wont be like you hope it will be.
This passage is pretty clear to me except the question “Where Lord?” Im assuming and the commentary does too, that this is the disciples asking where because they use the phrase Lord. Theres no way the Pharisees are going to ask where.
Commentary says that the where is referring to the carnage that will exist after the final judgement. Jesus is painting a gory picture of what it will be like after Jesus does bring justice to earth. He is deflecting on the where to bring attention to the how and what it will be like (NIV application commentary p453)
To not leave them there, he brings it back to persistant prayer in the parable.
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Obviously we know Jesus liked telling parables. It was his way of communicating a lot of the time. I do want to dig in to this first statement though:
to the effect that they ought to always to pray and not lose heart.
NIV
to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
KJV
unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
NASB
to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
Im just thinking, this is a mighty encouraging thing to say to your enemy. I consider the Pharisee his enemy. Or at least he always had harsh things to say to them. Yet he seems to be actually trying to teach them something here. Maybe. Or it could be he is teaching others by the conversation. I guess we’ll see.
Always pray…not lose heart
Thats a powerful statement. That actually brings to mind people and faces of individuals I know or have known that are like that. I think this is an important part of this text. Not sure yet if its the main point, but important.
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
He begins the story. He makes it really clear that this judge is a pretty bold guy. I think he’s trying to show that this guy does what he wants. He wont change his mind for anyone. Not even God.
3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
Was this woman annoying or persistant? I guess maybe both. We do not know how long she has been coming back, nor do we know why. We do not even know what the injustice is or if it even is an injustice. This makes me think of old court tv shows where people would be bring in ridicouluos things to the judge, and then sometimes it would be something really major.
We dont know in this case.
We do know:
1. it matters to her
2. she isnt giving up
3. She believes coming back will bring justice
4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”
He may think he’s the hardest screw on the planet, but this woman is harder. She may seem delicate, but her persistance is much more determined than his hard heart.
The two phrases are “bothering him” and “worn out by her”. Bothering means causing him trouble or irritating him. I think of a pebble in your shoe. Worn out by her means beat up, like giving him a black eye. (from NIV commentary p454).
So obviously she isnt going to be him up and give him a black eye, this gets more to the point below.
This is the same with someone that seeks out peace vs someone that wants to fight when it comes to conflict resolution.
Someone may be outspoken but that doesnt mean they will resolve things. A lot of times it just means they are a person that will shout a few things then move on. Someone that is seeking true peace will not let it go until its resolved. They will not cower away in silence and they will not shout demands and then never come back. They will remain steady.
That is this lady. We learn so much about her and this man in this statement. He isnt a weak man, she is just stronger.
He justifies it too. Out loud. He goes, you know Im still not scared and im not doing this because im scared but… this lady has won.
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
Lets do that. Lets hear what the unrighteous judge says again.
He said, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
This Bad Judge:
Doesnt care about the woman or her problems.
Does what he wants
Denies her justice for a while
does the right thing because she asks
God the Judge
Cares about his people and their problems
Always does the right thing
Listens to his people
Gives justice to his people
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
So I have questions:
Why does it seem like God takes a while to give justice then?
Is this passage meaning that no faith =no justice?
What does it mean by when the son of man comes?
Some passages that come to mind are:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
So how does this parable help us always pray and not lose heart?
1. Prayer is worth your time because God is good and listens - v7
2. Praying for justice is necessary but it will be much harsher than we realize - ch17v37
3. The challenge in the story to pray seems to be overwhelming but what Jesus seems to be saying is it should be relief not overwhelming. v6
4. Pray!!! Stop complaining, stop avoiding, stop putting your head in the sand, stop dreading the end, JUST PRAY!!! v1
This parable doesnt tell us how to pray, but if we are truly interested, we can find out what Jesus said about how to pray.
