Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

"Pray for me!” -unruly boy

-Or maybe the Titanic (will divine help arrive too late?)

Read the text

Pray

—The disciples ask of Jesus “Lord, teach us to pray” What follows is the Lord’s prayer

— “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

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Context:

-preceding chapter dealt with the coming kingdom of God

in 17:20 the pharisees ask when the kingdom will come

after answering them, Christ speaks to the disciples about the kingdom in greater detail from 17:22 on

Observe that we are to pray consistently and without losing heart.

The purpose, the point of the following discourse is not obscure, nor does it take a great deal of hermeneutical or exegetical skill to tease out.

Luke lays it plainly before us, so that the parable and subsequent application is clearly understood in the light of this simple thesis:

“That men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

this raises some important questions

why are we praying?

what are we praying for?

why are we at risk of being discouraged?

1.

Why are we to always pray?

Luke lays it plainly before us, so that the parable and subsequent application is clearly understood in the light of this simple thesis:

“That men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

in 17:20 the pharisees ask when the kingdom will come

after answering them, Christ speaks to the disciples about the kingdom in greater detail from 17:22 on

A few thoughts on prayer for this passage:

this is key—it describes both the motive for our praying and the manner in which we are to pray

1.

Why are we to always pray?

Our motive for praying in the context of this passage is the reality of persecution in the life of the believer.

We pray out of desires of our hearts

Our manner is that of persistent, patient, persevering prayer.

every day I am not praying for the return of Jesus Christ is a day I am loving the world too much

every day I am not praying for the return of Jesus Christ is a day I am loving the world too much

so that when the desired outcome of our prayer is not immediately forthcoming, we are not turned aside from the project of habitual prayer.

Prayer is an act of faith and an expression of trust

It is an admission that we cannot solve the problems we face on our own—and that we face problems

but what comfort, what peace is ours in prayer!

prayer is that great audience in which we appeal for heavenly resources in the face of earthly perils

From the time of Christ’s ascension until now, no one has lived to realize the second coming of Christ in their lifetime

And since the moment of His ascension, scoffers have been undermining the truth of his return.

—>Therefore , while this passage is viewed through the lens of prayer, there is a foundational question of whether it is our desire to have the world put right by the return of Jesus Christ and the coming kingdom of God, and if we truly trust that He who has promised will be faithful to do it!

Winston Churchill quote?

-Supposing the answer to both questions is “YES!”, then we must be continually devoted to prayer for the same.

-My passion this morning stems from a conviction from my study this past week that my own life with God in prayer is not sufficiently in step with the will of God for my prayer as revealed in His Word.

2. What are we praying for?

-and if that is true for me, my premise is that may also be a true for one or two of you as well.

Observe the plight of the righteous in the parable of the widow

Back to the parable...

A danger:

Reading too superficially

Some have read this parable to mean “if you ask for something frequently enough, God will have to give it to you.”

the logic goes— “the widow wanted something, she asked over and over, she got it.”

therefore, the key to getting what you want is asking God repeatedly

essentially, if you whine at God enough, He’ll give in

Example: Varuca Salt (Willie Wonka)

I want a party with roomfuls of laughter

Ten thousand tons of ice cream

And if I don't get the things I am after

I'm going to scream!

I want the works,

I want the whole works!

Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises in all shapes and sizes,

And now!

Don't care how I want it now!

Don't care how I want it now!

“I want a party with roomfuls of laughter

Ten thousand tons of ice cream

And if I don't get the things I am after

I'm going to scream!

I want the works,

I want the whole works!

Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises in all shapes and sizes,

And now!

Don't care how I want it now!

Don't care how I want it now!”

The flaw is in the reading—with no regard for the context that reveals the greater spiritual truth that is being illustrated in the parable

it is why we often neglect the second son in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15)

the first son is loud, rebellious, and lives a colorful life—it is easy to notice him, and make all sorts of modern and relevant applications

But Jesus in that parable is responding to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes who bemoan that “this man receives sinners and eats with them.”

And so in the parable, it is the second son—who is quiet and seemingly obedient, but ultimately shames his father by refusing to come in to feast with his returned brother—who serves as the warning to the Pharisees

Reading too specifically (THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD)

In reading parables you have to remember to keep the main thing the main thing

Sometimes reading theological symbolism into every minutiae of the parable can lead to monstrous distortions and grotesque applications

For example, some commentators have argued that the unrighteous judge is the direct comparison for God in this parable (God doesn’t have to fear God, and He is no respect of persons)

This absurdity fails to recognize that the judge is a contrast to God, not His comparison

Back to the parable...

Two characters are introduced who would be very familiar to a biblical audience

The unrighteous judge

Almost certainly a gentile magistrate

These men were notoriously corrupt

In fact, they were officially called the “Dayyaneh Gezeroth” (meaning judges of punishments) but a play on words was often used to call they Dayyaneh Gezeloth (meaning robber judges)

He is, by description and his own admission, thoroughly morally unfit to administer justice

The Law of God (the law by which justice is measured) hangs on two principles—Loving God and loving neighbor

This man has regard for neither!

The Widow

She is (by nature of being a widow) without a protector/provider in a male-dominated society

She has an adversary—which is itself remarkable (it would be considered a great injustice

Her desire, therefore, is that justice would be done—that she would be delivered from her persecuter and that he would be punished for his evil!

In the absence of a husband or of-age son to care for her, it would have been the responsibility of a male relative or God fearing man to protect her

See Naomi, Ruth, Boaz