Parable of the Persistent Widow

A parable is a story that is not given to entertain. It is a story told for the purpose of teaching. It is a powerful teaching tool that Jesus used often. The story has a way to bring the truth to life. A parable is intended to make you think. To help you ponder, and meditate upon it. A parable helps you learn and understand what Jesus is teaching better.  The Parable of the persistent widow is a very vivid parable of Jesus.

In verse 1 it tells us that a parable has a purpose and then tells us right away what this parable is about. That is not always the case. Sometimes the explanation comes later. Sometimes they are so obvious that there is no need for an explanation. The parable of the persistent widow is clearly about prayer.

Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Do not stop praying

Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

It is a clear truth stated here. We should always pray and do not stop. Do not quit. A simple truth, but Jesus wants us to dwell upon it more, He wants us to have reasons to pray, He has some things about this that He wants us to have deeper understanding on. So He gives us a story that illustrates this truth.  A story that we can identify with.

In the story there is a Judge. A man of power. The judge makes decisions and those decisions stand. We have to remember that this is before our current system of law.
There was no appeal’s court, if you did not agree with what the judge decided, to bad. There was no one to appeal to. A king could override the judge, but that was it, and getting your case to the king was not very likely. So the judge had great power.  And Jesus gives us some details about this judge.

Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

He feared not God. He had no respect for God’s ways. This judge would not base his decisions upon God’s word. The morality that God teaches was not going to influence this man. He was going to judge the way he wanted. A very prideful man.  Anyone who does not fear God, does not believe in God’s universal law of reaping and sowing. The fear of the Lord has a lot to do with doing right because you know that God will indeed not only allow but He will work it out so that the consequences of your choices come back upon you.  This judge did not care what God thinks and did not think God had either the power or the will to do anything to Him. So any judgment coming from this man would in no way be in consideration of what God wants.

Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

This judge also did not regard man. He did not care what God thought and he did not care what any man thought. It has been well said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. It appears that this man had so much power that he did not care what any man thought. He had no worries about being removed from his office as judge.
Today I think that a high number of our judges do care somewhat what others think. Especially what other judges think. Many times they will refer to and look up other cases and have some respect, some regard, for what other men in similar positions said.  But not this man. He was going to stand alone, think alone, act alone. I think it is being implied here that this judge is prideful and wicked. I think the description the Unjust Judge fits.

There are three people in our parable. The second person is a widow.

Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

We do not know a whole lot about her. We know that she lived in the same city as the unjust judge. She was in his jurisdiction. So she had to go to this judge. She had no other choice. She could not say that person is not going to give me a fair judgment so I will pick another.  You do not get to personally choose the people over you. Unlike most of the world thru history, we do get to vote. But throughout history most never had any say at all. And for us, we have to accept the people who won the election no matter how much we do not like them. So like her we have to do the best that we can with the circumstances that we are put in.  The only thing that she could do is to go to the unjust judge and ask for help. He might be wicked but he did have the power to fix her situation.

And we see that she had a reason to go to the judge. She had a problem. We are not told specifically what the problem is only that she had an adversary. Someone was against her. Someone was causing her some kind of trouble. It was obviously not a pleasant situation.  This was a real situation that she needed fixed. Her saying avenge me, is not speaking of vengeance. We know that because God says elsewhere Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. We are not to seek vengeance with a hard heart. If she was after revengeful hard hearted vengeance Jesus would not put her in a good light. He sets her as an example for us.  I think the avenge me is a way of saying I want this made right. Whatever that person stole, or cost her, or damage that was done. It could have been a lot of things and again we are not told what it was. But she wanted her adversary to be made to do the right thing.

The third person in the parable is the adversary.

We have no idea about what the adversary done. We do not even know if the adversary is a man or a woman. A neighbor or a business owner, or a landlord. We have no idea. But one thing we know.  The adversary is picking on a widow. That is shameful. A terrible thing to do.  And we know that God has his eye upon the widow. So we know that this adversary also has no fear of God. I am telling you with love, please never pick on a widow. God sees it, and he is not happy with it at all.  This adversary did not care if God was watching. Like the unjust judge had no thought about what God might do to them. The adversary is just set on evil.

And we know that the widow could not fix this herself. She needed someone with authority and power to help her.  So she goes to the judge and gets no help.

Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while:

Widows in those days had even less resources that widows today do. Her request was denied. What to do now. She only had one option before. Only one judge to go to. So she does the same thing. Goes and asks again. And again and again.  That is implied because it says and he would not for a while. This went on for a while.

Luke 18:4 …but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

Afterward he said within himself. He considered no one over him. No one could make him. And look at what else he said. Though I fear not God, nor regard man.
Earlier Jesus said that this judge did not fear God or regard man. Here the man says it himself. He knew it. Some people don’t fear God but they are so obvious that they do not even know it. It is a subject that they never even considered. Not this man. He knew there was a God, and he made a conscious decision to not care what God thinks.
This is a dangerous man. He could make any ruling he wants to.

Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

The unjust judge finally does what is right and will avenge the widow. The adversary will be dealt with. But why? Is it because it is the good moral thing to do. Nope. The reason is given. Because this widow troubleth me. Lest by her continual coming she weary me.  The widow kept coming and coming and coming. Enough that the unjust judge knew that she would not stop. He know that over and over again would be a big pain. One that would weary him. He would see her coming and that feeling comes. O’ not again. I am tired of this.  So for that reason and that reason alone he ruled correctly. He answered the request simply to have the continual requesting to stop.

Jesus says pay attention to what he said.

Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Stop and really hear it. Hear it as in really let this sink in. Let this truth enter. Really think about it.  Her request. Her prayer if you will. What she was asking for from the one who had the power to answer. It was answered. It was answered by a wicked, prideful, self-important, man who did not give a care what God thought. A man who cared less about doing right. A man who cared nothing for this widow or for the trouble caused her. The man is called unjust.  This unjust horrible judge answered, just because she asked over and over and over again. If a totally uncaring wicked man with power will answer, a man who does not want to answer.

If the unjust judge will answer because of asking more than a few times, how much more will a perfect just loving, gracious, merciful, forgiving God answer. A God that wants to answer. He cares that is the main point of the entire parable. Unlike that judge, God wants to help. He knows our hurts. He loves us.

Jesus is teaching that God will answer our cries.

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

The implied answer to the question is of course. Absolutely. You can be certain of it. It is a promise that you can count on. If you keep praying, He will answer. The keep praying is in the heart of the parable. And it is also in verse 7. Which cry day and night unto Him. That is a way to describe continual asking.
God has perfect knowledge and His timing is always best and sometimes He has reasons for have us wait a bit for the answer. So like the widow as long as the problem we have exists we are to pray to our Heavenly Father about it.

Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Not maybe but will. This is a promise and one that the person praying must take by faith.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

You must ask in faith. And keep asking in faith. This pleases God, and He promises to answer.  And He has over and over again thru the centuries.

On a voyage across the Atlantic, Dr Meyer was asked by the Captain to preach in the saloon at the Sunday morning service. His subject was ‘Answered Prayer’, and he gave several illustrations. An agnostic who was present was asked what he thought of the sermon and replied,’ I don’t believe a word of it.’ That afternoon Dr Meyer was speaking to the tourist class passengers.  Picking up a couple of oranges, the agnostic put them in his pocket and made his way to the meeting. On the way, as he passed an old woman with silvery hair sitting asleep in a deck chair, with her hands open on her lap, he took the two oranges from his pocket, placed them in her open hands and went on to the meeting.

When he came back the old lady was eating one of the oranges and he said to her, You seem to be enjoying your orange!’ Yes!’ she said,’ my Father is very good.’ Your father! Your father can’t be living!’ Oh!’ said she,’ He is very much alive.’ What do you mean?’ he asked. Well!’ she replied, ‘I have been seasick for five days.
This morning I longed for an orange. I knew there were some in the saloon but I wondered how I could get them in the tourist class, so I asked the Lord to send me an orange. I must have fallen asleep and-would you believe it, sir?-when I opened my eyes, He had not only sent me one but two!’ ‘ Why,’ said the agnostic, ‘ is that true?’ ‘Absolutely true,’ she said. The bottom fell out of his agnosticism there and then. God answers prayer and sometimes uses infidels to carry the answer.
Our God has all power and all means to answer our prayers. He can use anything and anyone he chooses to answer.

Mr. H. P. Barker, tells an interesting story of a poor woman who was being pressed by a tradesman to pay an account which she knew she had already settled. In that case he demanded that she produce a receipt; quite certain she had received one. She hunted and hunted, but was absolutely unable to find it. She went through piles of papers and letters, but to no avail-the receipt was not forthcoming.
Finally the tradesman came to her again; and made a very angry demand upon her for immediate payment. In her distress she turned to the Lord in earnest prayer, asking Him to bring the receipt to light.

Then in a moment or two, a butterfly flew into the room through an open window, and her little boy, eager to catch the beautiful creature, ran after it. The frightened insect flew over to the wall on one side and down behind a trunk. The boy in his eagerness to catch it, pushed out the trunk, and there, behind it on the floor lay the missing receipt! Snatching it up triumphantly, the poor widow showed it to the tradesman, who went away discomfited.
As his own handwriting declared, the debt had been paid. Who can doubt but that He who notes the sparrow’s fall and who would have us learn lessons from the ant and other small creatures, directed even the movements of a butterfly in order that He might answer His handmaiden’s prayer!

You could go on with examples of answered pray for literally years and still not cover them all. God has shown the teaching of Luke chapter 18 to be true over and over and over again.  He is listening, He is watching, He cares, He will answer. So ask over and over until you receive the answer. This should be one of those well da things. It should be the natural thing that His children do in faith.

But sadly it will be less and less the case as we get closer to His coming.

Luke 18:8 …Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

This statement might seem out of place but it is not. Just before Jesus taught this parable, He was teaching about the end times. How one will be taken and another left.
And now at the end of this parable on prayer He asks a rhetorical question when Jesus comes back shall he find faith on the earth?  It is a way of telling us how real faith, specifically here real faith to ask in prayer, will be very hard to find when He comes back.

Even with the Word of God telling His children to pray and that He hears and answers. And even with centuries and centuries of the answered prayers of His children as examples as encouragement for us to pray.  Real believing faith. Jesus comments will I even find it on the earth when I return.  Since it is true that God answers the prayers of His children. Is it not incredible, I mean is it not hard to grasp that His children would almost stop praying in faith, to almost stop asking believing?

In light of this great truth is seems crazy almost impossible to believe that His children would stop having faith to be continually asking.
But that is exactly what we often are seeing.

We cannot change the faithless prayers of other believers. Real faith will get more and more rare the closer we get to His return.  But we can. We absolutely can choose to pray with faith ourselves. It is a choice that each and every believer can make. We can each choose to have faith. Real faith. Faith that pleases the Lord. And we can pray to the Lord with faith.  A good thing to ask the Lord for would be, Lord help me have real faith. Lord help me to be able to pray in faith to you the way you want me to.

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