Luke 18:1-8 has theme of praying always and
not losing heart in doing so. We know this because Luke tells us this in verse
1. We can consider this a parable that encourages us to trust.
In verses 2-5, we find a parable. We learn of
a judge who did not fear God or have respect for people. We also learn of a
widow who kept coming to him, desiring justice against her opponent. She is persistent
in bringing her concern to the judge.
We learn something important about the judge.
The idea that fear of God bestowed wisdom and discernment as well as
piety was, of course, deeply rooted in the social and religious milieu of
Jesus' time (see, e.g., Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7, 4:7, 9:10). In addition,
the professional competence derived from their training in case and common law,
people expected judges to exhibit in their personal lives those characteristics
of balance and critical soundness commensurate with the decision-making demands
of their office. The judge in this case is derelict, making the point of the
parable even more forceful.
We know that widows were particularly
vulnerable in society. We also know that the Old Testament is quite clear that
it was the responsibility of leaders, if they were to fulfill their covenant
obligations, to be sure that the widow received justice. Widows, being
socially marginalized and economically precarious (see, e.g., Ruth 1:20-21;
Isaiah 54:4), were persons of special concern in the legal systems and social
customs of the ancient Near East (including the Bible's, although in different
form from neighboring civilizations; see, e.g., Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy
10:18, 24:17, 19-21; Isaiah 1:23, 10:2). By extension, widows became, along
with orphans and the poor, symbols of the disadvantaged and vulnerable, and
their protection became a particular duty of the powerful, not only in the
Bible - see, for example, 2 Samuel 14 - but in neighboring cultures as well. In
the Ugaritic legend of King Kirta, Kirta's rebellious son calls for his ailing
father's abdication by saying, "You do not decide the complaint of the
widow, you do not render judgment for the distressed".[1]
H. B. Tristram went to the city of Nisbis in present-day Iraq in the
1890's. He went to the court
proceedings. The judge sat in a large
hall, flanked by secretaries all around him.
The front of the hall was crowded with people demanding that a judge
hear their case. Those who were wealthy
enough got up close to the secretary and bribed him so that he could get the
case heard. The proceedings went very
smoothly until a poor woman broke through the crowd with loud cries for
justice. Everyone told her to be quiet,
and condemned her for coming every day with this complaint. However, she said, "And so l will do,
until the judge hears my case." Finally, at the end of the session for
that day, the judge said, very impatiently,” What do you want, woman?" She
told her story. Some tax collectors
wanted her to pay taxes, even though her only son was in military service,
which was against the law. The judge
quickly decided the case. The judge
rewards her for her patience.[2]
In any case, we know that this judge had no
regard for God or people. This parable is setting up a difficult situation. How
will it turn out?
We learn that for a while, the judge refused.
He recognizes that he has no respect for God or for people. Yet, the widow
keeps bothering him, so he will grant her justice, simply because she is
wearing him out.
We learn something about life here. Some
people in society are always around the edges. They might receive justice, but
they will have to persistent. They will have to keep nagging those in power.
Now if this
hypothetical judge with those motivations will grant justice in response to
persistence, how much easier is it to have confidence in that Judge with Divine
motivations for the same response? Jesus wants to engender two things in his
listeners: belief in God’s justice and the value of persistence in securing it.
Yet, Luke wants us to learn something about
prayer here. Verse 6 says we are to listen to what the judge says. What he has
said is that he will grant justice. Verse 7 makes us shift to reflecting on
God. The people of God cry out day and night. The point is that if an unjust
judge hears the prayers of a woman, how much more will the just God and Father
of all. We do not need to nag God into coming to our aid. If the helpless
persistence of the widow gets a hearing, the persistence of the disciples will
find even more of a hearing with their God.
Luke recommends persistent, faith-inspired prayer in the face of the
delay in answer to prayer. God is much better than the judge in the parable,
for God is just and wants to see justice reign in human life. Will God delay
long in helping such people who pray? It sure seems like it to us. Yet, Jesus
says that God will “quickly” grant justice to them. Finally, at the end of
verse 8, we learn another key to this passage. When the Son of Man returns,
will he find faith on earth? In the previous chapter, the disciples asked Jesus
to increase their faith. Jesus spoke of kingdom arriving soon. Suddenly, the
widow of the parable is not just nagging; she is being faithful. She is not
just after what she wants; she is after justice, something judge recognizes as
well.
The context in Luke may help us here. Luke
places this parable immediately following an explicitly eschatological, even
apocalyptic, instruction about the coming of a future kingdom (17:22-37). No
wonder, that after references to "lightning flashes" (17:24),
suffering and rejection (17:25), "fire and sulphur" (17:29), losing
one's life (17:33), one being taken and "the other left" (17:35), the
disciples need to hear the instruction to pray and not lose heart. The
"Son of Man" is coming, and when he comes, it would be a good idea if
he discovers "chosen ones" who have found heart instead of losing
heart, and have kept the faith rather than abandoning it. Luke's insistence on
keeping the faith (v. 8b) and praying always (v.1) inextricably links prayer
and faith.
Barth[3]
says that the prayers of those who believe are heard. God is the one who
listens to the prayers of faith. People do not only have the privilege of
hearing from God and worshipping God. They also have the privilege of God
hearing them. He admits a place for Christian patience and submission is
present in prayer. Yet, even this quality shows itself as genuine when it
accompanies restlessness of the prayer that runs to God and beseeches God, by
the hast that we for our part will take divine mercy to hear and live by it.
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