The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (NASB)
We are taught in college and seminary . . . , conservative colleges and seminaries that any given Bible passage or parable has one intended and primary meaning. But that does not mean there aren’t things that can’t be learned beyond or in addition to the one primary intended meaning. That is the general rule, but as we ought to know, to every rule there is an exception, which is probably the reason I found conflicting sermon material this past week as I did research on this morning’s parable. After all the opening sentence in the Gospel lesson points us in one direction with regard to the intended meaning and the closing verses seen to indicate another.
Most pastors take their queue from the verse 18:1, which is Luke’s introduction to the parable: “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” The other set, admittedly a smaller group take their key from how Jesus concludes the parable, verses 7 and 8. “Now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Perhaps another reason for the difference in emphasis among usually like minded Lutheran pastors is due to the fact exists because this parable is a little different from the normal way Jesus constructions a parable. Normally, Jesus compares someone or something in the parable to God the Father or to Himself, and someone or something in the parable to us. We are compared to the lost coin, the lost sheep, the unfaithful steward, and the like. Jesus and God the Father is the One who finds the lost and who administers mercy to the unrighteous. Those ar parables of comparison. This parable is different in that it is a parable of contrasts
In today’s parable, Jesus constructs the parable from the opposite direction. He tells of the interaction between a unjust judge and a widow, but does so as a way to contrast the two characters with God and with us. In other words, the parable runs the opposite direction. We are too look for the differences between the judge and God, and between the widow and us. The judge is unrighteous and God the Father is not. The widow is persistent in her petition for justice and we are not in our petitions for mercy.
In the parable this morning the judge is unworthy of his position but just about any standard, but especially when you see what God said through the prophet Moses. Moses established the position of judge in Israel in Deuteronomy 1:16-17 “Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s.”
Then this in Deuteronomy 16:19-20 “You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
Everyone who heard Jesus tell this parable knew from the opening line that the judge in the parable was about as bad as a judge to get. The judge in today’s parable is the exact opposite. Jesus summarizes the judge in one sentence. “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.”
This judge couldn’t have cared less what anyone thought of him. Worse
yet. This judge didn’t care what God thought either. He, like so many of our judges today, thought he was above the law, in this case, God’s Law in Deuteronomy. He wasn’t interested in the law of God. He wasn’t interested in the opinion of men. He was interested in his own status and convenience.
Widows in the ancient world, including in first century Galilee and Jerusalem were at a distinct political, economic, and legal disadvantage. Now some today blame the Old and New Testaments for that. But that only shows their ignorance of the Word and of the Faith. The Jewish judge was equally bound to Deuteronomy 27:19; “Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.”
In the parable before us, Jesus does not include any details in parable. We don’t know what injustice Jesus has in mind. We don’t know what the widow was upset about. What we do know is that this woman went to a man who held the office of “dispenser of justice.” We know that she suffered an injustice. We know that it was his job to administer, dispense justice.
3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling.”
This widow had a case and she wasn’t going to let it go. He ignored her and she kept coming back. She became more that a mere pest. She became a reminder that he was a failure as a judge. But she persisted.
And that is one of the lessons of the parable. Christians ought to approach prayer with the same determination and persistence as the widow approached her problem before the judge.
This widow was pressing a matter of injustice. A real wrong had been committed. Not she was not begging incessantly that she’d win the lottery. She is not asking for an easy life. She’s not asking the judge to alleviate sickness, pain, or worry. She’s begging for justice. But it is an interesting word that Jesus has her speak. Justice is the English translation of the Greek word dikaioj.
Dikaioj is usually translated from Greek into English as justification or righteousness. She is asking for the judge to declare her righteous, justified before the court, the world, and the one who has wronged her.
The widow wasn’t seeking vigilante justice against people or a person who had wronged her. She is not asking for a predetermined outcome, other than justice, righteousness. By the way, that is not what those mobs we are now seeing almost weekly now are demanding. They are seeking the exact opposite. They are seeking lawlessness as they riot, steal, and burn.
Rather, she was rightly and faithfully goes to the one who was held the office and had authority over her and had the authority to confront sinful persecution and bring about justice.
4 For a while he [the judge] was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” The only way to put this situation to an end anf for the judge to get back to business as usual, is to give the woman what she wants – justice, justification, righteousness.
Thus most pastors are preaching and teaching this morning that this parable is teaching us to be persistent in prayer. To just keep coming to God again and again with our petitions.
But then there this. This second part, the second and perhaps more important lesson. 6 “And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.”
A parable of contrasts. The unrighteous judge was not concerned about justice. He had not interest in declaring the widow righteous or justified. He delayed in His declaration and only did so out of selfish self interests.
But Jesus here teaches us that God the Father, our Judge is not like this judge at all. As a matter of fact, the judge in the parable had to be pestered into doing the right thing, namely fulfilling the law. But our God, our Judge, He does not have to pestered at all.
By the way Jesus concludes this parable, it shows that the primary lesson to be learned here is that, while we are to let our prayers come before God again and again and again, this parable is about your God and Father.
If an unrighteous evil earthly judge will give justice after he’s badgered into doing it, just think about how your God and Father will declare you righteous and justified and does so immediately. He is the Dispenser justification, righteousness, and justice.
The contrasts between the judge in the parable and our Heavenly Father are many. The judge doesn’t care about justice. God does. The judge cares about himself. God cares about us and thus sent His only begotten Son to be judge a sinner and unrighteous in our stead. The judge didn’t want to hear from the widow even though she had the right. God wants to hear our prayers. He wants to hear His church speak the liturgy and offer prayers. He instructs us to bring our prayers, both private and public, offered in our homes and offered here in places like this. On Wednesday before Thanksgiving we will once again read this text. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:9)
The widow in the parable was far more persistent in her petition than we are in our prayers. But there is another difference between the widow and us. The widow had a case. We don’t.
We are poor miserable sinner, who desire nothing by temporal and eternal punishment. The widow had good reason to ask the court to act. She sought justice. We on the other hand do not need or want justice. We need mercy.
The judge, who neither feared God nor cared about his fellow man, finally did the right thing. How much more will God the Father, Who judged His own Son and sacrificed Him as the payment for our sin, do what is best for us? He has not delayed in issuing His verdict. You a baptized child of God and you are found not guilty.
In today’s parable Jesus invites us to pray the way Jacob prayed in the reading from the Old Testament. The Son of God appeared to Jacob in human form and Jacob wrestled and struggled with Him all night, even after God had dislocated his hip. As day breaks, exhausted and in pain from a dislocated hip, Jacob, still will not let God go. “Then he [the Lord] said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he [Jacob] said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The parable in today’s Gospel urges us to wrestle with God in prayer and in so doing, we shall be blessed, but not because we somehow earned our petition by the act of wrestling. Rather, the blessing that is ultimately given is given because of the One with Whom we are wrestling.
Jesus ends this parable with a question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Will he find faith that is persistent and loyal? The answer is “Yes.” The next parable teaches us that. Luke 18:9 is the beginning of the parable to the tax collector, who humbled himself and beating his chest imploring God for mercy.
Yes He will find faith in people who, like the little children, look to Christ and trust in Him implicitly. He will find faith in people like the blind beggar, who cried out to Christ for healing and mercy. He will find faith in people like you and me who meet each Lord’s Day and offer God pleasing prayers and petitions and gladly receive Judge’s verdict. Not guilty your sins are forgiven you. Depart in peace.
Amen.
May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen