NEVER GIVE UP WIDOW
a) 1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8 NIV)
2. What lessons can we learnt from this story?
a) 2In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. (Luke 18:2 NIV)
i) The point is of course that this Judge was himself unjust! He was like one of those we’ve read about who is eventually removed from the bench for his crimes. This Judge is so bad even he knows it! And yet he is supposed to give out justice! So....having presented a picture of the worst possible Judge, Jesus now presents us with the most pathetic petitioner! In short, we will never come before a Judge this bad and we will never be as desperate as the widow we’re about to meet.
b) 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary. (Luke 18:3 NIV)
i) Well, the very mention of a widow in Israel evoked pity. She could not hold property and she was totally dependent upon the men around her. The likelihood of her getting justice in any courtroom was quite minimal. These ancient women were really quite helpless and this was the worst judge in the land. We will never been this helpless and we will never come before such a rotten judge!
ii) The widow doesn’t come to him only once. She comes over and over again and what does she ask for? She wants human protection that any decent God-fearing society would give. Notice as she keeps coming to him that she probably doesn’t realise he is unjust. As with unanswered prayer, she just wonders why justice is so slow to come her way!
c) 4 “For some time he refused." (Luke 18:4NIV)
i) Why doesn’t she just use a little common sense and give up? Obviously the Judge is a creep and never going to respond...or is he? Is it possible that she knows her cause is just and she also knows that because of his position, sooner or later, he will have to do something for her? And he does...but for the wrong reason!
d) 4But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” (Luke 18:4-5 NIV)
i) The Judge just said “I give up. Ok. Fine. This woman is killing me! Give her justice before she wears me out! I don’t care why or what...just get her out of here!”
e) Now...Jesus gives us a summary of his teaching and it is quite profound: 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8 NIV)
i) The request of the widow was just and righteous. The power of justice prompted even a bad judge to do the right thing. God’s chosen ones will not be ignored by God. But....she still had a, good long wait!
ii) The unjust Judge taught the widow to persevere in her petitions. Has God been teaching us to persevere in our prayers? Has He been working on us for perseverance in prayer? Do we give up quickly and thereby shipwreck the wonder of our faith?
3. Prayer focus
a) Pray that we are like the never give up widow, keeps coming to the unjust judge for her petitions. The Bible encourages us to be persistent in our prayer.
i) 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7, 8 NIV)
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