The Unjust Judge
Jesus told a parable about a widow and an unjust judge which
some have misunderstood. We need not harass God until He
finally gives in and answers our prayers.
LUKE 18:1-8 NKJ
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to
pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear
God nor regard man.
3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him,
saying,'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within
himself,'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest
by her continual coming she weary me.'"
6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and
night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the
earth?"
In verse one Jesus revealed why He told this story: to
encourage us not to give up on prayer.
The idea that we must keep on begging God for the same thing
until He finally answers -- instills no confidence and gives us
no encouragement to pray!
God is not like the unjust judge. You do not have to come to
Him repeatedly asking for the same thing until you finally
convince Him.
Jesus is teaching persistence in prayer, but not persistence in
praying for the same thing over and over.
The literal meaning of the word translated "lose heart" in
verse one is "not give in to evil." It means giving up in view
of difficulty.
Jesus' purpose in telling this parable was to impress on us
that we must continue to pray to God and not give in to the
evil we see around us. We should not be cowards who lose
courage and quit praying. Jesus told us that was His purpose,
so we should not try to extract another meaning from this
parable.
Jesus' message is that God is nothing like an unjust judge, but
infinitely better. So, if a poor widow can get help from a
human judge who has no regard for what God thinks, much less
what people think -- HOW MUCH MORE can we expect our wonderful
Father God to provide help for us when we come to Him.
After telling the parable, in verse eight Jesus gives us His
interpretation: God will answer quickly! So we don't have to
approach God like this widow did the unjust judge!
It may seem to us that God is not answering our cries for help
speedily. But Jesus said otherwise. God is working!
Although God actually answers speedily, from our human
viewpoint the answer may seem delayed. I think Jesus is saying,
"Don't let circumstances cause you discouragement. You can have
confidence in God. When you pray He will listen and answer
speedily. So keep on praying."
Why would people become discouraged and quit the practice of
prayer? Only if it did not seem to work. If they always saw
answers quickly, there would be no temptation to stop praying.
That is why Jesus told this story, so we would be encouraged to
stand in faith no matter how long it took for the answer to
show up. We can have faith because God is merciful, gracious,
and dependable -- nothing like the unjust judge.
God does not have to be convinced or coerced to help you. God
loves you and desires the best for you. You can expect God to
speedily help you. And don't worry about people hindering your
provision. If a poor widow can influence an evil judge to do
right, how much more can your Father God influence people! So
keep praying!
Why do answers to prayer not always manifest quickly -- even
when God immediately grants our request. God does not violate
people's freedom to choose. So, in answering our prayers, it
may take some time for God to work with people to get them to
change. But we can be confident that God is working on our
behalf, even though we may not see any outward change yet.
Instead of thinking it does no good to pray, because God
probably won't answer anyway, this story was told to make us
think the opposite.
So, we are to pray in faith, and never doubt. We are to be
confident and keep looking to God, knowing that God is working
and our answer is on its way. When we know that, it would be
foolish for us to "keep on asking" for the same thing over and
over.
Jesus summary statement in verse eight, which concludes with a
question about faith, has this idea: God will be faithful. You
can count on Him. There is not any chance that God will not be
faithful to answer the cries of His people. But will His people
be faithful? Will they persevere in their faith in God?
Will they keep trusting God and believing in His goodness, even
when it seems like answers do not always immediately come? Will
people continue to believe what Jesus said, that God will
answer speedily? Or will people give up and think it is useless
to pray to God?
SAY THIS: God is not an unjust judge!
some have misunderstood. We need not harass God until He
finally gives in and answers our prayers.
LUKE 18:1-8 NKJ
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to
pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear
God nor regard man.
3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him,
saying,'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within
himself,'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest
by her continual coming she weary me.'"
6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and
night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the
earth?"
In verse one Jesus revealed why He told this story: to
encourage us not to give up on prayer.
The idea that we must keep on begging God for the same thing
until He finally answers -- instills no confidence and gives us
no encouragement to pray!
God is not like the unjust judge. You do not have to come to
Him repeatedly asking for the same thing until you finally
convince Him.
Jesus is teaching persistence in prayer, but not persistence in
praying for the same thing over and over.
The literal meaning of the word translated "lose heart" in
verse one is "not give in to evil." It means giving up in view
of difficulty.
Jesus' purpose in telling this parable was to impress on us
that we must continue to pray to God and not give in to the
evil we see around us. We should not be cowards who lose
courage and quit praying. Jesus told us that was His purpose,
so we should not try to extract another meaning from this
parable.
Jesus' message is that God is nothing like an unjust judge, but
infinitely better. So, if a poor widow can get help from a
human judge who has no regard for what God thinks, much less
what people think -- HOW MUCH MORE can we expect our wonderful
Father God to provide help for us when we come to Him.
After telling the parable, in verse eight Jesus gives us His
interpretation: God will answer quickly! So we don't have to
approach God like this widow did the unjust judge!
It may seem to us that God is not answering our cries for help
speedily. But Jesus said otherwise. God is working!
Although God actually answers speedily, from our human
viewpoint the answer may seem delayed. I think Jesus is saying,
"Don't let circumstances cause you discouragement. You can have
confidence in God. When you pray He will listen and answer
speedily. So keep on praying."
Why would people become discouraged and quit the practice of
prayer? Only if it did not seem to work. If they always saw
answers quickly, there would be no temptation to stop praying.
That is why Jesus told this story, so we would be encouraged to
stand in faith no matter how long it took for the answer to
show up. We can have faith because God is merciful, gracious,
and dependable -- nothing like the unjust judge.
God does not have to be convinced or coerced to help you. God
loves you and desires the best for you. You can expect God to
speedily help you. And don't worry about people hindering your
provision. If a poor widow can influence an evil judge to do
right, how much more can your Father God influence people! So
keep praying!
Why do answers to prayer not always manifest quickly -- even
when God immediately grants our request. God does not violate
people's freedom to choose. So, in answering our prayers, it
may take some time for God to work with people to get them to
change. But we can be confident that God is working on our
behalf, even though we may not see any outward change yet.
Instead of thinking it does no good to pray, because God
probably won't answer anyway, this story was told to make us
think the opposite.
So, we are to pray in faith, and never doubt. We are to be
confident and keep looking to God, knowing that God is working
and our answer is on its way. When we know that, it would be
foolish for us to "keep on asking" for the same thing over and
over.
Jesus summary statement in verse eight, which concludes with a
question about faith, has this idea: God will be faithful. You
can count on Him. There is not any chance that God will not be
faithful to answer the cries of His people. But will His people
be faithful? Will they persevere in their faith in God?
Will they keep trusting God and believing in His goodness, even
when it seems like answers do not always immediately come? Will
people continue to believe what Jesus said, that God will
answer speedily? Or will people give up and think it is useless
to pray to God?
SAY THIS: God is not an unjust judge!
posted by adevotion at 1:03 AM
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