Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I 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)
Jesus had just finished talking about Judgment Day. I bet you’ve heard some of the things the Bible says about the end of the world. It’s scary, isn’t it? In our Revelation Bible study this past week, we heard about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Jesus promises us that conquest, war, famine, and death will fill the world. Sound scary? It is. Of course, there’s a promise at the end: Heaven! “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10). But all the trials and troubles and persecutions? That’s really hard to hear.
So notice the very next thing Jesus talked about. After teaching about Judgment Day, he taught his disciples that “they should always pray and not give up.” Do you think there’s a connection? Judgment Day. Prayer. Do they go together? Absolutely! If you worry about what might happen during the rest of your life, what should you do? “Always pray and not give up.” If you’re anxious about all the bad things happening in our world, what should you do? “Always pray and not give up.” If you see that the trials and troubles that Jesus predicted are coming true, what should you do? “Always pray and not give up.” Thinking about Judgment Day leads us to pray.
But the fact that Jesus needed to teach his disciples that implies something. We don’t. We don’t always pray. And we do. We do give up. Isn’t that the truth? Maybe God hasn’t seemed to answer your prayers like you want him to. Maybe God seems to be taking way longer than he should. Maybe God doesn’t seem real to you anymore. It’s easy not to pray. It’s easy to watch YouTube instead. Read another blog. Scroll… The fact that Jesus is having this conversation with his disciples—and with us—indicates something: I don’t always pray, and I do give up.
Is that true for you too? The irony in life is that we bounce back and forth between two extremes. There are times in life when we think we can do it on our own. We don’t need anybody’s help—not even God’s! So we don’t pray. But there are other times when we feel so weak that we can’t do anything. So we don’t pray. Sometimes we make ourselves so busy that there isn’t any time. “Sorry, God, I would pray, but you didn’t put enough hours in a day!” But other times we feel discouraged and do nothing at all, but we still don’t pray. “It probably won’t work anyway…”
Wherever you’re at today, Jesus wants to teach us to “always pray and not give up.” So he tells us a story. A parable. “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.” Ahh. Isn’t that frustrating? A judge, of all people, should be concerned about people and justice and what’s right in God’s eyes. How did this guy even get to be a judge? Except, we’re not that surprised. This type of thing happens often in our sinful world.
“And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’” This widow is the complete opposite of that judge. In Jesus’ day, a widow had few to no rights. She had no one to speak up for her. See the contrast? A proud, self-reliant, independent judge and a humble, helpless, dependent widow. And she needed justice. There have always been people who need justice. But, “for some time the judge refused.” Some of you have been through that. Waiting on hearings and court cases. On judges. It’s agonizing!
But this widow had one thing going for her: Persistence. She “kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’” She didn’t give up. We can picture how this went. She met him at the door of the courthouse every day. Every single day she was there. She somehow got his cell number and texted him. Multiple times a day. “Grant me justice. Grant me justice!” She followed him on Facebook and kept posting on his timeline. “Grant me justice. Grant me justice!” When he went to Walmart, she was there. When he sat down at a football game, there she was next to him: “Grant me justice. Grant me justice!” She had nothing but persistence.
I read a story recently about a man in Brazil who got a parking ticket in the 1970s. If I remember right, it was for something like fifty cents. But he didn’t believe it was fair. So he appealed. You know how sometimes things get bogged down in the courts? That man’s case was finally settled this past summer. For over forty years, he appealed and appealed. He appeared in court dozens of times. Finally, this summer, after forty years, his parking ticket from the 1970s was removed from his record. Ironically, he spent way more than fifty cents on court fees, but he said in the end it was worth it. “I didn’t care about the money. I wanted justice!” That’s persistence.
Like that widow. “Finally the judge said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” Like that man in Brazil, that widow’s persistence paid off. The wicked judge finally said, “I don’t give a rip about God or about other people, but I’ll give her justice so she stops bothering me. So she won’t attack me!” That last word in Greek actually means to “give someone a black eye.” Isn’t that kind of funny? The judge says, “I better finally do something so that this lady doesn’t give me a black eye.” Finally, justice was granted.
So what’s the point? Jesus told parables to teach us something. What’s the point? Well, I guess God is a wicked judge who will only grant us justice if we keep pestering and pestering and pestering him and threaten to punch him in the face. Right? No. Some people view God that way. Like an angry guy up in the sky. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The unjust judge is not a picture of God. But he teaches us about God. Jesus says, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?”
Here’s the point: If that unjust judge—as wicked as he was—if that unjust judge showed mercy to the widow, how much more won’t our loving God of grace show mercy to you and me when we pray to him? Understand? It’s an argument from the lesser to the greater. If even sinful earthly authorities give justice to those who persistently cry out to them, how much more won’t our perfect heavenly Father give justice to his “chosen ones”? If a helpless widow can get justice from an unjust judge, how much more will the “chosen ones” get justice from our gracious God!
So maybe you’re wondering: Who’s a “chosen one”? How do I get that? This courtroom scene is actually one of the Bible’s favorite scenes to talk about God’s salvation. We really do deserve to be in a courtroom with God as our judge. And what verdict do we deserve? Guilty. We are guilty for our sins. But the Bible says you have an Advocate. A Lawyer. It’s Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just argue for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus paid for every one of your sins. Jesus was declared guilty in our place. So do you know what God has declared about you? Not guilty. Forgiven. Free. Saved. By faith in Jesus. The big word for that is justification. Have you heard that? To justify is to “declare not guilty.” You are justified through Jesus. By faith, you are the chosen ones of God.
Isn’t that cool? That’s God’s grace! If a helpless widow can find justice from the most wicked judge, do you think that you, dear child of God, will find justice from your heavenly Father? Absolutely. The God we pray to is a God who always keeps his promise to hear and answer us. The God we pray to is a God who cares about people so much that he allowed his Son to suffer and die for us. If we really have a God like that, what can and should we do? “Always pray and not give up!” Do you see what Jesus is teaching us? Jesus promises us, “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” You can trust God the Father. Always pray and never give up!
But Jesus is concerned about something. Did you notice how our lesson ends? “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Jesus is concerned about our faith. We think the problem is God: “We pray, but God doesn’t listen. God isn’t as good as he says he is. God doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do.” We talk as if the problem in life is God. But Jesus says the problem in life isn’t God. The problem is us. It’s our lack of faith. It’s our failure to pray and trust in God. The problem in the world isn’t that God doesn’t answer prayers. The problem is that we don’t have faith in God to pray to him and trust in his answer. Can you see that?
So where does faith come from? This is so important: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith comes from hearing God’s promises. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). What a promise from Jesus! “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). What a promise from Jesus! Faith comes from hearing God’s promises. You are God’s dear child, bought with Jesus’ blood. You have access to God. Maybe you feel helpless or hopeless. Always pray and never give up.
But when is God going to answer? That’s our big question, right? When? Look at how verse 7 ends. “Will he keep putting them off?” There are two ways to translate that phrase. It could be asking a question with an implied “no” answer: “Will he keep putting them off?” Of course not! Or it could be making a statement: “Even though he puts them off.” So which is true? Does God answer right away, or does he delay? Yes. Either way, it’s true. God hears and answers right now. He always does. But sometimes God’s answer is to wait. To wait and trust in him.
In fact, that’s what God’s people in heaven are doing right now. As we studied Revelation this past week, we heard about the souls of Christians who have been put to death for their faith in Jesus. They are in heaven, just like Jesus promises! And they are still praying. “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). Does that sound familiar? It sounds just like the widow. “Grant me justice against my adversary.” Do you know what God’s response to the saints in heaven is? “Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer.” “You’re saved. You’re forgiven. Now wait a little longer for God’s time.” Always pray and never give up.
It took me a little longer than usual to write this sermon. Do you know why? Because I kept wanting to stop and pray. Why would we not pray all the time? If you worry about what might happen the rest of your life, “always pray and never give up.” If you’re anxious about all the bad things happening, “always pray and never give up.” If God can hold the stars, he can hold your hand. If he can handle the cross, he can handle your troubles. “Always pray and never give up.”
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