The Unjust Judge

The Unjust Judge 

(The Persistent Widow)

Luke 18 verses 1 to 8

 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.

3 And 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 about men,

5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ “

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.

7 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?

8 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?”

There are a number of factors to be considered when studying this reading.

1. The Judge

The parable is about a widow who is seeking justice from an unjust judge.

To be a judge you need to have 2 things.

·        One was a fear of God so that you kept his laws and administered them fairly.

·        The other was compassion for people especially those who came to seek your justice.

This judge, both by our Lord’s analysis (v. 2) and by the man’s own reckoning (v. 4), was not a good person.

He neither feared God nor respected man.

Bribery was rife in the courts 2000 plus years ago.

Judges were set up by the Romans and they were totally corrupt and made money for themselves.

They did not have any regard for God or other men and were only interested in how they could benefit themselves.

2. The Woman

On the other hand, the woman sought justice for herself.

She was a widow which is very important in the context of the story.

At that time women had very few rights.

·        They could not own or inherit property

·        They could not testify in court.

·        The custom was that women should not engage in commerce.

·        Women would not converse with men in the streets

·        A widow could lose her financial security

·        She could lose her property and inheritance and

·        Her legacy and even her name

So, the choice of a widow by Jesus for this parable was very important.

But everyone has a right to justice.

The widow wanted her rights but had no money to bribe the judge.

But she persisted in hounding the judge until he eventually gave in.

“If she goes on like this, she will wear me out” The judge says.

Eventually her prayers were answered.

Being a widow and having to go up against a judge who cared for no one was no mean feat.

To win and get justice was amazing.

Her persistent prayers were answered.

3.  The Lack of Feelings shown

The unrighteous judge had no feelings and no relationship to the widow.

He had no compassion towards her, while God has great compassion for all of us.

The unrighteous judge delayed because he didn’t care about God or man.

The Lord Jesus delays out of compassion on guilty men, giving them time to repent and be saved.

The unrighteous judge only cared about reducing his “pain,” while our righteous Judge came to suffer the greatest pain of all.

The just wrath of God, in order to save fallen man.

4.  Sinful People

We need to be realistic about why sinful men ever bring about justice.

In our culture today we have courts that are relatively free from corruption.

No one can ever know if we are completely free of corruption.

But when corruption or wrong-doing are identified then it is big news in our country.

Often justice is served by people for their own self-interests.

It is not righteousness which prompts men to act in favour of justice, but self-interest.

Government officials are looked upon as duty bound to promote justice, but if the justice they are obliged to administer is not in their own self-interest, don’t plan on it taking place.

At least not quickly.

Post office scandal.

Man jailed unjustly for 17 years

If unjust men will not bring about justice because it promises them no pleasure or benefit, then persistence may force them to act in self-interest to reduce the pain of our persistence.

5.  God’s Justice

How very different with God.

·        God is good.

·        God is righteous and just.

·        God does not need to be forced to bring about justice by His saints.

·        God has promised to do so, and He will.

His love of justice, His love for His own (and His compassion for the oppressed) predispose Him to act to bring about justice.

It is this positive aspect of His character which promotes the perseverance of the saints in prayer, while it is the very wickedness of the unjust judge which required the same perseverance from the widow.

The character of God is our motivation not to lose heart and to press on in prayer for His coming and for the establishment of justice on the earth.

6.  Be Persistent in Prayer.

Just like the widow we too need to be persistent.

We are all called to be persistent in our prayers.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle.

Keep on asking and seeking.

In verse 8 Jesus asks if, as time goes on, there will still be people of faith seeking him and his justice.

Jesus wants us to seek justice and God’s help and God wants to be involved in all of our lives and in all aspects of our lives.