Parable of the Unjust Judge/Persistent Widow
Luke 18:1-8, Sproul - 2, Mohler - 9, MacArthur - 10
www.trustworthyword.com/persistent-widow
R.C. Sproul on RightNow Media https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/player/video/608?session=4604
Luke 18:1–8 “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. [3] And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ [4] For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, [5] yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” [6] And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? [8] I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (ESV)
The Main Point: v.1 “they ought always to pray and not lose heart”
Pray about what? Lose heart about?
Luke 17:26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.”
Luke 17:37 “And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’”
Luke 18:8 “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Who is “The Unrighteous Judge”? - Fallen World
v.2 “neither feared God nor respected man”
Self-Aware (not naive or self-deceived) - v.4 “he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man’”
Mark 12:30–31 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Acts 2:40 "And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’”
Who is “The Widow”? - True Believers
v.2 “a widow in that city who kept coming to him”
A widow - the most helpless, needy, dependent
2 Corinthians 12:10 “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
What does she want? - Justice
v.3 "Give me justice against my adversary”
She was going the only route in which she could obtain human justice
Romans 12:18–19 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. [19] Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (ESV)
What is she modeling? - Faith. Hope.
v.5 “her continual coming”
Hebrews 11:1–3 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. [3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”
Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Who is “The Righteous Judge? - God
v.7 “will not God give justice to his elect
Psalm 98:9 “for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”
Hebrews 9:28 “Christ…will appear a second time…to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
2 Corinthians 4:1 “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.”
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17] For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Who are we?
v.7 “his elect, who cry to him day and night?”
v.8 "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
What does our prayer life evidence?
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened”
Matthew 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 21:22 “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
Questions to Consider:
How would you define and describe prayer? Its purpose? Its importance?
What are some of the types of things we pray most frequently for? Most passionately for?
Do we pray for Jesus’ return? As frequently and passionately as we should? Why is this one of the most important ways to pray?
How do we pray continually? Why is this persistence in prayer so difficult?
What kind of prayers does God answer yes to? Say no to? Why?
What sorts of things discourage us? Why? How do we daily seek to “not lose heart”?
Helpful Resources:
Rightnow Media: The Parables of Jesus by R.C. Sproul
What Do Jesus’ Parables Mean? By R.C. Sproul
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: The Explosive Power of Jesus’ Parables by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed through the Stories Jesus Told by John MacArthur