Luke 18:1-14 “Principles Regarding Prayer” Introduction: in This Passage
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Luke 18:1-14 “Principles Regarding Prayer” Introduction: In this passage there are two parables that teach about prayer. Not about prayer in a general sense, but about prayer in light of the salvation that is promised in Christ. Though there are general applications that can be taken from these parables, Jesus’ primary intent in telling these parables was to help His disciples understand how prayer related to two specific aspects of one’s salvation. I. A Parable about Perseverance in Prayer: (vs.1-8) The first parable is taken from the civil side of Jewish life, featuring an ungodly judge, and a victimized widow. In this parable Jesus uses this story to teach His disciples about the need to persevere in their prayers; specifically, in regard to God’s deliverance of them from this evil world. Luke opens this passage by writing; “Then He spoke a parable to them” (vs.1a). Luke’s use of the pronouns here indicates that Luke is linking the narrative in this chapter with that of the last chapter. The pronoun “He” of course refers to Jesus, who was teaching in the previous narrative. The pronoun “them” refers to Jesus’ disciples, since they had been the ones Jesus had been speaking to in the previous passage (17:22). Finally, we are told that Jesus was now going to teach them by using another of His parables. In this passage, Luke breaks his usual pattern and introduces the theme of Jesus’ parable prior to recording the parable itself. Luke writes; “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (vs.1b). The idea of praying at all times, is something that is repeated in the teachings of the Apostle Paul (Eph.6:18; I Thess.5:17). The admonition should not be interpreted as meaning that one never stops from offering formal prayers all day long. Instead, the intent is that Jesus’ disciples should have an ongoing conversation with their God; that they are to speak to Him over and over again throughout each day. The Greek word translated as “lose heart”, means to grow weary in the sense of discouragement or hopelessness. Therefore, this parable was designed to give the disciples of Jesus a reason to continue in their prayers to God, by informing them why should not give into despair. Jesus opens the parable by introducing the first of the two central characters of the parable; “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man” (vs.2). It is helpful to keep in mind that parables are fictitious stories depicting real life scenarios, which illustrate some theological or ethical truth. Therefore, Jesus is not recounting a story about an actual person. We are told that this first character in the parable is a judge in a “certain city”. It is typical for parables to include anonymous individuals and places. We are told two important things about this judge; he did not fear God, nor did he have regard for man. To understand how a first century Jewish audience would hear this, it is helpful to know what sort of a judge is pictured here. In light of the fact that the parable centers on a dispute between two individuals, we can be sure that a Jewish judge is in view. Though the Romans had ultimate authority over the land of Israel, it was their custom to leave local matters and the day to day operation of justice in the hands of the people of that given nation. All judges in Israel, including those who presided over civil matters, were to execute the responsibilities of their office as agents of God. From the time of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, we have a passage that informs us what was supposed to be expected of judges in Israel: “So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers. Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, ‘Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.’” II Chronicles 19:4-7 That this judge did not fear God, meant that he had no concern about violating God’s commandments and risking Divine punishment. The implication is that this man did not believe in God, and God’s revelation of what was right and wrong meant nothing to him. We are also told that this judge did not “regard” man. This word carries the sense of respect for another, or giving heed to what another person thinks or says. The ancient middle eastern culture is built around shame and honor. Most often, right was viewed in terms of what would gain honor, and wrong as what would bring shame. This judge is described as one who could not be shamed before other people, because he did not care what anyone thought of him. A person who feels no accountability to God or other people is a law unto himself; a person who is driven by self-interest alone. This sort of judge, is one that would use his office to his own advantage, and thus his judicial rulings were for sale. Jesus then introduces the second character in the parable; “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary’” (vs.3). In the ancient near east, a widow was extremely vulnerable. For all the power in society belonged to men. A woman in fact would never come before a judge unless she had no man in her family to represent her interests. Since this widow was not from a rich and influential family, she would be unlikely to get a fair hearing in court unless the judge she came to was a particularly righteous individual. Well, as we are told this judge was not. In light of all we are told, it is likely that the widow’s adversary was someone with whom she was having a financial dispute. She was owed money, and the adversary was withholding it from her. So, the widow came to the judge asking for justice; that her adversary be made to pay her what she was owed. Then Jesus tells us about the judge’s initial response to the widow’s call for justice; “And he would not for a while” (vs.4a). We are told that the judge was unwilling to give her justice. The implication from the wording is that he would not even hear the case, but summarily sided with the adversary. This went on for some undefined amount of time. Jesus tells us how the situation changed; “but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me’” (vs.4b-5). Sometime later, we read about the internal thoughts of the judge. Jesus puts in the mind and mouth of the judge the exact same description that Jesus gave him in verse two. The reason for repeating that the man did not fear God or regard man was to make it clear that the change in his response to the widow had nothing to do with a spiritual or moral enlightenment that took place within him. Instead, the reason for the change in his response was as self-centered as his original choice to ignore the widow. The judge describes the woman as troubling him. The idea is that from his perspective she was pestering him. The judge resolves that he would grant the widow the justice she was seeking from him. In this translation, the rendering has the word “avenge”. This is unfortunate because it is exactly the same word that was in verse three, and it was translated there more accurately as “justice”. Then the judge explains his rationale for reversing his earlier resistance to the woman; “lest by her continual coming she weary me”. The Greek word translated as “weary” literally means to render someone bruised in the face. This term was used in referring to what would happen in a boxing match. However, it is not likely that the woman was violent (something like that would not have been tolerated in that time). Therefore, the expression is to be taken metaphorically. There are two possible metaphorical meanings. The judge could be saying (using a modern expression) that the woman would give him a black eye in the sense of destroying his reputation. That is unlikely because Jesus has already told us that this character doesn’t care what people think about him. Therefore, the only alternative is that he was saying that she was annoying him. We are told how she was doing this; by continually coming to him. The picture in this story is that the woman was coming to him over and over with the same complaint, and no matter how many times he refused to grant her request, she would come back again. The widow wore him down over time. The idea was that she was so persistent that he decided that the only way to have some peace, was to give her what she wanted.