Commentary - Luke 18:1-8

Bird's-eye view

In this famous parable, commonly called the parable of the persistent widow or the unjust judge, Jesus gives us the moral of the story right up front. This is not a puzzle box; it is a direct command followed by a powerful illustration. The central point is that God's people ought to pray at all times and not lose heart. To make this point, Jesus uses a "how much more" argument, contrasting a corrupt, godless judge with our perfectly righteous and loving Father. If sheer, dogged persistence can move a wicked man to grant justice, how much more will the earnest cries of His chosen people move our holy God to act on their behalf? The parable concludes with a sobering question that turns the focus from God's faithfulness to our own. God's willingness to answer is a given. The variable is whether His people will still be exercising the kind of faith that prays and does not give up when He comes to vindicate them.

Outline

Context In Luke

This parable immediately follows Jesus' teaching on the coming of the Kingdom of God in Luke 17. He has just described a time of trial and sudden judgment. It is in this context of waiting for the Lord's return, and facing the injustices of the world in the meantime, that this instruction on prayer is given. The disciples are being prepared for a long haul. They will need endurance. They will face opposition. The temptation will be to "lose heart," to assume that God is not hearing or that He is indifferent to their plight. This parable is therefore a crucial piece of pastoral preparation for the Church as she navigates the time between Christ's ascension and His final return.

The Unjust Judge and the Just God

The entire force of this parable rests on a stark contrast, an argument from the lesser to the greater. This is a common teaching method for Jesus. If a wicked man who cares for nothing but his own convenience can be moved to do the right thing for the wrong reasons, how much more will a perfectly good and loving God do the right thing for all the right reasons? The judge is godless; our God is holy. The judge despises people; God loves His elect. The judge is motivated by selfish annoyance; God is motivated by His covenant faithfulness and fatherly love. The widow is a stranger to the judge; we are God's own children. Once we grasp this contrast, we see that the parable is not teaching that we must badger a reluctant God into action. Rather, it teaches that because our God is so gloriously unlike the unjust judge, we have every reason to be even more persistent than the widow.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

Jesus gives the lesson before the lecture. He does not want us to miss the point. The Christian life is a long obedience in the same direction, and it is fueled by prayer. The two options set before us are stark: pray or lose heart. These are mutually exclusive categories. To stop praying is to begin fainting. To "lose heart" is to become weary, discouraged, to give up. It is a spiritual capitulation. Prayer, then, is not a polite religious duty for when we have a spare moment; it is spiritual respiration. It is the essential activity of the church militant. We are to do it "at all times," meaning it should be the constant disposition of our hearts, the background music to all our endeavors.

2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.

Jesus stacks the deck to make His point. This is not just a slightly flawed judge; this is a man who is a law unto himself. He has no vertical accountability ("did not fear God") and no horizontal accountability ("did not respect man"). He is a practical nihilist, a man governed entirely by his own appetites and whims. He represents the very worst of worldly power: corrupt, unaccountable, and utterly indifferent to justice. We have judges like this in our day, and we should not be surprised by it. This character is crafted to be the polar opposite of the God to whom we pray.

3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’

Set against this corrupt judge is the most vulnerable figure in that society: a widow. She has no husband to protect her, no social standing, no money for bribes. She is the picture of helplessness. But she has one weapon in her arsenal: persistence. She "kept coming," again and again. And notice what she asks for. Not mercy, not a favor, but "justice." The Greek word is ekdikeo, which means to vindicate, to give what is rightly deserved. She is not begging; she is demanding her rights. This is crucial for our prayers. When we pray for God's kingdom to come, we are asking God to enforce the just verdict that was already won at the cross.

4 And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she wears me out.’ ”

The judge's internal monologue is marvelously revealing. He freely admits his own wickedness. His motivation for granting justice is not a sudden pang of conscience. It is pure, unadulterated self-interest. He is being annoyed into righteousness. The phrase "wears me out" is quite strong in the Greek; it can carry the idea of being beaten down or even given a black eye. This woman's relentless persistence is a kind of assault on his selfish peace. He gives her justice simply to get her off his back. If this is what pester-power can accomplish with a corrupt official, what can faith-filled prayer accomplish with a loving Father?

6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 Now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?

Jesus now drives the point home. "Hear," He says. Pay attention to the logic. God is not the unjust judge, but He is the Judge. And we are not strangers, but "His elect," His chosen ones. He has a vested, covenantal interest in our vindication. We are His. And our prayers are not an occasional hobby; we "cry to Him day and night." This is the prayer of desperation and dependence. The question "will He delay long over them?" acknowledges our experience. It often feels like a delay. But the question is rhetorical. The implied answer is, "Of course not!" From our perspective, it may seem long, but God is not slow as some count slowness. His timing is perfect.

8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on the earth?”

The promise is emphatic: He will act, and He will act "quickly." This does not necessarily mean "soon" in our human timeframe, but rather "suddenly" when the time comes. Like a dam breaking, when God's justice arrives, it will be swift and decisive. But then comes the punchline, the question that turns the whole parable back on us. The issue is not God's willingness to answer prayer. That is settled. The great, searching question is whether His people will still be on their knees when the answer arrives. Will we persevere in this kind of stubborn, relentless, God-honoring faith? Or will we have fainted and lost heart? The coming of the Son of Man is not just the final judgment, but His coming in power throughout history. In every generation, He is looking for a people who are crying out for justice, believing He will bring it. The challenge is to be that people.

Application

The application here is as straightforward as it gets, because Jesus gave it to us in the first verse. We are to pray and not give up. When injustice seems entrenched, when our rulers fear neither God nor man, when we feel as powerless as a widow, the command is to pray. We are not to grow cynical. We are not to despair. We are not to adopt the world's methods of power politics as our primary strategy. Our primary strategy is to cry out day and night to the just Judge of all the earth.

This parable is a great encouragement, but it is also a sharp rebuke to our prayerlessness and unbelief. The final question hangs in the air for every Christian and every church. Is the faith that fuels persistent prayer present among us? God is ready to act. His justice is not in doubt. The question is whether He will find a people on earth who actually believe His promises enough to keep asking for them, day in and day out, until He comes.