“The Widow and the Judge”

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Parables are inspired illustrations of spiritual principles. They teach us eternal lessons from our Creator. They help us to see truth more clearly and understand more deeply what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Our parable in this study is found in Luke 18:1-8.

There are two characters in the parable. The first is an unjust judge who did not fear God and who did not respect other men, that is, he did not care what others thought about him. The second is a widow who comes pleading for justice. She was helpless on her own and could never have received what was fair and right without help from another. She asks him, “Give me legal protection from my opponent” (NASV).

The reason the judge is called “unjust” is that the widow deserved this legal protection and he had failed to provide it for her. He refused to do the right thing initially and was lazy, corrupt, and indifferent to the sufferings of others.

Of course, we serve a just God. Christ is not pointing out a similarity between the two, but rather a difference. Everything this judge was (unjust, reluctant to help, selfish), God is not. God will always do the right thing. He will respond to our patient, persistent and heartfelt prayers (Hebrews 4:16).

There are two major lessons for us to learn from this parable.

The first one is about persistence; He is telling us not to give up.

The second lesson is that we should expect results from our prayers. Too often we pray but don’t really believe it will make a difference. James tells us to pray in faith (James 1:6-8). Jesus said the same thing in Mark 11:22-24.

Sometimes God says no or not right now or He answers our prayers differently than we wanted. But in His wisdom, God knows what is best and when is best.

Why did the women keep asking? What if she had quit asking? Do we quit asking too soon sometimes? Those are some important questions we need to ask ourselves.

Notice how the Holy Spirit began this chapter: “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray, and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Don’t grow discouraged; keep praying in faith (Luke 18:8).

--Roger Hillis

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