Hear the Unjust Judge: Pray and Don’t Give Up

In praying for the good of all of the people important to my world, and all those God has made me aware of–who have my attention for a purpose God knows–doesn’t there come a time when I can simply decide to stop praying because it’s simply no use?

Assuming that God (not other people) has not directly told me to stop, and that the people involved are still living, the answer is no. I should no more stop praying for people God still has me thinking about because too long a time has elapsed with no apparent answer than I should give up praying for God’s sill in my own life because it seems to me that God is too slow (and must not care about me and my request).

Jesus’ clearest illustration of this is in the Parable of the Unjust Judge, which could just as well be called the Parable of the Persistent Widow:

He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up, saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man.  A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, “Defend me from my adversary!” He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.”

Luke 18:1-5 (WEB)

Luke starts his record of this parable with a clear explanation of the main lesson the parable was meant to teach: Jesus’ disciples “must always pray and not give up.” The story follows.

The characters in the story are a widow, her adversary, and a judge. The widow is a picture of a person who has no power at all, who is wholly at the mercy of the powerful. Women were at the lowest level of society in Jesus’ day, A widow, who had no male father or husband to protect her interests, was the most powerless person around. She is a picture of the disciples–and of me.

The widow had an adversary. All we really know about her adversary is that he had enough social standing to oppress her in some way the judge could address with a legal remedy (and so was probably male) and that he was using this standing to unjustly take advantage of the widow in some way.

This oppression had been going on for some time.

The judge had power–enough power to deliver the woman from her adversary’s oppression. Unfortunately, he also had a problem–he just didn’t care. He was totally indifferent to the widow the injustice she was suffering. He had no love, no compassion. He didn’t fear God or respect people, and so was himself “unjust.” Only important people got his attention. The widow was unimportant–she didn’t exist to him. So the first time, and the second, and the third, that the widow tried to present her complaint to him. he ignored her. Totally dissed her.

But the widow didn’t give up. She kept coming back, and coming back, and coming back again, trying to present her complaint.

Jesus doesn’t say how many times the woman came back to the judge, or for how many weeks, months or years she kept coming back. He only tells us that she came “often.” Finally, one day when the widow came back before the judge, he decided to give her the justice she was asking for–a “defense” against her adversary. He decided to appease the widow in this way, not because he cared either about her or about justice, but because her “continual coming: “bothered” him, and he was afraid it would wear him out.

Now, before I move on to Jesus’ explanation of the parable, notice that what the woman requested, and the Unjust Judge finally gave her, was that the Judge “defend” her against her human “adversary.” But, in applying the parable, I must always remember that my real adversaries are NOT human:

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 (WEB).

My real adversaries, the source of my oppression, is spiritual. In fact, my main adversary is the devil himself, who wants to devour me:

Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8 (WEB).

Looks can be deceiving. The devil will usually make it look like my enemy is human and try to influence me to hate and to attack that human enemy. He may start by influencing that human apparent enemy to hate, attack and oppress me. If I hate my human enemy, attack them, or even merely try to become indifferent to them and their needs, I’m doing exactly what the devil wants me to do. It’s a trap!

My real enemies are not human, even when they appear to be human.

The trap of identifying the wrong enemy, a human enemy rather than a spiritual one, can even arise when a church, or members of a church, “discipline” a member for sin in a way that converts that member into a permanent “enemy.” Paul had to write to the church in Corinth to urge them to accept and affirm the man Paul had expelled from the same church in a previous letter:

This punishment which was inflicted by the many is sufficient for such a one; so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow.  Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him…   For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:6-8,10-11 (WEB)

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul had commanded the Corinthian church to expel this man for a very serious sin which affected the witness of the whole church–incest with his stepmother, which he boasted about. Yet by the time Paul wrote his second letter, this man had repented. Apparently, some in the church did not wish to receive him back into the church, thinking he had not yet been punished enough. But Paul told them to receive him, comfort him, and confirm their love of him, “lest he be swallowed up with excessive sorrow.” If, in spite of his repentance, this man had been allowed to be “swallowed up” by his sorrow because the church was now too afraid to comfort him, the devil would have won. Remember, the devil seeks to scare us, like a roaring lion does, and to use our fear to gain an advantage over us so he can “devour” us.

This is why Paul calls the reluctance of the Corinthian church to receive and comfort this now-repentant brother one of the “schemes” of “Satan.” It was one of his schemes and it still is. It is often said today–and even quoted among unbelievers in the media–that the Christian Church is the only army on earth that routinely shoots its wounded!

If even the Corinthian church at the time of Paul’s second letter–a church which was seriously trying to follow its instructions and live by the Holy Spirit–could fall into the trap of identifying one of its erring members as the “enemy,” I certainly am not exempt from falling into this trap. I must be wary of thinking of other humans as my “enemy.”

To repeat: My real enemies are not human, even when they appear to be.

So I should not be praying against people. I should pray for people and hold my fire for the real enemy.

With that point made, I am ready for Jesus’ interpretation of his parable. So, let’s listen to what the unrighteous judge says:

The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?  I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:6-8 (WEB).

In the story, the powerless widow asked a powerful judge who was unjust and had no concern or compassion for her, to defend her, in present time, from her adversary. Although he didn’t want to take any notice of her, her continual coming finally convinced him he should defend her to get her off his back!

In the end, the unjust judge rewarded her persistence.

This parable is a story of the “how much more” genre: if people will do this, “how much more” will God do something far better.

Jesus explanation speaks, not of a human judge who is unjust and uncaring, but of God as a judge. Even as a judge, God is pure justice and love–in direct contrast to the human judge. So, because of who God is, won’t he give his own chosen ones justice even greater than the human judge could give?

Yes, he will “avenge” us. Jesus doesn’t say that God, as judge, will necessarily “defend” us, in present time, though he may. But he may also let the injustice against us run its full course, then “avenge” us, later. “Quickly,” as God counts time, but later than a mere “defense.” His justice will be perfect and at the right time. The difference between a “defense” and “vengeance” is the timing–and how much damage we have to endure before our persistent prayers are rewarded.

But, just as the unjust judge rewarded the widow’s persistence, God will reward our persistence. He will hear us “crying out day and night” and take up our cause!

Jesus then asks whether, when he returns, he will find faith on the earth. In the context of the parable, this question is asking whether he will find anyone who is still praying persistently for relief they haven’t seen yet? Or will he find that all of his people have given up?

We have not seen the answer to that question yet. But I know how I now want to answer it in my own life.

I must always pray. I must NOT GIVE UP.

And I’m not the only person who has ever drawn a conclusion like this while at war…

Write me: Ian Johnson