The Persistent Widow Pleads Before the JudgeBible World
18:5Luke 18:5
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
The unjust judge grants the widow justice not from reverence for God or pity for people but only to be rid of her continual appeals lest they wear him down. She has a just cause yet is repeatedly turned away and treated with contempt, but she keeps coming again and again until her persistence wins what should have been granted at once. In sharp contrast, God does not turn away sincere prayer with indifference and is not wearied by being asked, but hears even the weakest cry with infinite compassion. The verse therefore teaches men ought always to pray and not to faint, crying day and night to God and keeping on asking, seeking, and knocking in patient trust when the answer is delayed. Near the close of earth's history this becomes the united cry of God's people for deliverance, who leave vindication to Him rather than resorting to force or depending on unbelieving judges.
Parable Setting and Figures
This verse belongs to a parable given with special reference to the period just before the second coming and the perils followers must pass through, to teach that men ought always to pray and not to faint. In it a city judge who fears not God nor regards man decides to avenge a widow who keeps coming to him asking for justice against her adversary, because she troubles him and he does not want to be wearied by her continual coming. The judge fears neither God nor man, with self as his god, and his cold heart remains like ice. He is debased and perverted in sentiment, filled with satanic attributes, with appetite and passion having destroyed his powers of perception so that the lower nature is fully developed, showing to what depths of degradation men can sink and how far a person can sink when self rules and powers are yielded to evil. He feels no pity or compassion, and her misery is nothing to him, yet her constant, earnest petitions and importunity result in success.
The widow's cause is righteous, and the judge knows her case is just and could grant her relief at once. Instead he repeatedly turns her away and long delays the justice he should have done from the beginning, using delay to display his arbitrary power, and even joins with her adversaries in bringing oppression upon her. She comes again and again to his feet to ask for justice against her adversary, though again and again torn from the judgment seat. She is met with contempt for persevering patience, rough treatment, and repeated repulse, yet her determination is unquenched and her persistence keeps her from giving up until perseverance gains its reward and moves him to act.
Christ Himself gives the widow courage and determination to keep pleading, implanting in her heart a confidence and persistence that cannot be discouraged. That persistence, which the Lord puts into her heart, is rewarded with success. Her poverty and helplessness illustrate humanity's helplessness after sin separates people from God. People cannot save themselves, but through Christ they are brought near to the Father.
Judge's Selfish Decision
The judge yields and vindicates the widow and gives her justice, not from reverence for God, nor from compassion or pity, nor from regard for people or concern for what is right. Her repeated, continual appeals trouble and annoy him and threaten to wear him down, and he acts from irritation to gain relief and to be rid of her importunity and to stop her constant earnest petitions. Her continual pressing and importunity win his consent and move him to act to his own advantage.
He acts from selfishness and self-interest for his own comfort and advantage, to save himself from trouble and annoyance and to avoid further discomfort. He acts to protect his reputation and to save it from damage, lest his partial, one-sided judgment and dealing be exposed and become public. He sees that he is making his injustice conspicuous, for many complaints are being made about his course of action.
Her continual pressing and constant earnest petitions move him to do what he should have done from the beginning, when he could have delivered her at once, though he had long delayed justice and repeatedly turned her away and even joined with her adversaries in bringing oppression upon her. He had used the delay to display his arbitrary power, and his heart remains hard and unchanged, with indifference and hard-heartedness, no regard for right and no pity or compassion for suffering. Her misery counts as nothing to him, yet her persistence keeps her from giving up and her importunity results in success.
God's Compassionate Contrast
The selfish yielding of the unjust judge stands in sharp contrast to God, who considers the appeals of the needy and distressed with infinite compassion. The judge granted the widow's righteous case not from pity or concern for justice but to escape her continual requests, acting only from selfishness to be relieved of her importunity. He had no regard for right and no pity for suffering, counting her misery as nothing, and acted to save his reputation and to keep his partial, one-sided dealing from becoming public and exposed. Unlike that judge, God loves His children and holds His church dear, and the widow's poverty and helplessness illustrate humanity's helplessness after sin separates people from God, who cannot save themselves but through Christ are brought near to the Father.
God may not seem to answer immediately, but He does not turn away from His people indifferently, so they should keep praying with confidence. Unlike the unjust judge whose heart remained hard even when persistence brought success, God does not turn away those who come to Him sincerely and contritely. He hears even the weakest person's cry, and no sincere prayer is lost. Unlike the judge in the parable, He is not wearied by being asked, but stands behind every promise He has made, so believers holding to the Word of promise without doubting are to copy the widow's persistence by pleading with God for His blessing and for power to live as the children of God.
The judge granted the widow justice not out of regard for God or people or care about her rights, but because her continual appeals troubled him and he wanted them to stop, and his response illustrates the force of persistence in prayer. In contrast with that careless response, God hears His people who cry day and night to Him and will bring justice to them and avenge them. As the righteous Judge He hears persistent prayer and will deliver those who trust Him, while the corrupt judge granting the request because repeated appeals troubled him reveals how far a person can sink when self rules. When afflicted or unjustly treated, therefore, people should keep praying to God rather than depend on unbelieving human judges for help.
Persistence in Prayer
The verse teaches crying day and night to God and belongs to a parable given to teach that men ought always to pray and not to faint, with special reference to the perils to be passed through just before the second coming. It gives force to the command to keep asking, seeking, and knocking, and its lesson strengthens wavering faith. When wronged, the course it enjoins is to cry to God to avenge His elect and to leave vindication and deliverance to Him, following the example of committing the case to God and doing nothing to vindicate or deliver self, rather than accusing or condemning others or resorting to force for self-deliverance.
Persistent, earnest prayer gives evidence of strong confidence in God, for the sense of need leads to keeping on praying, and God hears petitions and responds to need for divine help. It continues patiently and trustingly when the answer is delayed, expressing faith in His wisdom and care rather than trying to force Him to follow human plans. Importunate prayer lays every plan at the feet of Jesus and waits patiently when the answer delays, assured that if the request is for His name's glory He will answer with favor. The widow's persistent appeals finally move even an unjust judge to act, teaching to keep bringing needs to God and to wait patiently when the answer tarries, trusting His wisdom rather than trying to secure the desired result by human effort.
Like the widow who kept urging her case, the one who prays is not to grow weary while waiting for an answer but to remain firm and steadfast in purpose and faith. Delay may test faith, yet what is valuable is worthy of earnest, steadfast effort, and trust in God's promise is to be kept with confidence that He gives generously and does not reproach the one who asks. God's people are to call upon Him with perseverance, resisting discouragement and continuing in earnest prayer, and those who so struggle on in prayer are helped, with rays of light encouraging them. The widow's continual coming finally moves even an unjust judge to act, showing how much is lost when earnest seeking of the Lord with faith that will not be denied is neglected.
The widow obtained her request because she persisted and would not let go, making her a firm example for those who seek blessings from the Lord. Her conscious need led her to keep asking until even an unjust judge acted, teaching those who seek God to pray earnestly and diligently, trusting without wavering that He will bless and reward those who seek Him. A defrauded woman keeping on asking an unjust judge for justice illustrates the earnestness with which those who depend on God may pray, knowing He has an interest in them. Prayer is to be offered earnestly, in faith, in Jesus' name, and with the Holy Spirit's inspiration, with the call to keep praying without losing heart and the promise that God hears humble prayers and will answer.
End-Time Trial and Cry
The widow reveals the position of God's people in this world, who near the close of the church's history raise a united, continual cry to heaven for deliverance. Trouble is to be met by united, persevering prayer to God for deliverance, agreeing together about what is desired and keeping on asking until deliverance comes. This united entreaty trusts God rather than depending for help on lawyers outside the faith, for opening church difficulties before unbelievers and appealing to them to settle supposed wrongdoings among members dishonors God and shows lack of faith in Him, since such counselors do not have the wisdom that comes down from above.
As the close of this earth's history nears, those who fear and honor God can hope for little justice and must expect injustice and oppression at the hand of men placed in positions of trust who fear not God and regard not man. Earthly rulers may fail those who seek justice, especially in times of adversity, and earthly judges may not follow the Bible, with adversaries driven by evil bringing continual opposition and temptation. The parable exposes the injustice Christ faced at His trial, and as Christ did God's people may face unjust officials and persistent opposition, but Christ is their refuge as He was the widow's.
The parable also teaches respect for the cause of the poor and warns against oppressing the needy. It calls for mercy toward people in distress and for practical care that relieves burdens and meets their needs.
Practical Life Applications
When wronged, the lesson is to cry day and night to God to avenge His elect and to leave vindication and deliverance to Him. The pattern is Christ, who did nothing to vindicate or deliver Himself but committed His case to God. Therefore His followers are not to accuse or condemn others, nor to resort to force to deliver themselves.
When afflicted or unjustly treated, the course is to keep praying to God rather than depend for help on unbelieving human judges and lawyers outside the faith. Trouble is to be met by united, persevering prayer for deliverance, agreeing together about the thing desired and keeping on asking God until deliverance comes, trusting Him rather than those who do not fear Him and do not obey His requirements. Opening church difficulties before unbelievers and appealing to them to settle supposed wrongdoings among members dishonors God and shows lack of faith in Him, because such counselors do not have the wisdom that comes down from above.
Like the importunate widow who continues to plead until answered and will not let go, believers are to plead for an afflicted person's restoration to health. That means united, earnest prayer for blessings from the Lord, continuing until the petition is answered and the full answer is received. It is pictured as praying many times a day for healing power to come, weeping and praying and rejoicing while faith claims restoration and says it shall be done.
The same persistence belongs to rescuing work and ministry. Ministers must keep praying and working earnestly rather than submit to the apparent powerlessness of the truth or the lack of response from souls. They are to keep pleading for people patiently and repeatedly, even when they seem unwilling to receive the truth. They are to wrestle with God and supplicate day and night for unseen power, since victory in rescuing the tempted and fallen comes through holding fast to God through Jesus Christ. They are also to plead like the importunate widow for God's blessing, asking for power to live as children of God, bringing the Word of God as their plea while doing all the work the Lord has appointed in His way and not their own.
The unjust judge grants the widow justice not from reverence for God or pity for people but only to be rid of her continual appeals lest they wear him down. She has a just cause yet is repeatedly turned away and treated with contempt, but she keeps coming again and again until her persistence wins what should have been granted at once. In sharp contrast, God does not turn away sincere prayer with indifference and is not wearied by being asked, but hears even the weakest cry with infinite compassion. The verse therefore teaches men ought always to pray and not to faint, crying day and night to God and keeping on asking, seeking, and knocking in patient trust when the answer is delayed. Near the close of earth's history this becomes the united cry of God's people for deliverance, who leave vindication to Him rather than resorting to force or depending on unbelieving judges.
Parable Setting and Figures
This verse belongs to a parable given with special reference to the period just before the second coming and the perils followers must pass through, to teach that men ought always to pray and not to faint. In it a city judge who fears not God nor regards man decides to avenge a widow who keeps coming to him asking for justice against her adversary, because she troubles him and he does not want to be wearied by her continual coming. The judge fears neither God nor man, with self as his god, and his cold heart remains like ice. He is debased and perverted in sentiment, filled with satanic attributes, with appetite and passion having destroyed his powers of perception so that the lower nature is fully developed, showing to what depths of degradation men can sink and how far a person can sink when self rules and powers are yielded to evil. He feels no pity or compassion, and her misery is nothing to him, yet her constant, earnest petitions and importunity result in success.
The widow's cause is righteous, and the judge knows her case is just and could grant her relief at once. Instead he repeatedly turns her away and long delays the justice he should have done from the beginning, using delay to display his arbitrary power, and even joins with her adversaries in bringing oppression upon her. She comes again and again to his feet to ask for justice against her adversary, though again and again torn from the judgment seat. She is met with contempt for persevering patience, rough treatment, and repeated repulse, yet her determination is unquenched and her persistence keeps her from giving up until perseverance gains its reward and moves him to act.
Christ Himself gives the widow courage and determination to keep pleading, implanting in her heart a confidence and persistence that cannot be discouraged. That persistence, which the Lord puts into her heart, is rewarded with success. Her poverty and helplessness illustrate humanity's helplessness after sin separates people from God. People cannot save themselves, but through Christ they are brought near to the Father.
Judge's Selfish Decision
The judge yields and vindicates the widow and gives her justice, not from reverence for God, nor from compassion or pity, nor from regard for people or concern for what is right. Her repeated, continual appeals trouble and annoy him and threaten to wear him down, and he acts from irritation to gain relief and to be rid of her importunity and to stop her constant earnest petitions. Her continual pressing and importunity win his consent and move him to act to his own advantage.
He acts from selfishness and self-interest for his own comfort and advantage, to save himself from trouble and annoyance and to avoid further discomfort. He acts to protect his reputation and to save it from damage, lest his partial, one-sided judgment and dealing be exposed and become public. He sees that he is making his injustice conspicuous, for many complaints are being made about his course of action.
Her continual pressing and constant earnest petitions move him to do what he should have done from the beginning, when he could have delivered her at once, though he had long delayed justice and repeatedly turned her away and even joined with her adversaries in bringing oppression upon her. He had used the delay to display his arbitrary power, and his heart remains hard and unchanged, with indifference and hard-heartedness, no regard for right and no pity or compassion for suffering. Her misery counts as nothing to him, yet her persistence keeps her from giving up and her importunity results in success.
God's Compassionate Contrast
The selfish yielding of the unjust judge stands in sharp contrast to God, who considers the appeals of the needy and distressed with infinite compassion. The judge granted the widow's righteous case not from pity or concern for justice but to escape her continual requests, acting only from selfishness to be relieved of her importunity. He had no regard for right and no pity for suffering, counting her misery as nothing, and acted to save his reputation and to keep his partial, one-sided dealing from becoming public and exposed. Unlike that judge, God loves His children and holds His church dear, and the widow's poverty and helplessness illustrate humanity's helplessness after sin separates people from God, who cannot save themselves but through Christ are brought near to the Father.
God may not seem to answer immediately, but He does not turn away from His people indifferently, so they should keep praying with confidence. Unlike the unjust judge whose heart remained hard even when persistence brought success, God does not turn away those who come to Him sincerely and contritely. He hears even the weakest person's cry, and no sincere prayer is lost. Unlike the judge in the parable, He is not wearied by being asked, but stands behind every promise He has made, so believers holding to the Word of promise without doubting are to copy the widow's persistence by pleading with God for His blessing and for power to live as the children of God.
The judge granted the widow justice not out of regard for God or people or care about her rights, but because her continual appeals troubled him and he wanted them to stop, and his response illustrates the force of persistence in prayer. In contrast with that careless response, God hears His people who cry day and night to Him and will bring justice to them and avenge them. As the righteous Judge He hears persistent prayer and will deliver those who trust Him, while the corrupt judge granting the request because repeated appeals troubled him reveals how far a person can sink when self rules. When afflicted or unjustly treated, therefore, people should keep praying to God rather than depend on unbelieving human judges for help.
Persistence in Prayer
The verse teaches crying day and night to God and belongs to a parable given to teach that men ought always to pray and not to faint, with special reference to the perils to be passed through just before the second coming. It gives force to the command to keep asking, seeking, and knocking, and its lesson strengthens wavering faith. When wronged, the course it enjoins is to cry to God to avenge His elect and to leave vindication and deliverance to Him, following the example of committing the case to God and doing nothing to vindicate or deliver self, rather than accusing or condemning others or resorting to force for self-deliverance.
Persistent, earnest prayer gives evidence of strong confidence in God, for the sense of need leads to keeping on praying, and God hears petitions and responds to need for divine help. It continues patiently and trustingly when the answer is delayed, expressing faith in His wisdom and care rather than trying to force Him to follow human plans. Importunate prayer lays every plan at the feet of Jesus and waits patiently when the answer delays, assured that if the request is for His name's glory He will answer with favor. The widow's persistent appeals finally move even an unjust judge to act, teaching to keep bringing needs to God and to wait patiently when the answer tarries, trusting His wisdom rather than trying to secure the desired result by human effort.
Like the widow who kept urging her case, the one who prays is not to grow weary while waiting for an answer but to remain firm and steadfast in purpose and faith. Delay may test faith, yet what is valuable is worthy of earnest, steadfast effort, and trust in God's promise is to be kept with confidence that He gives generously and does not reproach the one who asks. God's people are to call upon Him with perseverance, resisting discouragement and continuing in earnest prayer, and those who so struggle on in prayer are helped, with rays of light encouraging them. The widow's continual coming finally moves even an unjust judge to act, showing how much is lost when earnest seeking of the Lord with faith that will not be denied is neglected.
The widow obtained her request because she persisted and would not let go, making her a firm example for those who seek blessings from the Lord. Her conscious need led her to keep asking until even an unjust judge acted, teaching those who seek God to pray earnestly and diligently, trusting without wavering that He will bless and reward those who seek Him. A defrauded woman keeping on asking an unjust judge for justice illustrates the earnestness with which those who depend on God may pray, knowing He has an interest in them. Prayer is to be offered earnestly, in faith, in Jesus' name, and with the Holy Spirit's inspiration, with the call to keep praying without losing heart and the promise that God hears humble prayers and will answer.
End-Time Trial and Cry
The widow reveals the position of God's people in this world, who near the close of the church's history raise a united, continual cry to heaven for deliverance. Trouble is to be met by united, persevering prayer to God for deliverance, agreeing together about what is desired and keeping on asking until deliverance comes. This united entreaty trusts God rather than depending for help on lawyers outside the faith, for opening church difficulties before unbelievers and appealing to them to settle supposed wrongdoings among members dishonors God and shows lack of faith in Him, since such counselors do not have the wisdom that comes down from above.
As the close of this earth's history nears, those who fear and honor God can hope for little justice and must expect injustice and oppression at the hand of men placed in positions of trust who fear not God and regard not man. Earthly rulers may fail those who seek justice, especially in times of adversity, and earthly judges may not follow the Bible, with adversaries driven by evil bringing continual opposition and temptation. The parable exposes the injustice Christ faced at His trial, and as Christ did God's people may face unjust officials and persistent opposition, but Christ is their refuge as He was the widow's.
The parable also teaches respect for the cause of the poor and warns against oppressing the needy. It calls for mercy toward people in distress and for practical care that relieves burdens and meets their needs.
Practical Life Applications
When wronged, the lesson is to cry day and night to God to avenge His elect and to leave vindication and deliverance to Him. The pattern is Christ, who did nothing to vindicate or deliver Himself but committed His case to God. Therefore His followers are not to accuse or condemn others, nor to resort to force to deliver themselves.
When afflicted or unjustly treated, the course is to keep praying to God rather than depend for help on unbelieving human judges and lawyers outside the faith. Trouble is to be met by united, persevering prayer for deliverance, agreeing together about the thing desired and keeping on asking God until deliverance comes, trusting Him rather than those who do not fear Him and do not obey His requirements. Opening church difficulties before unbelievers and appealing to them to settle supposed wrongdoings among members dishonors God and shows lack of faith in Him, because such counselors do not have the wisdom that comes down from above.
Like the importunate widow who continues to plead until answered and will not let go, believers are to plead for an afflicted person's restoration to health. That means united, earnest prayer for blessings from the Lord, continuing until the petition is answered and the full answer is received. It is pictured as praying many times a day for healing power to come, weeping and praying and rejoicing while faith claims restoration and says it shall be done.
The same persistence belongs to rescuing work and ministry. Ministers must keep praying and working earnestly rather than submit to the apparent powerlessness of the truth or the lack of response from souls. They are to keep pleading for people patiently and repeatedly, even when they seem unwilling to receive the truth. They are to wrestle with God and supplicate day and night for unseen power, since victory in rescuing the tempted and fallen comes through holding fast to God through Jesus Christ. They are also to plead like the importunate widow for God's blessing, asking for power to live as children of God, bringing the Word of God as their plea while doing all the work the Lord has appointed in His way and not their own.