The Persistent Widow

Luke 18:1-8                                         The Persistent Widow

11/8/15            D. Marion Clark

Introduction

The first written record of the phrase, “Don’t take no for an answer,” is found in Winston Churchill’s autobiography, My Early Life. It is easy enough to see how such a quip would come from the man known as the British Bulldog. He was a larger than life figure whose very manner inspired a nation to withstand the overwhelming attacks of Hitler’s Germany.

But long before Churchill, an even greater historical figure taught the same message by using the example of the least imposing character. Let’s read and consider Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow.

Text

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Thankfully, Luke introduces the parable with an explanation for its being told. Jesus wants to encourage us to keep praying without losing heart. What brings up the subject?

The parable follows a teaching about the last days – the time when the Son of Man will return. The basic lesson of that teaching is that the Son of Man’s return will take place at some point in the future when people’s expectancy has worn off. Therefore, always be on guard for his return, not in the sense of reading the signs to know when he really will return, but as sentry always alert for the sudden appearance of a thief or enemy attack. Jesus, of course, is not a thief but the one thing he has in common with the thief is that he will not give warning when he returns. He will not send a text message in advance. And, so again, be ready every day, no matter how many days pass. Do not lose heart. Do not cease praying for his return and in expectancy of his return.

Now, then, let’s consider the parable.

² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

Jesus presents what his hearers understood to be a hopeless situation. According to Alfred Edersheim, the judge would have been an appointee by Herod or the Romans who watched over order and law.[i] Their corruption was so notorious that they were given the designation by Jews as Robber-Judges. In such a system, bribery and political influence were the primary instruments of obtaining favorable judgment. The judge of Jesus’ parable is the epitome of corruption. He does not fear the judgment of God, nor does he care about public opinion. In short, he is immovable when it comes to being persuaded to act against his own self-interest.

In comes the widow, who represents the other end of the scale of power or influence. The position of widow is the most precarious in the ancient world, other than that of the orphan. If she has no father or brother; if there is no brother-in-law willing to marry her; if she is poor, as undoubtedly she is in this story, then she has no man to speak up for her or to defend her interests. She has no means by which to counter the bribe of an adversary. In short, her plight is hopeless. There is no way that she can win the favor of the judge regardless the justness of her cause.

No doubt, Jesus’ hearers would know of real-life examples, and they would have anticipated a moral similar to that of Lazarus and the rich man. In that parable, poor Lazarus never receives kindness in his earthly lifetime to relieve his suffering. It is after death that he receives his reward and the rich man receives his just punishment. Justice comes after death. And so Jesus could have concluded with how the widow obtained her just reward in glory and the unjust judge his due punishment.

But no, the story takes a different turn.

 ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”

She wins! The widow receives justice from the unjust judge! No bribe; no finding an advocate; just simple persistence. She would not take no for an answer and returned to the judge day after day after day after day until he was driven to distraction.

Now we come to Jesus’ application.

 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.

If even an unrighteous judge will give in to the constant pleas of a widow with no claim on him, then surely our righteous God, who does listen attentively to the cries of his elect – those whom he personally has claimed as his own – surely he will give justice to his people…without delay. And thus the moral and application of the story is that we ought always to present our petitions to our heavenly Father, knowing that he will answer.

Jesus is quite clear about this teaching. Listen to him elsewhere.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11

“Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:21-22

So again, the lesson is to be persistent in praying to God, knowing that he will answer our prayers.

Yes, the lesson is clear, but is it true? Let’s be honest. Who cannot think of persistent prayers that have not been answered? Who among you have children that you have prayed for daily for years for their salvation, for their turning or returning to God, with no answer? Who among you can think of relatives for whom you prayed for salvation or perhaps justice and they died without ever receiving it? Who among you can think even now of justice you never received, despite your prayers?

No doubt we can all speak of answered prayer, perhaps even miraculous answers to prayer, but if we are honest we can speak of prayers never answered for ourselves or for others for whom we did and still do persistently pray.

It is the teaching such as in this parable that has led many to a crisis of faith, as well as led many Christian teachers to teach awful theology that has dreadfully harmed their flocks and even dishonored the gospel before the world.

There is the “name it, claim it” theology, teaching that God desires good health and financial prosperity for his children, and all we need is the faith to name it and claim it. If we are ill it is due to our lack of faith; if a loved one dies, it is due to our lack of faith or theirs. People have literally died because of such foolish teaching, and many others have lost their faith in despair. There are many who have left the faith of their childhood after growing up and learning from others or from experience how naïve faith in prayer supposedly is.

And so, it seems reasonable to ask Jesus if he really believes what he says. But before we do so, he leaves us with a question after his parable to answer.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

I am not a lawyer, but it is tempting to see this final remark as a disclaimer for what he has taught. “Not seeing answer to prayer? The problem is your lack of faith.” That is the very teaching of the “name it, claim” it teachers. We remain ill; our loved ones die; our children and spouses are not saved because we do not have enough faith. We are to blame.

Yes, it is tempting to see this remark as a disclaimer, but the context draws us back to the subject that Jesus has been addressing all along, namely, we are to keep faithful as we wait with expectation his return. And specifically, from the lesson of the parable, will we remain faithful in prayer, however long we must wait?

Let’s rethink what Jesus is teaching. It appears on the surface that he is a mere “name it, claim it” teacher. Pray with faith; God will always answer our prayers and even do so quickly. If not, then the problem is with our lack of faith.

But the introductory verse tells us that his concern is that we “do not lose heart” in praying. If God the Father always answers our prayers speedily (what we consider speedily), how could we lose heart? Rather, our answered prayers would naturally move us to pray all the more. No, Jesus knows, and is addressing, the question of praying about matters that are not readily answered, or seem to be answered.

Remember, too, the wider context; Jesus is discoursing on his return. There will be claims that he has returned or is about to return, but such claims will be wrong. Time will go by; the freshness of expectation will wear off. Will we still live under the expectation that Jesus’ return can happen at any moment? Or will we be like the neighbors of Noah and the wife of Lot, so caught up in the pleasures of this world that we lose sight of and desire for the kingdom of God to come? Our prayer life reveals where our hearts lie in this regard.

The particular context also lends light to what Jesus means by God not delaying and acting speedily. All is happening according to God’s timetable. Jesus himself does not know the date of his return, but his Father does. All will happen in the fullness of time, just as God plans, just as is fitting. Justice, the coming of the kingdom will come at their appointed time and likely will catch most people off guard. Meanwhile be persistent in praying.

That poor widow was persistent because of her overriding desire for justice. “It’s not worth the trouble” was a thought that never entered her mind. Jesus wants such desire to be planted in the hearts of his followers, but in our case a desire for the kingdom of God to be fully established – “thy kingdom come.”

He wants us to be like Abraham and like Sarah and like Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the promise of God who were “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10), who “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). Such are the faithful that the Son of Man will be looking for when he returns.

Lessons

Again, it is our prayer life, more than any other activity, that reveals how expectant we are that Christ will keep his promise to return, as well as reveals our trust in what he teaches us about our heavenly Father. Prayer reveals our relationship with God, and prayer secures our relationship with God. Hear it again: prayer reveals our relationship with God, and prayer secures our relationship with God.

Consider Daniel. You recall the time that a trap was laid for him by his enemies. They trick the king to pass a decree that no one can pray to anyone for the next thirty days, except to King Darius. Observe Daniel’s response:

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. ¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God (Daniel 6:10-11).

Daniel prayed always, never losing heart. In his case, he had a set pattern of three prayer times said daily. He is facing Jerusalem, where the temple, if had still existed, would have been. His faith in God has not wavered, nor his expectancy that God’s people would someday return to the Promised Land. He believed in God’s promises as revealed by his faithful prayers.

Yes, prayer reveals how expectant our faith is; it also serves to strengthen our faith in God and what he is doing. A good example of this is found in Psalm 73. The psalmist speaks of questioning the ways of God. Listen to him:

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³ For I was envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

He then goes on to describe how the wicked seem not only to get away with their wicked deeds but to prosper, concluding with these words:

Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.

What’s the use of being obedient to God and keeping faithful to him, when I only suffer, while the wicked thumb their noses at God with impunity. There is no justice to expect.

That is how the psalm is headed, but then there is a change:

But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end.

The psalmist’s perspective and attitude completely change. He sees the true destination of the wicked, how justice does indeed come. He also sees how he allowed his suffering to cripple his faith:

When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you.

Now, he confidently walks with his God:

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    that I may tell of all your works.

What happened to the psalmist to turn his attitude and faith around? He entered the sanctuary of God. And what is the sanctuary of God? Jesus makes very clear that the temple is the “house of prayer (Luke 19:46).” One goes to the temple to lift up prayers of worship, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of confession, prayers of petition for forgiveness of sin and for whatever is ailing us, such as in this case distress over injustice.

By faith we go to God in prayer, and if we are faithful in believing God’s promises, we will faithfully pray. And by that very faithfulness, God will draw us near him and strengthen our faith. Even as we suffer, faithfulness in prayer will draw us ever nearer. But if we let our suffering discourage us from prayer; if we lose heart because we think God is not hearing us or that God does not care, then our faith will continue to diminish, so that like the psalmist we become brutish and ignorant toward God.

Keep praying; do not lose heart. Your enemy Satan desires that you lose heart. He will plant doubts in your mind about God’s listening to you. “What’s the use?” he will plant in your mind. He cannot take away your salvation, but he can discourage you so that you become estranged from your heavenly Father.

Keep praying. It is hard work. Follow Daniel’s example and set specific times to pray. Use the psalms for what they were meant to be – aids for prayer. Read them and pray them; paraphrase them for your own personal application. Use all of Scripture for prayer. You will be encouraged by how your prayer life grows as you are informed by God’s Word.

Address God in your thought life. Don’t talk to yourself; talk to God. That will change your perspective on everything. Those bitter thoughts; those self-centered thoughts and prideful thoughts will take a far different direction when you address them to God.

Follow Daniel’s examples whose pleas and petitions were preceded with thanksgiving. Giving thanks to God for what he has done for us in Christ and for the many blessings of this life (name them one by one), gives a whole new perspective on our trials.

Follow the leading of Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer as he begins it: “Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed by thy name.” Begin your prayers with the worship of God simply for who he is in his majesty and holiness. Speak of his wondrous character traits, meditate on them, and then make your petitions. Your perspective will certainly change.

It is by spending time with God that we grow in faithfulness. Enter into his sanctuary – the sanctuary of your home, of your private area, of your church. Enter into his sanctuary regularly with expectancy that God, that our Lord Jesus Christ, is a keeper of his promises.

Finally, recall that the very gospel rests on what appeared to be unanswered prayer or prayer specifically refused. It was the prayer lifted up by God’s very Son. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39a). It was possible, but not if the Father’s will to save us was to be carried out. And so Jesus continued, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (v. 39b). This was not a word of resignation nor a loophole to cover unanswered prayer. Jesus had yet a greater desire to please his Father and to do his Father’s will. And that desire was forged in the eternal, loving relationship between the Father and the Son.

And so it is for anyone who has come to love and to adore God the Father through God the Son. Prayer becomes not a duty, nor a means to an end of getting what one truly wants; it becomes truly a privilege, a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

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[i] The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Edersheim, Alfred, Bk 4, p. 287