Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
Jesus speaks this parable to His disciples after teaching them about the coming of the Kingdom of God, recorded in the previous chapter.[1] In that teaching, Jesus compares the time before the Last Judgment to the time of Noah before the flood. His return will be like lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven and shines to the other part under heaven. It will be no secret; it will happen quickly, and without warning. He warns His disciples to beware of those false teachers who would lead them astray to follow false Christs: The kingdom of God does not come with observation. One gets the impression from the disciples’ response, “Where, Lord,” that they were, perhaps, spooked by what Jesus said to them.
Jesus spoke the parable of the persistent widow to the disciples to show them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. To make His point, Jesus compares the petitioning of God by His Elect to a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The judge doesn’t do right by the widow because it is the right thing to do under the law, or because he is compassionate and feels sorry for her; he grants her petition because of her persistence. She brings her petition before the judge constantly and, because he doesn’t want to be annoyed by her “continual coming”, he grants it.
At first, we might think the lesson here is that if we are persistent and tenacious enough in our prayer to God, He will eventually relent and give us whatever we ask of Him, lest by our continual coming we weary Him. This is not the lesson. God is not like the corrupt judge of the parable. I should be greatly disturbed if our God was the type of god who would give us whatever we pray for, regardless of what He has previously said in His word, simply because we prayed persistently enough. That might work with beleaguered parents dealing with cleaver and persistent children scheming to get their way, but it isn’t how God operates with mankind. St. Paul was surely persistent in his prayers to God to remove his thorn in the flesh. God, far from relenting because of St. Paul’s persistent and fervent prayer, told him, “My grace is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in weakness.”[2]
No, the lesson here is similar to the lesson Jesus teaches in His Sermon on the Mount:
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him![3]
Or, to His parable of the persistent friend:
And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.[4]
Jesus uses the illustration of the corrupt to magnify the goodness and love of God. Even the sinful Pharisees know how to answer the petition of the people they love, their sons and daughters, in a way that benefits them. Don’t you suppose the God who created the universe by speaking it into existence, who describes Himself as love[5] knows how to do that better than they do?
Justice for the widow in the parable was anything but certain. It depended on her persistence in bringing her petition before the corrupt judge. It depended on how effectively she could annoy him. God’s justice, which will be revealed in the form of Christ’s judgment of the living and the dead on the Last Day, is assured. Still, He encourages us to pray persistently, along with all those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held, who cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”[6]
St. Peter tells us that it won’t be long; God isn’t being slow, even if that’s what it looks like to us. Christ hasn’t forgotten about us. He isn’t waiting for all the geopolitical puzzle pieces to fall into their proper places before He sets His return to earth in motion. He could return any time. That’s why He tells us to wait expectantly, like the servant who works diligently while his master is away on a journey, and is found so doing when his master returns.[7] That’s why he compares Christians waiting for His return with bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom with lamps trimmed and burning.[8] No, His delay means salvation for men:
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.[9]
So we, Jesus’ disciples, always ought to pray and not lose heart. Even though we pray with our sainted brothers and sisters in heaven, “How long, O Lord?”, we know that God is faithful and will keep His promises to us. Christ died for our sins, and rose for our justification; He gave us a pledge to assure us of the forgiveness He won for us on the cross in the Lord’s Supper. And, not only to assure us, but to actually deliver it to us. In that meal Christ gives us His body and blood to eat and to drink with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. It is His New Testament in His blood. It is a living proclamation and distribution of His saving death and all its blessings.[10] Just as He saved eight souls through water by shutting them in the ark in the days of Noah, so Christ brings us into the ark of His Church, through the waters of Holy Baptism,[11] and saves us from the flood of fire that is to come upon the earth when He returns. All the time He waits to return in judgment is time for men to hear His Word, repent of their sins, receive His gifts, and be saved.
Just because He has waited this long, however, does not mean He will continue to wait forever. We know that,
“…the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”[12]
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? The tone of Jesus’ question is ominous. After all, out of the entirety of mankind, only Noah and his family were saved from the flood. The flood, which serves as a type and shadow of the Last Judgement, suggests things will be similar when Christ returns. Yet we, heeding Christ’s words, remain persistent in our prayers, trusting that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church,[13] just as He has promised.
[1] Luke 17:20-37
[2] 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
[3] Matthew 7:9-11
[4] Luke 11:5-13
[5] Genesis 1:1-29 - 2:1; 1 John 4:8
[6] Revelation 6:9-10
[7] Mark 13:33-37
[8] Matthew 25:1-13
[9] 2 Peter 3:7-9
[10] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small Catechism, with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. p. 236, question 294. See also 1 Cor. 11:26.
[11] 1 Peter 3:18-22
[12] 2 Peter 3:10-13
[13] Matthew 16:15-20
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