The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge.
The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge reminds us that our loving God is deeply moved by the injustices that He sees on earth.
Prayer and Justice
Prayer and justice are the themes for this episode of “Secrets of the Kingdom.” In another parable that Jesus told to his disciples, he uses the picture of a judge, and a widow, to show us a bit more about God’s attitude toward man. The parable is found in Luke 18:1-8.
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you; he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Luke 18:1-8
The Importance of Prayer
Here Jesus leads with the lesson, the importance of prayer, and not losing heart, or not becoming discouraged. It’s easy to become discouraged, isn’t it? We see things going on in the world around us that we disagree with, we don’t receive the answers to our deep questions, even sometimes our prayers seem to go unanswered. We can very easily begin to feel that we are all alone, and no one cares about what we’re going through. In this parable Jesus spoke to his disciples. His intention was to encourage them by sharing the realities concerning the nature of the God in relation to the nature of man.
Jesus and the Parable of the Unrighteous Judge
Jesus starts by talking about a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. Right off the bat a character flaw is exposed in this man, who had authority over the people. He had no reverence for God and did not care about mankind. That’s what the opening statement of the parable means. As the story unfolds, we hear about his widow who is having trouble with her adversary. We don’t know anything about the situation, just that she is going to the judge for justice.
The judge refused. Again, no reason is given for why he refused, but the truth is that he was neglecting his very duty as judge to administer justice. Now, in a way, this is not surprising at all, we have already read how this judge didn’t care about people. He was not in the least bit concerned about what was right to do in this situation, he simply couldn’t be bothered. This had to be incredibly frustrating for this widow, the one person who was supposed to be able to help her in her trial, couldn’t possibly seem to care less about her or the trouble she was having.
But she didn’t give up. She kept asking and asking, until finally the judge relented and gave her what she wanted. This is good, right? Well, not exactly. While the outcome was the right thing, and what the judge should have done, notice that at the end of the story, he is sill called the unrighteous judge. Look at his reasoning, he declares himself that he has no fear of God or respect for man, but because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice.”
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease
The lesson here is not the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Often, I have heard that this parable teaches us that we should keep praying over and over again until we get what we want. There are a few errors in that logic. While we are called elsewhere in the Bible to be constant in prayer, following that interpretation in this parable would then equate God to the unrighteous judge, which we will see in Jesus’ follow up remarks is not the case.
The Unrighteous Judge Contrasts with a Just God
This judge was pictured as a contrast to God. If we equate the judge in the story to God, it suggests that God doesn’t really care about us, but that we can bother him enough that he will bend to our will. All these ideas go against what the Bible says about God, and about His relationship toward us. God cares deeply about us, which we will see in just a minute. The other reality is that our will, is not always the greatest idea. Proverbs 14:12 says it best,
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12
The Judge and His Motives
So, if the lesson of the parable is not about continually asking God for something, what is it about? Remember, I mentioned that the unrighteous judge in the story is offered as a contrast to God, and to His nature. Also, the theme that the Bible gives us as the reason for the parable was to pray, and not become discouraged.
The judge in the story served himself. It’s part of the reason he was called unrighteous, even after taking the proper action. His motives were purely self-serving. He was bothered and didn’t want to be bothered anymore. It was all about him. He wasn’t concerned with justice, or what was right in God’s eyes. He didn’t have compassion for the widow. This was strictly about his comfort.
God is Moved by Any Injustice
God on the other hand, loves mankind, so much so that he sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from sin and offer us eternal life. He is moved by any injustice directed toward us. He also has a plan and a purpose both for us, and for the trials we find ourselves in. Whereas the widow in this story had to plead with the judge constantly for justice, that is God’s starting point, it’s part of His very nature. Jesus even says that after the parable is completed, when He says,
And will not God give justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you; He will give justice to them speedily.
Luke 18:8
We Are to Pray Without Ceasing
If we are believers, we are called to pray. Paul writes we are to pray without ceasing. Jesus tells this to his followers on a few occasions, saying things like, “ask, and it shall be given to you,” or, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” At the same time, we must understand the overarching purpose of prayer.
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. He begins in verse 9 and 10 with
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, your will be done.”
Matthew 6:9-10
A Desire to See God’s Will Done
Before getting into any requests, we are to acknowledge that our ultimate desire is that God’s will is done, not our will. Jesus gave a perfect example of this in the garden, the night before he was crucified to save mankind, there he prayed to his Father,
“If it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Essentially what Jesus is praying is that if there is any other way to save man, that doesn’t require him to suffer then let it be so. But if not, let things happen so that God’s will is accomplished.
Paul mentions a time in his second letter to the Corinthians where he was being troubled by a “thorn in the flesh” which he prayed three times to have removed, only to receive the response from the Lord, “My grace is sufficient for you.” God had a purpose for the situation Paul was in, that required him to suffer. We aren’t privy to what that purpose was, but Paul understood this, and that by his suffering in this way God would be glorified.
The Adversary
Another important thing to consider in this parable, is the adversary. The widow’s opponent is not identified, but again, this parable is directed to those who are following Jesus, that believe in him. We know who our adversary is, Satan. In fact, Satan’s name in Hebrew literally means adversary.
Paul confirms this truth in his letter to the Ephesians, where he writes in chapter 6
“we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
Our Struggles are With Satan
In short, our struggles are not with man, or the systems of this world, they are against Satan, and his influence over this present age. He is the one accusing us before God, and he is a liar, the Bible calls him the father of lies. He is the one we need justice over.
And this is where we have the good news. Jesus is telling this parable only days before he will go to Jerusalem. There, he would be handed over to the religious authorities, accused and passed on to the civil authorities, who would crucify him.
The Jews relied on false witnesses, the Romans found no guilt in Jesus, but executed him anyway to avoid a riot. Both were unrighteous judges serving their own purposes. However, God was in control, he was accomplishing something greater. And as Jesus, the sinless one, died on the cross, he did so for the sin of mankind. He rose again on the third day and is alive forever more. What did it accomplish? Justice.
While the unrighteous judges had no care for what was right, God, the righteous judge, showed his care. Romans 5 tells us that God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Since therefore we have been justified by his blood (there is our justice), much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
God is In Control
With this teaching, Jesus is reminding his followers that God is in control, He does have all authority, He cares deeply about us, and He will give us justice in His perfect timing. Therefore, we do not need to be discouraged. We also do not need to fight for justice from the rulers of this world, who often care neither for God nor for his people. We just need to trust in God.
Yes, we may have to endure hardship for a time, but if we believe in Jesus for our salvation, we have eternal life in heaven awaiting us. That makes our time on earth nothing more than a fleeting moment, one in which we now know that justice from God is coming speedily, and in fact, has already come.
What have you learned from the Parable of the Unrighteous Judge? What is your response to Jesus’ parables? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Stephen March
Stephen March is the President of FBH International and HopeStreamRadio. He graduated from the Broadcasting Program at Niagara College in 2001, and has previously worked in television production and post-production.
Stephen lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife Corinne and their four children.
Read and hear more from Stephen March on his contributor’s page. Stephen currently has 5 Programs on HopeStreamRadio:
- Please Forgive Me
- Isolation Chronicles
- Faith By Hearing – The Twelve
- Bibles and Baseball
- Bible Tech Talk
More Podcasts Below:
More Blogs:
Palm Sunday, The Coming King, and the Last Week of Christ
Images courtesy of:
The Unrighteous Judge – Eugene Burnard
Gavel – sergeitokmatov
Sunset – RIBRICARDO
Girl – plume233
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