The Bold Widow and the Unjust Judge
David W Palmer
(Luke 18:1 NLT) One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
Our amazing Lord is about to give his disciples a story. In this opening statement, he tells us why he employed such a parable: “to show that they should always pray and never give up.”
From this, we can already see that God wants us to persist in prayer to him. This is not because he doesn’t know our needs; he certainly does—even before we ask him (Mat. 6:8). And it is not because he is reluctant to help us:
(1 John 5:14–15 NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. {15} And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
If it’s not because Father doesn’t know our needs or want to help us, why does Jesus say that we should pray persistently—“day and night”? To find out, let’s first read the whole parable he gave us; it is divine, supernatural information from God to explain himself and to help us receive what we need:
(Luke 18:1–8 NKJV) Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, {2} saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. {3} Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ {4} And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, {5} yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” {6} Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. {7} And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? {8} I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
In this narration, a widow was in need. Without a husband, she had to fend for herself. She represents us; we are not widowed or orphans, but we are physically without an apparent provider or protector. (Obviously, we have Jesus, Father, Holy Spirit, and the angels. But the natural world cannot see them; we appear to be without a natural provider/protector. So this is simply a picture of us needing to approach a judge directly—in our case, the judge is God.)
The widow had a just cause: “Get justice for me from my adversary.” But in her case, the judge was “unjust.” He didn’t intend to dispense justice; he was in this for himself. However, she got the justice she needed because of her bold, confident, persistence in the assurance that her plea was just and noble. This gave her a righteous boldness:
(Proverbs 28:1 NKJV) The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.
No amount of bullying, belittling, or rebuffs could persuade this woman that she was wrong or not qualified to be asking for justice. She was fully convinced in her inner man that her cause was perfectly right and that she deserved a judgment in her favour. Her persistence proved that she wasn’t doubting or double minded about this in the least way. She was boldly confident with the full assurance of faith and a deep inner knowing:
(Hebrews 11:1 BSB) Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
We know that Jesus’s parable is about faith, because he concludes it with a statement that brings out the point of his illustration:
(Luke 18:8 NKJV) “… Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
So our Lord and Teacher is saying that her persistence in the bold assurance that her cause was just and right is a demonstration of the faith that he is looking for.
What’s the take home lesson in this for us? We need the bold assurance of faith that will enable us to shamelessly ask and keep on asking. It will empower us to come before Father and the throne of grace to ask without flagging in zeal for what we assuredly know is right and just. Jesus again shows that this is what he is looking for in his dealing with a petitioning woman:
(Matthew 15:22–28 NKJV) And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” {23} But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” {24} But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” {25} Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” {26} But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” {27} And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” {28} Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Jesus concluded that this petitioner had “great” faith—exactly the kind of faith that pleases God and that he is looking for. This story implies that it was her bold, assured confidence in her just cause and in God’s perfect justice that wasn’t put off because of the seeming delay.
Initially, when she approached Jesus, he didn’t give her a “word.” In other words, she prayed to God about her desperate need—and she prayed earnestly with all of her heart. She met the requirements for answered prayer, but he simply didn’t answer her. Even his followers didn’t want to stand with her to see her just cause put right; they wanted Jesus to send her away; they prayed to Jesus to cancel her prayer. But he didn’t; he seemed to be waiting to see if her faith was true and purified. It was.
After the first response of silence and no word, Jesus’s second response was to rebuff her person; he implied that she only had the standing of a dog. But, revealing her faith in him, she agreed that her natural standing wasn’t enough, but that she still needed justice from the perfect judge—even if it was only a small cost to him like a crumb falling from his table to the little dogs.
Today whatever your need is, if it is just and if you feed your faith with God’s word until you are fully assured of your righteousness and God’s perfect justice to meet your need, then ask and continue to bring your petition to God. When he sees that you cannot be put off by doubt, inferiority, natural standing, initial silence, rejection and dissuasion by those around you, or even a gentle rebuff, he will grant you the justice you need.
(Luke 18:8 NKJV) “… when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Jesus is returning, and when he comes will you be one of the ones with the genuine, pure faith that he is looking for. Persistence like the widow and the woman of Canaan may be the way he expects you to demonstrate your faith.
So, don’t give up on God. Make sure your cause is just, but then keep going to him with it. Feed your faith daily to ensure that your bold, righteous assurance is strong, and that you will not weaken in spirit. He is not an unjust judge; he loves justice.
God’s affirmative answer is important to you; but your faith is important to him:
(Hebrews 11:1 ANT) Now, faith is a sure confidence with respect to things hoped for, a firm persuasion with respect to things not seen:
(1 Peter 1:7 NLT) These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.