In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told His disciples the parable of the unrighteous judge and asked them a question. When the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth? Shall Jesus find faith on the earth when He returns? What kind of faith was Jesus referring to? Do Christians walk in this faith?
The parable of the unrighteous judge
And Jesus spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary And he would not for a while: but afterward, he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8)
After Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about the Kingdom of God and to His disciples about the appearance and revelation of the Son of man, Jesus told them the parable of the unrighteous judge. This illustration of the unrighteous judge had as a learning point that it is a necessity in the nature of the case for them at all times to be praying and not be losing courage (faint).
Jesus compared the one, who prays, with a widow. In those times, when a woman became a widow after the death of her husband, she not only lost her husband. But the widow also lost her social and economic position. Therefore she belonged to the lower class of society
Jesus showed, that you don’t need a title, degree, or a certain position in the church or society to get your prayers answered.
Although a widow had lost her social and economic position, God cared for the widow
Although a widow had lost her husband and her social and economic position in society, she had a special place with God. Because God looked out and cared for the widows.
God promised in His Word, that if the widows would cry to Him, God would hear their cry. The Lord God was a Judge of the widows.
God relieved and preserved the widows.
And God had commanded His people to look out and care for the widows, who were among them (a.o. Exodus 22:23, Psalms 68:5, 146:9, Proverbs 15:25)
So this widow, who came to the judge with a request had no social and economic position.
But despite who she was and despite her position, she went to the judge and made a request. The widow requested that the judge would avenge her of her adversary.
However, the judge didn’t fear God and regarded no man. Therefore the judge didn’t look after the widow and didn’t care for her. He didn’t answer her request to ‘avenge her of her adversary’. So the widow lost her case.
The persistent attitude of the widow
But instead of going home defeated and giving up, the widow did the opposite.
The widow didn’t go home and kneeled in a corner and threw herself a pity party. She didn’t think and said to herself, “Ah well, who am I? I am a nobody. People don’t see me and don’t hear me. I lost my spouse, I lost my social and economic position, I lost my case. What’s the point of going to the judge? Never mind, I should just forget about it and let it be.”
No, this woman didn’t rely on herself and didn’t have faith in herself. But the widow had faith in the judge and his ability and authority. Therefore the widow returned to the judge and didn’t give up.
Because of the widow’s faith in the judge, the widow persevered. She persevered and kept harassing the judge with her request. Because the widow believed, that if she persevered, her request would be granted by the judge and avenge her from her adversary.
The widow had faith in the judge and in his authority
The widow knew, that she went to the right person. This judge was the only one, who was in a position and had the authority to grant her justice. The judge was the only one, who could help the widow and redeem her from her problem.
The widow didn’t look elsewhere. She didn’t look for help and reinforcement from others. She didn’t even involve other people to strengthen her case and her position. No!
The only thing she did was continually come back to the unrighteous judge and not weaken but persevere. The widow didn’t give up until she got what she came for.
The unrighteous judge granted justice to the widow
But for a while, the unrighteous judge would not grant her justice. It doesn’t say how long ‘this while’ took. It could be days, weeks, months, and even years.
However, after a while, the judge said within himself, “though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
By faith in the judge and His ability, the widow persevered.
The widow was so persistent and troubled the judge in such a manner, that the judge had no other choice than to avenge her. So that she would not weary him by her continual coming.
By faith, the widow got what she came for and justice was granted by the unrighteous judge.
God is the righteous Judge
After Jesus spoke this parable of the unrighteous judge, Jesus said that they had to listen to the words of the unrighteous judge. And this was an unrighteous judge, who didn’t fear God and had no respect for people.
But God is righteous. God is a righteous Judge, who judges righteously. Since God judges righteously, shouldn’t God accomplish the vindication of His chosen-out ones, who are crying aloud to Him day and night, exacting justice on their behalf, even though He is longsuffering in their case (that of the enemies of the chosen-out ones).
Jesus said, that God will exact justice on their behalf speedily. However, God’s time is different than the time of man.
But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9)
Shall the Son of man find faith on the earth?
But… Jesus asked them also a question, when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth? Will Jesus find the aforementioned kind of faith on the earth? Will Jesus find faith that keeps on pleading in prayer such as that exemplified by the persistence of the widow with regard to the judge?
And that’s what it’s all about, in reference to avenging the elect; the faith or the assurance and conviction in God and Jesus Christ; His Word, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Do believers still have the same faith as the widow?
The widow had such great faith in the judge and his authority and power and believed that the judge would avenge her. Therefore she was persistent and did not give up.
Do believers have the same attitude as the widow? Do they believe in the truth of the Word? And do they keep standing by faith in God and Jesus Christ upon the Word?
Do they persevere in prayer because of their faith in God? Do they persevere, despite their circumstances and what happens around them? Or do they eventually give up and look elsewhere?
The faith of Christians is under attack
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13)
The faith shall be under such an attack, that many believers shall compromise and give up. Many believers shall be misled through all kinds of false doctrines, which look godly, but in reality, derived from the devil. They shall be so misled by false doctrines, worldly influences, worldly distractions, and demonic powers that creep into people’s lives, that they will not stay awake, but fall asleep.
Only a few shall persevere and stand fast because of their faith in God.
Many shall have faith in themselves and rely on their titles, position in society, wealth, knowledge (carnal mind), opinion, and natural ability or capacity, or have faith in other people and their names.
Only a few shall have faith in God and therefore stay obedient to the Word. They shall keep walking on the Way and persevere in prayer and don’t lose heart, as the Day of the Son of man comes near.
These believers have put their trust in God and His authority and power instead of themselves and people.
They know, that every word of God is the truth. They know that every prophecy concerning the return of Jesus Christ is a fact. And they know that the day will come when God will do justice to them.
The sons of God will keep the faith
God has given His sons (this applies to both males and females) everything they need on the earth. He has given them His Word, the Name of Jesus, and His authority, and His Holy Spirit (power).
God has given His sons everything to walk in faith as sons of God on the earth. So that in obedience to the Word and His will, they can fight the good fight of faith and finish the course with all its obstacles and keep the faith.
So that they can say, just like Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
‘Be the salt of the earth’
Source: Vine’s dictionary
