"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
Luke 18:1-8
Part 4
Yesterday: God Listens to His Child and is Just
“A Judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man.”
This judge who regarded no one gave in to the pleas of this widow, why?
Today: God Tells Us to Help Widows and Orphans
The Widow: “A Widow in that city.”
We don’t know much about this lady. She has lost her husband, and now someone is after her. I have shared this statement before,
“Widows were among the most vulnerable people. To defraud them was despicable (Isaiah 1:17, 23; 10:2; Jeremiah 7:6; Ezekiel 22:7; Zechariah 7:10), whether by embezzlement or other fraudulent means, Jesus identified these greedy scribes as thieves”[3] (CSB).
This widow was “weak, desolate,” and “defenseless”[1] (JFB).
“Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day” (1 Timothy 5:5).
Perhaps the scribes were after this lady’s estate. We are not told. But Jesus’ point is that she had a need that she could not take care of herself, and there was no one to defend her. This is the reason she approached the judge in the first place.
“Avenge me of mine adversary.”
Sadly, this kind of thing was a reality for many widows. Her dilemma was not unusual in Jesus’ day.
“In ancient Palestine, widows made up a large class of society, since as young teenagers most girls married much older men. Widows lacked social power and financial opportunity, and the widow in Jesus’ story can only hope to influence the unfair, unsympathetic judge through persistent pleading”[2] (Fee).
“A widow in that culture was almost helpless. Her only hope was that her persistent plea for justice would be granted”[3] (CSB).
She did the only thing she could think of to do, go to a judge who could help her need and take care of her case. So she went to him for help.
“Avenge Me”
She began asking the judge to rid her of her oppressor. The word that Jesus used here “…means do me justice”[4] (Vincent).
“…and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.” And she went to see him, and she went to see him, and she went to him and went to see him…[5]
This widow was unrelenting in going to the judge for help. Will the judge have a heart and listen to her needs? Come back tomorrow, and let’s find out together.
Quote: Jehovah is, “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5).
[1] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Luke 18:1-8.
[2] Fee, G. D., & Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (Eds.). (2011). The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (p. 572). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Luke 18:1-8.
[3] Evans, C. A. (2017). Messianic Expectations. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1642). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers. The emphasis is theirs.
[4] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. Vincent and others point out that this translation “avenge” is a little too strong. “The technical term ekdikeson implies ‘settle my case (so as to free me) from my adversary.’ The same word is found in Romans 12:19; Revelation 6:10” (Cambridge Bible). Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[5] The imperfect tense Jesus used here tells us that she would not stop coming to the judge with her need.