Parable of the Persistent Widow

And he 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

 

Parable of the Persistent Widow

This is in response to a question that I received over Twitter.  In essence, the question asked if I had any thoughts as to what Jesus meant when He asked the question in Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

The verse in question is the last verse of a parable that Jesus was telling his disciples.  We know this parable as the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). In order to answer the question, we need to put everything into context.

The background of our story actually begins in chapter 17 of the book of Luke.  Jesus is asked about the coming kingdom of God. At first, Jesus tells them that He must suffer and be rejected, and that the days of His return would be like those of Noah and Lot: living life as normal – marrying, eating, drinking, going to work and so forth. It was as this time that Jesus told them the parable.

The point of the parable is that if an evil judge could eventually be persuaded by the persistence of a widow, someone who had no influence of the day, how much more likely would the Lord be to respond to the persistent prayers of His followers? Of course this is not the first time the Bible teaches this  (please see 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Matthew 7:7-11).

In actuality, the parable is a lesson in the effectiveness of prayer. Jesus begins by saying that “men ought always to pray” (v.1). This does not mean to pray continuously (Matthew 6:7), but regularly; in good times as well as in bad times. James will later tell us that the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

We also notice that this parable seems to liken God to the evil judge. This is done in order to emphasize the vast difference between the unjust judge of our parable and the righteous God. If this corrupt judge could avenge a widow whom he disdains, how much more then will the righteous God avenge (in justice, not in retaliation) His own people (Jeremiah 11:20).

God will avenge His people (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). It might be a long time in coming for various reasons, but it will come. And when it does, it will come “speedily” (v. 8), and with it, “sudden destruction” with no means of escape (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

But when Christ does return, will He find any faith on the earth (v. 8)? When Jesus returns to this earth, there will be some believers, but most will have followed the beast, and many of these believers will have been put to death during the reign of the Antichrist (Revelation 20:4).

The parable of the persistent widow teaches us that we need to be patient, persistently pray and commune with God and not to loose heart.

 

He will come, and He will bring judgment with Him.