Sermon in a Sentence: Christ calls us to pray persistently in the faith that God will help those who cry to him day and night.

Transcription

1 (Sermon for Luke 18:1-8, Sunday, October 20, 2013) Sermon in a Sentence: Christ calls us to pray persistently in the faith that God will help those who cry to him day and night. The Wicked Judge and Persistent Widow Have you ever prayed and despaired of an answer? Have you ever gone through tough times that seemed that they would never end? Have you ever felt that you were at the end of your rope? Have you ever wondered if God cares? If so, the Parable of the Wicked Judge and the Persistent Widow is for you. It's a parable of promise. It promises that God is here. It promises that God cares. It promises that God answers prayer. It promises that God will vindicate the person who continues to pray through the tough times - the person who continues to hope - the person who clings to faith. In the five short verses of this Parable, Jesus tells the story of two people - a wicked judge and a persistent widow. Jesus describes the judge as someone who feared neither God nor man. It would be possible to take that as a compliment. This man is courageous - not afraid of anything. But that's not what Jesus meant. Keep in mind that Jesus was Jewish - and, for the Jews, the fear of God was the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God was the beginning of righteousness. If you feared God, you would try to do what God wanted you to do - and God clearly wanted you to show mercy to widows and other vulnerable people. And judges were supposed to make that happen. Judges were supposed to make sure that widows and orphans were treated fairly.

2 Moses had established judges a thousand years earlier - shortly after the Exodus. Moses had been overwhelmed by wearing the burden of leadership. There were hundreds of thousands of Jews in the desert, and Moses had to shoulder all the responsibility personally. It seemed as if he was spending all his time listening to petty complaints and rendering judgments. But fortunately, Moses' father-in-law - a man named Jethro - was a Godly, wise man. He told Moses that he needed to learn to delegate. He encouraged Moses to appoint judges over the various tribes of Israel so that those judges could handle ordinary disputes - freeing Moses to deal with more serious issues. Jethro went one more step. He told Moses to be sure to appoint judges who feared God, because judges who feared God would rule justly. Jethro knew that a judge who did not fear God could not be trusted. Moses took Jethro's advice and appointed judges - always trying to appoint men who feared God - men who could be trusted to do the right thing - men who would take care to guard the interests of widows and orphans. But that was centuries before Jesus' time. In the intervening years, Israel had seen good judges, men who feared God - and bad judges who didn't fear God. So when Jesus said this judge didn't fear God, He was really saying that you couldn't trust him. This judge was going to do what he wanted to do - right or wrong - good or bad. If you were smart, you would stay out of his courtroom - because this judge could not be trusted to do the right thing. "Shame and Pride" Likewise Jesus' also said that this judge didn't have any respect for people. Ken Bailey is a Biblical scholar who lived in the Mideast for many years. He says that, in the Mideast, there is a "shame and pride" culture. He says we should think of this judge's "no respect for people" attitude in the context of that "shame and pride" culture. When Jesus said that this judge had no respect for people, He was saying that this judge didn't care about anyone's opinion. The judge had no sense of shame - no conscience. Think about that. We've all done things we're not proud of. Those come to mind occasionally, and we wince at the memory of them - because we do have a sense of shame. A sense of shame is a good thing. It means that we have a conscience. It means that we care about other people - and their opinions of us. But there are people without consciences - people who feel no shame. We call them sociopaths. Sociopaths are dangerous - really dangerous - because they can do horrific things with no twinge of conscience. Nothing bothers them. So when Jesus says that this judge has no respect for people - that he cares nothing for their opinions - that he cares nothing for what they think of him - he is telling us that this judge is not to be trusted. You want to avoid his courtroom. The Vulnerable Widow The other person in Jesus' parable was a widow. Today, some widows are poor, some are rich. But in Jesus' day, widows and orphans were symbols of vulnerable people. They had neither money nor protector.

3 Because widows were so defenseless, unscrupulous people sometimes took advantage of them. The Old Testament presents God as especially concerned about widows and orphans (Exodus 22:21-24; Deuteronomy 10:18; 27:19; Psalm 68:5, etc.). It warned that, on Judgment Day, God would condemn people who took advantage of widows (Malachi 3:5). But this judge didn't care about that. He didn't care what people thought, and he didn't care what God thought. So this widow was up against it when she walked into this judge's courtroom. She couldn't afford a lawyer. She was on her own. Her plea was simple: "Defend me from my adversary" (v. 3). This judge ignored her request. He had more important fish to fry - more important cases to hear - more important verdicts to render. He couldn't be bothered with this widow - a woman with little legal standing - a woman with no clout or money. But this widow kept coming back - and this judge kept ignoring her - and she kept coming back - and he kept ignoring her - but she kept coming back. Finally, in the privacy of his chambers, the judge had an Aha! moment. He said to himself, "Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming" (vv. 4-5). That tells us what this judge really cared about. He didn't care about God, and he didn't care about other people - but he did care about himself - his personal comfort. He didn't want this widow to keep cluttering up his courtroom. So he decided to defend her - so she would go away. He just wanted to get rid of her. Having told this story, Jesus then came to the point. He said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge says" (v. 6). He said that he would take care of this widow so that she would quit bothering him. In other words, her persistence had won the day for her. Then Jesus goes on to say: Won't God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (vv. 6-8). What did that mean? Who were the chosen ones who were crying out day and night? Well, there are faithful people in every age who cry out to God day and night. Even today, people cry out to God day and night. There might even be people here today who are crying out to God for help. But Luke wrote this Gospel a number of years after Jesus' resurrection, and things had not been easy for Christians. The dominant religious leaders of the day were making things hard for Christians. Romans were making things hard for them. Christians kept looking for Jesus' Second Coming to save them - and to vindicate their faith. It had been a long time - and some of the Christians were beginning to wonder if God really cared. They were beginning to wonder if Jesus really was coming back. They were beginning to wonder if there would be any end to their misery.

4 Our Loving Heavenly Father So Luke included this parable of Jesus in his Gospel to encourage these Christians - and to encourage us. The parable said that a judge - even a wicked judge who didn't fear God or man - would do the right thing if someone pestered him long enough. Now we must be careful how we interpret that. Jesus was not saying that God is like that wicked judge. Jesus was contrasting the wicked judge with our loving God. Jesus was saying that, if even a wicked judge would do the right thing if someone pestered him long enough, can't we believe that our loving Father will do the right thing for us! That's the message. If even a wicked judge would do the right thing if someone pestered him long enough, can't we believe that our loving Heavenly Father will do the right thing for us! Jesus says that God will avenge us. God is on our side. God will save us. This parable also tells us that there is value in prayer. The parable encourages us to pray frequently. It tells us that it's OK to pray regularly for the things we need. There is value in prayer - in regular, persistent prayer. Then Jesus closes with this odd question. He says, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (v. 8b). In other words, the people were discouraged that Jesus hadn't already come again to vindicate them. Would they give up! Would their faith keep them in the fight until Jesus does come back - or would they turn their backs on Jesus! "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" I like what a Biblical scholar, Craig Evans, has to say at this point. He says that there is a connection between prayer and faith. He says, "Faith prompts prayer, while prayer strengthens faith." Let me say that one more time: "Faith prompts prayer, while prayer strengthens faith."

5 His first point is that Christians - especially Christians in distress - are driven by their faith to pray. His second point is that, when Christians pray, their faith grows - and they become strong. So, if Christians pray, Jesus will find faith on earth when He comes again. He will find faithful people whose faith has been supported and strengthened by their prayers. I started this sermon with a series of questions: Have you prayed and despaired of an answer? Have you gone through tough times that seemed that they would never end? Have you ever felt that you were at the end of your rope? Have you ever wondered if God cares? If you answer those questions "Yes!" this parable is for you. It tells you two things. The first is that you can count on your loving God to do the right thing by you. The second is that persistent prayer is a good way to keep in touch with God - to win His favor - and to strengthen our faith to get us through the tough times. Amen. Peace friends, Chuck