The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
For the rest of the chapter: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018&version=NIV1984
My Understanding: There are four sections to this passage of scripture (vv. 1-30), which represent four lessons Jesus taught. As I read about the persistent widow, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the little children and Jesus, and the rich young ruler, the Lord gave me Four Bes to illustrate four attitudes he requires and/or desires of his followers: 1) Be Persistent, 2) Be Humble, 3) Be Childlike, and 4) Be Willing.
Be Persistent
Jesus told this parable of the persistent widow to illustrate the principle of perseverance in suffering and in waiting on God’s timing for when he finally brings about justice on the earth, and Jesus returns for his bride. A time of spiritual decline among the people of God and a time of great persecution on the Lord’s faithful servants has come upon the earth, though it is going to get much worse before the end of time. For those of us in the USA, we have been touched little by severe persecution for our faith in Jesus Christ, though most certainly discrimination against true believers in Christ is occurring today in America. And, I believe one day we will all know the severity of persecution personally. When one is going through such a time of great oppression for his or her faith, perseverance and persistence in believing faith is essential. We must never give up hope in the promises of God.
Our adversary is Satan, so the justice that we hope and pray for is not against our fellow man, but against our true adversary, the devil. Jesus Christ defeated him on the cross when he died for our sins, and he defeated him when he rose victoriously from the grave in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. Yet, one day Jesus will return for his bride and he will give Satan, the beast and the false prophet the destiny they have chosen for themselves and that they deserve, which is eternity in the lake of burning sulfur. And, justice will be served. Yet, I believe a greater justice against our adversary is when God’s church gets revived and the gospel of Jesus Christ is spread throughout the earth and Satan and his schemes against us are defeated by victorious living Christians who are faithful in love and service to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, my persistent prayer is for revival.
Be Humble
In the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus addressed the problem existing among those who were confident in their own self-righteousness and who looked down on everyone else who was not like them. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector both went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” The Pharisee was not really praying to God. He was pontificating, i.e. he was “speaking about something in a knowing and self-important way, especially when not qualified to do so” (Encarta). His prayer was a farce (circus; charade). He was full of self-importance and thought that because he held to specific religious rituals and rites that his religiosity made him better than everyone else.
The problem with the Pharisee was two-fold: 1) He thought he was better than everyone else because of his religious activities, and 2) He faked true righteousness in order to appear righteous before men to impress men with his goodness, yet his heart was full of evil. Many among us today may be guilty of one or both of these characteristic traits of a Pharisee. Perhaps our problem is that we see ourselves as better than others because we don’t do certain types of things that others do or because we hold to specific religious rituals that we think make us holy, but do not. We are not better. The Bible says that all have sinned and there is no one righteous (in himself). We have all gone astray. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. We must be so careful to guard against spiritual pride in our own perceived goodness that sets us above others.
We must also guard against fakery, lies, shams, charades, etc. that make us appear better than what we really are in order to convince others we are something that we are not. We may not fall into the category of thinking of ourselves as better than others. We may be well aware of how sinful we truly are, but yet we might have a problem of trying to appear better than we really are by faking our Christian experience, our prayers, and even our beliefs in order to give others an impression of us that is not true. We need to examine our hearts before Almighty God to see whether or not any pride, resulting from a feeling of self-importance and a belief that we are somehow better than others because of our religious rituals, exists within us. We also need to do a heart examination to see whether or not we are pretending to be someone or something we are not in order to give off an appearance about ourselves that is not true to who we really are for whatever reasons we might do so.
In contrast to these characteristic traits of a Pharisee, which we must guard against in our hearts, is the illustration Jesus provided for us of someone who was considered lowly among men at that time, i.e. a tax collector. Tax collectors were despised then. They were grouped with all sorts of people of bad repute. Some of them may have been deserving of that reputation and some may not. The tax collector had no reason for self-pride or a feeling of self-importance, so his approach to God and to prayer was completely different from that of the Pharisee. He bowed his head, beat his breast in grief over his sin, and prayed to God for mercy for himsel, acknowledging that he was indeed a sinner. Jesus stated that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, was justified before God. Then, Jesus taught the lesson: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Be Childlike
There is a huge difference between being childlike and being childish. If we act childishly, we are acting in a manner which is immature, selfish, demanding its own way, lacking good sense, etc. Yet, to be childlike has to do more with being sweet, innocent, unspoiled, and trusting, having the qualities of honesty, openness (transparency) and humility. A small child is often so much more sensitive to the voice of God speaking and much more responsive and willing to believe God and his many promises. So, when Jesus stated that having childlike faith was a requirement for entering his kingdom, he was speaking of the kind of faith that believed what it professed to believe, as shown by its faith in action.
In other words, childlike faith believes that Jesus died to save us and to deliver us from sin, so childlike faith will repent and will turn from sin and will turn to God in obedience to his commands. Childlike faith will jump into the arms of a parent and will trust that he or she will be caught. When we come to our Lord with that kind of childlike faith, we put our lives in his loving arms in the same manner, not holding on to the things of this world, but allowing ourselves to be enveloped in God’s grace and mercy. Childlike faith is the kind of faith that is revealed by the things that we do in response to the word of God and its teachings. Children very easily believe and they very trustingly act upon what they believe. Oh, that we might have the faith and trust of a small child in our relationships with Jesus.
Be Willing
A rich ruler came to Jesus and asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus acknowledged that the man knew the commandments of God. The man said he had kept those since his youth. Yet, Jesus could see inside the man’s heart. He told him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The man responded to Jesus’ words with great sadness, for he had great wealth. Then, Jesus used an illustration that has presented problems for Bible translators and commentators alike. Some see “camel” as representing a rope made of camel hair which would be difficult to fit through the eye of a sewing needle. Others have suggested that the “eye of a needle” was a small gate which would pose great difficulty for a camel to pass through. I don’t believe we should get hung up on the illustration. Jesus’ point was clear. Something that seemed impossible with men was not impossible with God.
Jesus’ words to this man are not universal truths to be applied to us today. We are not saved by giving away everything we have nor are we unsaved if we do not give away all our possessions. Again, Jesus knew this man’s heart, and he knew what was keeping him from believing in Jesus Christ. He had great wealth, and his wealth had become his god. It was more important to him than his relationship with the one and only true God. And, since his wealth stood between him and genuine faith in Jesus Christ, he was not saved. Jesus Christ provided salvation for us through his death on the cross for our sins and through his resurrection, i.e. it is by his grace that we are saved. We are not saved by good works. The bible makes that clear. Yet, the Bible also states that we are saved through faith, so faith is required. This man’s wealth stood between him and that kind of believing faith, so that is why he was not saved.
Although Jesus’ specific words to this man are not his words, in general, to all of us, still there are Biblical principles taught here through this illustration which do apply to us today. The first principle is that we cannot come to God through human effort. It did not matter how well this man had followed the Ten Commandments. His heart was given over to his riches, not to God. So, no amount of goodness on our part can earn our salvation with God. It is impossible for us to be saved in our own human effort, but with God, and in his divine power and will for our lives, and via his saving grace in providing us with the perfect sacrificial Lamb Jesus Christ to take away all our sins, we can be saved.
The second principle is that we can be really good persons who do good things and who basically keep the Ten Commandments, and yet we can still not be in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ does not want our good works. He wants our hearts. We must humble ourselves before God, admitting and turning from our sin, and having childlike faith that truly believes that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins so we could go free from the penalty and daily control of sin over our lives, and so we could be free to walk in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ on a day-to-day basis - faith proved true by its actions.
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ with humility of heart and mind, childlike faith that is pure in heart and believes (trusts) in Jesus Christ and in his words, and faith that is willing to give up all to follow the Lord Jesus Christ wherever he leads us, we will receive the blessings of God in return, some during our lifetime and others in eternity. The main blessing of God that he gives to us is eternal life with him, beginning now and lasting forever and ever. One day Jesus will return for us, His bride, and we will receive our heavenly reward. Until then, we need to be persistent and persevere in our faith, even in the face of great suffering, and we must never, ever give up!!
So Many Times / An Original Work / April 19, 2011
So many times when I hear Your word
Your Spirit speaks and my heart is stirred.
Send a revival my Lord, I pray.
Won’t You be Lord in our hearts now and always.
Humbly and gently I bow the knee.
Yours to be only is now my plea.
I come to Jesus at Calvary.
His blood provided the way we could be free.
Gracious Redeemer, my Lord and friend,
I know You’ll be with me to the end.
A crown awaits me in victory.
Jesus, enthroned above all humanity.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
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