The Widow and the Judge
1 He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up, 2 saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man. 3 A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’ 4 He wouldn’t for a while; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” 6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. 7 Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
A woman with no standing wears down a judge who cares for nobody — and the parable works by contrast, not comparison.
He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up,
The purpose is stated before the story, which is unusual and useful. It follows directly on the description of a long interval before the Son of Man's day Luke 17:22, and it is about how to live through one.
saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man.
The description is his own summary of himself two verses later, so it is not slander. He is beyond both the religious and the social pressures that make officials behave.
A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’
She has nothing. A widow in that world had no male advocate, no money for the customary inducements, and no leverage of any kind. Her entire strategy is that she keeps coming back, and the law she is appealing to had singled out widows for protection Deuteronomy 10:18 — which is precisely what a judge like this would ignore.
yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”
The verb is vivid — the word belongs to boxing, a blow under the eye. He gives her the verdict to stop being hit.
"Listen to what the unrighteous judge says" Luke 18:6.
The instruction is to attend to the judge, and the parable works by contrast rather than comparison, exactly as the friend at midnight did Luke 11:5–8. God is not a corrupt official who must be worn down. The argument runs from the worst case to the best: if persistence gets justice out of a man who cares for nothing, then no one praying to a Father should conclude that asking is pointless.
Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
The delay is conceded rather than denied. The parable is not pretending the answer comes quickly; it is saying what to do while it does not.
I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The ending turns the whole thing around. A parable about whether God will answer closes with a question about whether anyone will still be asking. The doubt is transferred from his willingness to our stamina — and it is left as a question, unanswered, addressed to the reader.
The woman in the story is the model. She had no case anyone would take, no resources, and no reason for confidence except that she kept turning up.
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