Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 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? 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?” Luke 18:1-8
“The parable itself is fairly straightforward. As in many other parables, Jesus contrasts two characters. One is a powerful and ruthless judge; the other, a widow who has suffered injustice…In the social order of the times, in most cases, a woman needed a man to speak for her to claim her rights. Since a widow usually does not have such a man, it is the responsibility of the entire people of God to care for her and to make certain that justice is done…
The judge refused to do justice for a while. In contrast, God will not delay long but will quickly grant justice to them. This contrast between the judge’s delayed reaction and God’s prompt response must be stressed. Otherwise, the parable may be understood in the sense that God is like the unjust judge and will eventually answer prayer, not out of justice or compassion but out of sheer fatigue at the insistence of petitioners…
What Jesus is saying is that God, who is loving and not unfeeling as the judge it, will respond promptly, and will not delay and demand insistent petitions, as does the judge. Why then the need “to pray always and not to lose heart”? Because the disciples are living in the difficult days when they long for the day of the Son of Man and their open vindication. They are like Noah being mocked by his neighbors. The only way to remain firm in such a situation is to pray constantly…
The parable is not about praying for things we want. It’s not about being “blessed” with a fortune as a result of insistent prayer. It certainly is not about being successful in the present days. It is rather about being vindicated even at a time when such vindication seems illusory, like Noah and Lot knowing that they were right even while their neighbors might disagree, and eventually being openly vindicated.”
Justo L. González in Luke (BTCB; Louisville: WJKP, 2010) 210-12.
As we draw closer to Holy Week, parables like this one provide us with profound encouragement to make the Lenten discipline of prayer a central part of life both during and after Lent.
In the days while we await the return of the Son of Man, things may look bleak. We may find ourselves at the bottom of the social structure with no hope for justice or vindication like this widow. What should we do? We must pray constantly for God to act on our behalf. That’s precisely what it means for Him to find faith on the earth!
Prayer is central to the generous Christian life because we realize quickly that not only does everything come from God for our enjoyment and sharing, but every aspect of life and living depends on God. We need Him to supply our daily bread and everything else. He will only find faith on the earth at His return if we resolve to live this way.
So, this text sends a message to everyone about perseverance in prayer and deep faith in difficult times, much like the dark days we find ourselves living in today. But it also sends a warm message to oppressed women.
In that sense, I am doubly thankful God led me to this text this morning as I deliver a paper at the regional SBL conference in Utah on “Demystifying Gender Issues in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 with Fresh Assistance from Artemis.” Why am I delivering a paper on this topic?
In doing doctoral research on ancient Ephesus, I discovered a usage of the rare term for the prohibited hairstyle in view. This clue helped unlock how Ephesian women may heard this text as demythologizing life for them. Without this evidence, many have read this text in a way that oppresses women. How might we read it differently?
I found that Ephesian women aimed at appearing like the goddess and promoting her myth. They must do it or reap the vengeance of the goddess of childbearing. For Ephesian women who came to faith in Christ, everything would change. Their modest decorum and deeds must exhibit their Christian faith, and they must stop teaching false views of creation and the origin of sin. But the text does not instruct them not to teach biblical truths as many have said.
For women (and men) who have prayed for justice (like the widow) in the way texts like 1 Timothy 2:9-15 are read, this evidence and interpretation may serve as an answer to your prayers. For a PDF copy of my short paper, reply to this email. To get the whole argument, see chapter three of my scholarly work: Wealth in Ancient Ephesus and the First Letter to Timothy. Always pray and do not give up!