Beth Eden Baptist Church

Dr. Craig M. Jenkins, Pastor

Sunday School

The Widow & the Unjust Judge

Luke 18:1-8
 Lesson 7 July 15, 2018

Prayerful Disciples   Many things can cause disciples to become discouraged. The troubles of this world (John 16:33), the ministry we have to perform (2 Corinthians 4:1), and growing older (4:16) all cause wear and tear on disciples. These challenges are met by being vigilant in prayer.

 Pestered Judge   Jesus’ parables always start out in reality before they move to fiction. The situation Jesus posed was real. Widows could be pretty needy. We are not told the nature of the widow’s problem, but it is possible that she was being taken undue advantage of by creditors who looked on her as helpless (see 2 Kings 4:1-7). She was desperate for help and refused to take no for an answer. What we do know is that she had a very real adversary.

 The judge did not deserve his title. He did his job out of obligation—not privilege and helpfulness. He had both vertical and horizontal problems—he did not fear God and he did not respect people. The judge could hold the widow at arm’s length for a season. But soon her persistence wore him down. He acted on her behalf for totally selfish reasons.

 Speedy God   We often hear that God is rarely early but never late. But that is not how it seems to us. Our impatience and lack of eternal perspective hinder us from believing that God will act soon. The last verse is as important to the interpretation of this parable as the first verse. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” This is not some disjointed additional teaching. The kind of faith that Jesus is talking about is the faith that shows up in persistent prayer. An active prayer life is evidence of faith. An active prayer life enlists the good judge from above to take up the causes of his people.

 
                        
Based on Christian Standard Writings  

Submitted by Donna Reed

 
 
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