God wants His people to cry to Him day and night for justice, until the Son of Man returns. In light of that, let’s remember our persecuted brethren, and lift them up to God regularly.
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God’s Elect Who Cry To Him Day And Night
Luke 18:1-8
On February 23, 155, the people at the public Roman games were being whipped into a frenzy. Finally, someone cried out “Let Polycarp be searched for!” Polycarp was the Pastor of the church in Smyrna, and a disciple of the apostle John. The night before, Polycarp had a dream in which the pillow under his head was on fire. He woke up and told his fellow believers, “I must be burned alive.” When Polycarp was arrested, he asked for the privilege of having a final hour to spend with the Lord in prayer. As Polycarp entered the Roman arena, God spoke to his heart and said, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” The Roman proconsul gave him the choice between cursing the name of Christ and making a sacrifice to Caesar, or dying. Polycarp said, “Eighty-six years I have served the Lord. He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?”
When the proconsul threatened him with being burned at the stake, Polycarp replied, “You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time and is quickly quenched, but you do not know the fire that awaits the wicked and the judgment to come into everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come and do what you will.”
The crowds went crazy, providing firewood and kindling from their woodshops. There Polycarp stood, and they set the wood around him on fire. Amazingly, the fire did not harm him. It came right up to him and would not burn him, while Polycarp sang praises to God.
Finally, they couldn’t wait any longer and thrust him through with spears.
Polycarp was just one of thousands and thousands of other Christians who were martyred during the first three hundred years of the Church. Their crime? Being a Christian. They refused to deny Christ, and sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Christians have suffered horrible injustices over the centuries, simply for being Christians. They have been fed to the lions in the great coliseums of Rome. They have been rolled in pitch, and burned as human torches. They have been hanged, drowned, beheaded, and shot to death. Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart. So, what should we do, when we face injustices in this world? Jesus’ answer is to pray at all times, and not to lose heart.
We come this morning to another of our Lord’s wonderful parables. One of the reasons that I like the gospel of Luke, is because of the parables found here. A good definition of a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”
This morning I want to show you three aspects of this parable:
- The Purpose of the Parable
- The Plot of the Parable
- The Point of the Parable
1. The Purpose of the Parable
In this parable, the key hangs at the door. Luke tells us very specifically why the Lord told this parable. He said it was so that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. When we hear those words, we think of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says, “pray without ceasing.” We tend to think that Jesus was giving us a parable simply to show that we should pray all the time. We should pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 was written to urge us to pray unceasingly in a general manner. However, I don’t believe Luke 18:1-8 has the exact same purpose in mind. Why would I say that? It’s because of the context that we find it in. Remember, that when the Bible was written there were no chapter divisions. Men inserted them hundreds of years later. So, if we read this passage with that in mind, I think we would immediately see its context. What is the subject matter of the last half of Luke 17? It is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Well, Luke 18:1-8 has to do with that same subject. This praying that Jesus is talking about has to do with praying in light of the second coming of Christ.
How do I know that? Well, take a look at the last sentence of this section in verse 8, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” When the Son of Man comes. Jesus has not left the subject matter of Luke 17. He is still dwelling on His coming.
You see, it is easy to lose heart, if we lose sight of Christ’s return. Why? Because of all the injustice we must suffer in this world. Christians are persecuted, mocked, and belittled. It’s not just. It’s not right. That’s why in verse 8 Jesus says, “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.” That’s why Jesus used a parable in which a widow was being treated unjustly. He is emphasizing that between His first coming and His second coming, Christians will be treated unjustly. And we can easily lose heart when we face hardships and persecutions, unless we keep reminding ourselves that Jesus is coming, and then all the wrongs will be righted. He will bring about justice, no matter how much injustice we have had to experience in this life.
Another reason we might lose heart is because the Lord’s coming is delayed. In Luke 17:22 Jesus said, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” You are in danger of losing heart, because you long for Christ to return and take you to be with Him, and yet He doesn’t come. In 2 Peter 3:3-4 the Bible says, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” The 12 thought that the Lord would come back in their lifetime. However, He didn’t come back, and it has now been nearly 2,000 years, and He still hasn’t come back. If you and I are not careful, that may cause us to lose heart. We might start to wonder whether the Lord is going to come back at all. We may experience doubts about the truthfulness of God’s Word. As non-believers mock us, we may just lose heart altogether.
So Jesus gives us the remedy for losing heart. He tells us to pray at all times. In the time between the first and second coming of Christ, we must pray. When we face injustice because of our faith, pray! Pray, and keep praying! Cry to God day and night. Pray that the Lord would come. Maranatha! Pray that He would judge His enemies, and deliver His saints. Notice how Paul puts it in 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7, “therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” Did you notice all the references to the saints persevering in persecutions? The second coming of Christ is medicine for believers who are in danger of losing heart. So, rather than lose heart, we must pray. Pray that the Lord would come and judge His adversaries, and exalt His humble faithful people.
Now, there we have the purpose of the parable. Let’s look at the Plot of the parable.
2, The Plot of the Parable
The plot is given to us in verses 2-5. There are two characters – a judge and a widow.
Let’s consider this widow. Luke mentions widows more than all the other gospel writers combined. Now, a widow in that culture had three strikes against her. First, she was treated as a second-class citizen. Second, she had no husband to protect her and fight for her. Third, because she was a widow, she was poor. This widow is a picture of the destitute, deprived, lowly, marginalized, and helpless. To make matters worse, someone has defrauded her or taken advantage of her, because she keeps asking the judge to give her legal protection.
Now, let’s consider the judge. Jesus refers to him as “the unrighteous judge” in verse 6. Verse 2 says he did not fear God and did not respect man. He didn’t fear God – he didn’t care less what God’s will was in the matter. He was not a God-fearing man. He also didn’t respect man. He didn’t care one whit about this woman, or her being defrauded, or her needs. He just didn’t care. The only one this judge cared about was himself!
In that day and culture, jobs for women were very scarce. Life insurance was nonexistent. She had to live on whatever her husband had left her when he died. To make matters worse, some scoundrel had cheated her out of whatever she had to live on. The Judge reasons that she has no money, so he will just hear the cases of others who can pay him handsomely. So, this unrighteous judge refused to giver her any help. He told his bailiff to escort her out of the courtroom, and figures that’s the last he will ever see of her. Wrong!
The important phrase in this parable is “she kept coming to him.” This poor widow was determined. She had to get this judge to help her against the injustice of her opponent. So she was persistent. When the Judge walked out the front door to go to work, there was this woman with her complaint. When he took a break for lunch, there she was again. When he was through for the day, and walked home, this woman dogged his steps the whole way, pleading for him to give her justice. Every day he tells her to get lost, but she keeps coming back. After a while, he begins to hate to go to work, because he knows he must face this nagging woman again.
There is the whole point. Verse 5 says, “yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.” This wicked judge was brought to the place where he agreed to give this poor widow legal protection, not because he was kind and compassionate, or that he was just and fair, but just to get her off his back! He got to the point where he was willing to do anything, just to get this old woman to go away!
There is the plot of the parable. Let’s look now at the point of the parable.
3, The Point of the Parable
The point comes in verse 6-8. “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
The widow in the parable represents Christians. The judge represents God. Just as the widow kept coming and pleading her case, day after day, so believers are to pray at all times and not to lose heart.
However, there is a difference in this parable. Jesus is teaching not only by comparison, but also by contrast. It would be easy to get the idea that if we just nag God long enough, He will give in and do whatever we want! That is not the point of this parable.
First, God is very unlike the judge. The judge is called “unrighteous”. He doesn’t fear God or respect man. He is a wicked, selfish man, who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Hardly a good picture of our loving Heavenly Father. God is full of love to His people. He cares about them, and listens to their cry.
Second, we are not like this widow. The widow was a complete stranger to the judge. He didn’t know her from Adam. There was no relationship between them. However, verse 7 says that believers are God’s elect. That means they are the ones God has chosen to salvation. God set His love upon them from the foundation of the world. From the beginning God planned to bring them into His kingdom, wash them from their sins, adopt them into His family, and glorify them together with Himself forever. Christian, don’t you know who you are? You’re not a destitute widow with no resources, a stranger to God. No, you are His beloved, the apple of His eye. Before time began, He chose you to be part of His bride. He loves you as much as He loves His own Son! You are His child. You are His chosen one!
Now, let’s put this all together. “Now will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” If a poor widow could move an unjust judge to give her legal protection by coming to him continually, how much more will our loving Father respond in grace to us who pray to him at all times? That’s the point Jesus is making. He is encouraging us to pray on. We are to cry to Him day and night, because God is ready to hear and answer our prayers.
So, what are we praying about? Verse 8, “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.” We pray for justice. Just like the widow, we are treated unjustly in this world. Often believers are the butt of everybody’s jokes. We are considered ignorant and stupid for believing in special creation, the Flood, the truthfulness of the Bible, that Christ rose bodily from the grave, and that He is going to come back again one day. We are mocked and ridiculed. And some believers in some parts of the world are beaten, and others are killed for their faith. So, between the first and second coming of Christ, we pray for justice. Jesus says, “keep on praying!” Cry to God day and night! Don’t stop.
Jesus says that God will bring about justice for them quickly. Now, that seems a bit odd, doesn’t it? God’s people have been praying that Christ would come back and right all wrongs, and bring about justice for God’s people and judgment to His enemies for 2,000 years, and yet that prayer hasn’t been answered yet. How could Jesus say God will bring it about quickly? Well, I think the answer is that we need to see things from God’s perspective, instead of ours. In 2 Peter 3:8 the Bible says, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” From God’s perspective, He is bringing about justice quickly. We have such a difficult time waiting patiently for God to answer prayer, but from His perspective the answer comes quickly. God told Noah that He was going to send a flood, but 120 years went by without a drop of rain while Noah endured the mockery of his generation. God promised Abraham a son, but waited to give it until Sarah had gone through menopause, 25 years later. God promised Joseph as a teenager that his father and brothers would bow down to him, but Joseph spent 12 years in a prison in Egypt, before the answer was realized. God promised to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt, but 400 years went by before He raised up Moses to do just that. God promised to send a Messiah, but thousands of years went by before the promise was fulfilled.
Jesus closes out this section by asking the question, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Persistent prayer for Christ to come and give justice is an expression of faith. It would be easy for us to give up praying, if God did not answer quickly. But faith is seen when we cry to Him day and night without seeing the answer.
Conclusion
When you face persecution and affliction for your faith, do you cry to God day and night? Do you ask for the Lord to return? Paul did in 1 Corinthians 16:22 when he wrote, “Maranatha”, which means “Come Lord Jesus.” The apostle John closed the book of Revelation in 22:20 by writing, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Whenever you face affliction and persecution in this world, turn your petition heavenward, and cry to the Lord to come and put all things right.
Not only should we pray for ourselves in the midst of injustice, but we should pray for our fellow brothers and sisters around the world. They are facing extreme persecution today in places like Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea. Let me give you a few examples of what has been happening around the world in just the last few months:
- Some strangers in Bangladesh came to the home of a local Evangelist, and asked if he would teach them the Bible. As he began sharing the gospel, they quickly shut the front door, pulled out a knife, and slit his throat.
- Egyptian police raided a local Christian satellite TV station, confiscating equipment, and detaining the Director at the local police station for hours.
- On September 13, 2015 attackers set fire to 3 churches in Tanzania, Africa. There have been 13 arson attacks on churches in that area since 2013, with no one being held accountable.
- ISIS is responsible for the raping of Christian women, or using them as sex slaves, kidnapping children and detonating them as bombs, and beheading and shooting Christians. Their goal is to force all Christians to convert, kill them, or drive them out of their homeland.
Let’s take some time this morning to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Let’s pray for Christ’s return. Let’s pray that He will set things right. Let’s pray that they would fearlessly make Christ known, that they would love Christ’s appearing, that they would rejoice in sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, that they would endure to the end, that they would love Christ more than life itself, that they would love their enemies, that they would remember their future glory, that they would completely trust God, and for their physical protection and deliverance.
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