Jesus tells a playful parable with a profound meaning at the top of the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. It’s all about an oppressed widow, a brazen judge, and how the widow finally secures justice in her case.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ 

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 (New King James Version)

The basic meaning of the parable is plain: If a poor widow can finally get justice out of a hard-hearted and godless judge; how much more should Christians trust that God who is good and loves us will intervene in our behalf?

But there are several savory avenues of application that suggest themselves from this parable. I’d like to share them with you now, in no particular order, with the hope that they’ll bless you and enrich your faith.

The Cry for Justice

Too often we find voices in the Church who want to shame those who cry out for justice in this world. They view seeking justice as a sub-Christian pursuit.

We especially, sadly, see this again and again in situations where someone has been abused, preyed upon, or oppressed by someone else in the Church. Victims are continually scolded with shallow appeals to forgiveness and mercy. The cry for justice is denounced as bitterness. Scriptures are twisted to make seeking justice seem like an illegitimate pursuit for believers.

But what do we see in this parable? How does Jesus frame the widow’s persistent quest for justice against the one who has harmed her? He doesn’t say she is bitter, a complainer, or sinfully unforgiving. He doesn’t countenance telling her to just let the wrong done to her be forgotten. No! He is literally using her persistence in seeking justice as a positive model for believers’ persistence in prayer. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?, is the very “moral” of the story.

Here is the truth of the matter: The Lord loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Righteousness is the scepter of His Kingdom, and justice and righteousness are the foundation of His throne (Psalms 45:6-7; 89:14).

It is absolutely possible to demand an abuser be held to account and prevented from harming others; while also praying that God would grant them repentance. There is no inherent contradiction between crying out for justice, and Jesus’ command to: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

The Church as Widow

One way of entering into this story is for believers to view the Church as the widow in this story seeking for things to be made right — advocating for the true, the good, and the beautiful — before rulers and authorities who are apathetic if not downright hostile.

We will understand that our hope is not in these people who represent systems that do not fear God nor regard man. Rather, we will know that when justice is done; when the true, the good, and the beautiful are upheld; it is only because God — the Judge of all who always does what is just — has intervened in our favor.

Some might object: But the Church is no widow! She is the Bride of the living Christ! To which I say: Before the Lord she is His bride, and shall be forever at the end of this age. But in this age, she is like a poor widow who must rely upon the Lord, whom this world doesn’t see or acknowledge.

How Long?

There’s a sharp parting of the ways in how v7 is rendered in newer vs. more traditional English translations.

Wycliffe has: and shall have patience in them. The Geneva Bible has, though he suffer long for them. The King James says: though he bear long with them. The New King James — which I’m using for these reflections — continues in that tradition.

Meanwhile, the newer translations tend to have it the exact opposite way: Will he keep putting them off? (NIV) Will he delay long in helping them? (NRSV) Will He delay long over them? (NASB1995)

The older translations have a word about God’s longsuffering patience. The newer ones completely bypass this idea, and actually put the contrast between God and the unjust judge at the point of response. In other words, the newer versions seem to be saying: Unlike the unjust judge, God doesn’t delay justice.

The newer versions, in my view, fail to capture the actual nuance of the passage, and so create an unnecessary theological problem for believers. Because we often find justice delayed in this age, don’t we? So the newer versions are overpromising, which means they risk putting God in a position where He seems to underdeliver.

Scripture itself identifies the tension of God’s delayed action. The prophet Habakkuk cries out: O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” and You will not save (Habakkuk‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Likewise, Revelation 6:9-10 shows us the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held, who cry out with a loud voice — even in heaven! — saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (NKJV)

Indeed, the very framing of this parable proves the point is not that God will not delay. Because it says Jesus told this parable precisely to teach that believers always ought to pray and not lose heart. Why would they lose heart? Because the answer is delayed! Likewise, He ends the parable with a question: Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Why would He raise that question? Because the delay in God’s response in chronological time could cause disciples to lose heart! The very framing of the parable shows the point is exactly not that God may not delay long according to our perspective.

The point is not that God, unlike the unjust judge, never delays. The point is that, if the widow persisted with the unjust judge, how much more should we persist with God?

Bearing that in mind, let’s understand what our Lord is saying: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? Bears long with who? The evildoers! But why would He do that?

Well, for some it’s because God — in His own time — will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and … come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Those words were written by St. Paul, who is the perfect example of one whom God bore long with to bring him to repentance.

But with others, God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endures with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory (Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

The point is, we cannot know the reasons why God sometimes seems to move slowly. But we ought to be at least as persistent as the poor widow, because God is not like that unjust judge. As we read elsewhere: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). God always has His reasons.

We do know what God tells us elsewhere: Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them (Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭35‬ ‭NKJV‬). So we understand that in due time — God’s appointed time — the things to come — God’s just recompense — will hasten upon the wicked.

In other words, when God does justice for His people on those who have oppressed and harmed them, it will happen fast. This sheds further light on Christ’s promise: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Empires crumble in days. Tyrants are dispatched in seconds. When the justice we cry out for does come, it comes suddenly and decisively.

But as we dwell in this age, crying out for justice like the poor widow, we must remember what we read in 2 Peter 3:13: Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (NKJV). Justice and righteousness will not dwell here in any ultimate sense until Christ returns. When we do see just judgment and find a scintilla of good in this age, we must remember that it’s just an appetizer for the world to come.