In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. The widow persistently pleads her case for justice to the judge. He eventually grants her request not because he cares about justice but because of her persistence. Verse 1 of the chapter tells us that Jesus told the parable to teach about persistence in prayer. In this post, we’ll look at a few ideas expressed in the story to help us understand it better.
God’s Vengeance
Verse 7 reads: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
From this verse, we see that Jesus compares the justice that the persistent widow seeks with the justice that His people seek. For the widow, justice means vengeance against her adversary. There may have been an enemy that performed some evil act towards her. Justice would mean punishing the enemy for, and commensurate with, the evil done.
Who, then, is the adversary that God’s people seek vengeance against?
At the time that Jesus told this parable, the Romans were oppressing the Jews. It may have been easy for their minds to lean in that direction and think of the Romans as the adversary of the comparison. However, since God never gave the Jews victory over the Romans, ultimately leading to the Jews rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, the Romans cannot be the adversary that Jesus was referring to.
A Succession of Kingdoms
In Daniel 7, Daniel tells of a vision that God gave him. The vision is interesting, especially in the context of the persistent widow, because it also has judgment as a key theme. In the vision, Daniel sees several creatures. In Daniel 8, we read that these creatures refer to several kingdoms that would come into power, one after the other. Daniel 2 shows a similar progression of kingdoms, except represented by different construction materials of a statue.
Comparing these passages, we see Babylon being overtaken by Medo-Persia, Medo-Persia being overtaken by Greece, and then Greece being overtaken by another kingdom. The book of Daniel doesn’t tell us the name of this fourth kingdom. But, we know from history, and by the historical context in which Jesus lived, that the fourth kingdom is Rome.
Daniel sees that the fourth kingdom will turn into a persecuting power. It becomes this, first by blaspheming God, then changing God’s law, and finally persecuting those who follow God rather than its own dictates (Daniel 7:8, 21, and 25).
This hadn’t happened yet during the time of Jesus. The Jews were at liberty to practice their faith, even though they were under the civil power of Rome. However, during the Middle Ages, when part of the Christian church joined forces with Rome, Christians who remained true to the Bible were persecuted for their faith. The protestant reformation emerged from this period.
The Judgment: A Solution
Daniel sees this power severely persecuting God’s people. It is during this time of great persecution that Daniel sees the judgment starting. Daniel 7 repeats the scene of the judgment four times, each time adding new details.
Daniel 7:8-10 speaks of the persecuting power blaspheming God (“speaking great things” cf. Daniel 7:20, 25), and then God, the “Ancient of days”, sitting on his throne in the presence of millions of angels. It concludes by announcing that the “judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
Daniel 7:11-14 again speaks of the persecuting power blaspheming God and then, when speaking of the judgment starting, it mentions that “one like the Son of man came…to the Ancient of days” (verse 13). It speaks of the Son of man being given dominion over all the earth and putting an end to all the kingdoms before.
The third time, in Daniel 7:20-22, it mentions the persecution that takes place (“war with the saints” verse 21), followed by the Ancient of days coming and the judgment starting. The fourth time, in Daniel 7:25-26, it mentions this evil kingdom blaspheming, persecuting God’s people, changing God’s law, and ruling for a period of time, followed by the judgment starting and ending its reign.
Four times a description of the persecuting power and its activities is presented followed by the judgment starting. Four times the judgment is presented as a solution to the persecution of God’s people by the evil power. Four times it is demonstrated the judgment will result in God avenging His people’s persecution by putting an end to this evil power.
The Son of Man Coming
We see in Daniel 7:13 that the judgment includes the coming of the Son of man. Jesus referred to Himself multiple times as the “Son of man” in the New Testament. This title may refer to the prophecy of Jesus given to Isaiah:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
So, this Son, the Son of God, a representative of the Father (John 14:8-9), was given to man, for man’s salvation, and was born of man. Therefore, He is the Son of man. This Son of man is seen by Daniel coming “with clouds of heaven”. But, He doesn’t come to the earth just yet. Daniel says that he “came to the Ancient of day” to be a part of the judgment process.
After the parable of the persistent widow, when Jesus said that the Son of man comes to avenge our adversary, he meant that He would come to the throne of God in Heaven to conduct the judgment so that the persecuting power could be overthrown and sentenced for its evil activities.
A Judgment in Heaven
Note that the sentence is given during the judgment, but the sentence is only executed once the judgment is complete and after Jesus has returned to earth. While most people believe that the judgment will only start when Jesus returns to earth or at the end of the world, we see in the Bible a lot of evidence for a judgment that takes place before the second coming of Jesus.
For example, in Revelation 22:12 Jesus says, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” If Jesus already has the reward, surely He has decided on that reward (through judgment) prior to His return.
In Revelation 14:7, John sees an angel flying and shouting “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” So, firstly, the judgment has started. Secondly, even though the judgment has started, the end has not yet come and there is still an opportunity to change our lives.
In Revelation 6:9-11, we see a scene, albeit symbolic, of people who seek judgment for being persecuted. They are rewarded white robes. That is, they are judged worthy of receiving white robes. However, they are told “rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” Again, judgment takes place, sentence is given (in this case a white robe, a positive sentence), and the sentence is executed at some later stage.
Persecution in the Future
Notice that Revelation 6:11 speaks of more people being persecuted in the future. Right now, in 2024, religious freedom is quite widespread. There are pockets of places where Christians are persecuted for what they believe. But, in general, there is religious liberty throughout the world.
After the Middle Ages, the persecuting power subsided. Revelation 13:3 speaks of this power and says that this power was wounded. However, it also says that the wound will be healed. So, while persecution has died down, it will rise again. Revelation 13:16-17 tells us that this persecution will come in the form of economic pressure. Those who choose to follow man rather than God will be given the mark of the beast (666). Those who choose to follow God will not receive this mark and, as a consequence, will not be able to buy and sell.
When this takes place, Revelation 6:11 will be fulfilled—Christians will again be killed (perhaps through starvation for not being able to buy and sell, or perhaps through outright murder) for choosing to follow God rather than the powers that be.
Finding Faith
This takes us back to the last statement that Jesus made after telling the parable of the persistent widow: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh”, that is, during the judgment, “shall he find faith on the earth?” The question is, will there be people on earth who will be counted righteous by the judgment?
Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 tell us that “the just shall live by faith”. That is, those who are counted righteous in the judgment will receive that pronouncement because they have lived by faith. Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 tell us that man lives “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” That is, we live by doing as God says.
Hebrews 11 gives us the definition of faith and provides several demonstrations of faith. “By faith Noah…prepared an ark for the saving of his household” Hebrews 11:7. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.” Hebrews 11:17. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents…and they were not afraid of the king’s command.” Hebrews 11:23.
Each of these demonstrations, and there are many more, show us that faith is doing what God says rather than following the prevailing views or instructions of men. To live by faith is to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. To live by faith is to do as God says. To live by faith is to follow the commandments of God rather than the commandments of man. Even in the face of persecution.
The Law of Liberty
In James 2, James mentions a few of the commandments and then says this: “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” James 2:12. If faith is doing what God says, then keeping God’s commandments is the test of faith. It is the standard by which we are judged.
James also calls God’s law the “Royal Law” (James 2:8) and reiterates what Jesus said about the law—that love is the fulfilment of the law and that love for God and love for men is the ultimate goal. The Ten Commandments are a fleshing out of God’s law of love. When we love God supremely and we love our neighbour as ourselves we also keep the Ten Commandments. If we break any of the commandments, we do not love God supremely nor our neighbour as ourselves.
Hebrews tells us that the new covenant is God writing His law in our hearts (Hebrews 10:16). God is working in our lives to prepare us for heaven, to prepare us for judgment, and to make us good citizens of this world and the next. If we are persistent in prayer, this new covenant promise will be fulfilled in us. Doing what is right will become a part of who we are. Jesus will find faith on the earth when our names come up in the judgment. We will be persecuted for what we believe, but justice will be served, and we will be avenged of our adversaries, just like the persistent widow.