“Persistence” 10-29-23
Overview
Persistence in Prayer
Jesus framed the parable of the persistent widow with a clear purpose and a haunting question. Luke tells us at the outset that Jesus spoke this parable so His followers would know "their need to pray always and not to lose heart" Luke 18:1. He closes with a sobering question: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8. The verbs Jesus uses for "pray" and "do not lose heart" are continuous—a call to ongoing, never-ending prayer rooted in faith. This call comes as Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, fully aware of the cross that awaits Him.
The parable itself Luke 18:2–8 features two characters: a widow with no standing in society and a judge who feared neither God nor man. Under the law, widows were to be specifically protected (Exodus 22:22-24; Isaiah 1:17), yet this widow had no advocate and no leverage. Still, she was pertinacious—holding firmly to her course, returning again and again until the unjust judge relented, fearing she would "wear me out" (literally in the Greek, "give me a black eye"). Jesus' point is an argument from the lesser to the greater: if even a corrupt judge will grant justice under such pressure, how much more will God, who is just, kind, and personally invested in His chosen ones, grant justice to those who cry out to Him day and night?
We are tempted to feel trapped between two errors: guilt that we don't pray enough, or frustration when God doesn't answer on our timetable. Since the fall, we are inclined to doubt, despair, and assume God is distant. We bring our sinful selves before Him and feel the weight of condemnation. But the good news is that Jesus did not leave us standing condemned. On the way to Jerusalem, He went to bear the wrath our sin deserved. As Paul writes, "It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?" Romans 8:31-34. Through Christ's blood, we approach the Judge clothed in righteousness, claimed as His own through the waters of baptism.
So pray persistently—not to twist God's arm, but because He has already claimed you, hears you, and even intercedes for you by His Spirit when you do not know how to pray as you ought Romans 8:26-27. Persistent prayer keeps our eyes fixed on Christ, draws our wills into alignment with His, and roots us deeper in faith. When Jesus asks whether He will find faith on earth at His return, those who belong to Him by grace can answer with a confident yes and amen.
Transcript
If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke the 18th chapter, if you're using 2s
a Pue edition of the Bible, you can find this on page 70 in the New Testament, where in 10s
Luke the 18th chapter. 16s
Look at that last question that Jesus asks in this text for today. 21s
It's the second part of verse 8. 25s
He asks, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth? 28s
What a question. 38s
That's a heavy, heavy question that the Lord asks. 40s
Let's go back to the beginning of our text in verse 1. 46s
It says, then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose 50s
heart. 58s
These book ends around the parable that will study today. 60s
They're very interesting when they're read together. 65s
I want to give you a little bit of context of this time of this parable that Jesus gives 69s
us. 74s
He is on his way to Jerusalem. 75s
We know this because in chapter 17 it begins with on the way to Jerusalem. 78s
So we know that Jesus is headed to the Jerusalem. 84s
We know that as Jesus heads there, He knows exactly what is in store for Him. 88s
He is finishing telling His disciples about the end times and what they can expect. 96s
And as He finishes talking to them about end times, He begins telling them this parable. 103s
And it says directly in verse 1 that He's telling them this so that they know their need 110s
to pray always and not to lose heart. 117s
The great verbs for the to pray and not to lose heart, those are given in a continuous 123s
present tense. 129s
Pray continuously, always be praying. 131s
Do not lose heart. 135s
Keep heart. 137s
Keep keep in the Lord and don't give up. 138s
Well, we think about praying continuously. 142s
It can be exhausting. 145s
We can just absolutely wear us out to think. 147s
I need to be praying. 151s
And if I'm not praying, am I doing something wrong? 152s
How am I supposed to do this? 154s
And we are driven as we guilt ourselves in our prayer life. 156s
We're driven to that question that Jesus asks, when the Son of man returns will 162s
And we're in a loop. 175s
We're if we find ourselves in a loop knowing that we need to pray, 178s
wondering if we're praying enough or praying right, wondering if our faith will be enough 182s
when the Son of man returns. 188s
Because even in prayer, even in prayer, we struggle. 193s
Because even in prayer, we are bringing our sinful selves before the Lord. 199s
Before the fall, Adam and Eve, they walked with God. 207s
They talked with God. 212s
There was absolutely no separation in their relationship when they wanted to speak to the Lord. 213s
They could do so without hesitation, without fear, without trembling knowing that he was there 221s
and listening to them and would respond. 228s
But since the fall, we're inclined. 231s
To doubt. 237s
We're inclined to despair. 239s
We're inclined to think that perhaps God is distant and doesn't hear our cries. 242s
Doesn't hear our petitions. 250s
And we don't trust the relationship that we can have with the Lord. 253s
Another aspect of our prayer life that we bring that hurt in our prayer life is the world that we experience. 261s
We open up the newspaper. 272s
We turn on the news channel. 275s
We open up social media. 278s
What do we hear? 279s
We hear of wars and rumors of wars. 280s
And it's scary. 284s
And we despair. 287s
And we begin to lose hurt. 289s
Or we deal with people in our everyday life people who are discouraging, who are greedy, who are selfish, who are difficult to get along with. 293s
And then we look in the mirror. 303s
And we realize that we are also those people who are greedy in selfish and difficult to get along with. 306s
When we pray, we so often pray with a timetable, according to our wants, our expectations, our needs. 316s
And so we lift our prayers to the Lord. 330s
And if he doesn't answer according to the will of me, I find myself discouraged, wanting wondering, 333s
despairing, doubting, losing hurt. 344s
And we're in the loop. 351s
We're in that loop of these bookends to this parable. 354s
Either gilted and shamed because we don't think we pray enough we don't pray continuously. 361s
Or we're in a manner of cubress that we expect the prayers to be answered according to us for us, or that we can be better or do better. 372s
And we find ourselves in an ongoing loop. 386s
But Jesus doesn't give us the bookends without the parable. 391s
He gives us the parable and he doesn't give us a parable without understanding. 395s
Remember a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly or a kingdom meaning. 401s
So we're going to turn to his parable right now beginning in verse 2. 408s
He said, in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 412s
In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, grant me justice against my opponent. 419s
For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone. 428s
Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice so that she may not wear me out by continually coming. 436s
In this parable, we have a couple of characters. We have the widow and the unjust judge. The widow is the weakest in society. So often we hear of the widow and the orphan grouped together. 447s
She has absolutely no standing in society, no rights in society. She cannot provide for herself. She has no business with bringing her business to the judge. 462s
In God's law, he wrote specific laws to protect the widow and the orphan. 477s
In order to protect them against abuse and exploitation in Exodus 26, 22nd chapter, it says, you shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 487s
If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry. My wrath will burn and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall become widows and your children or fins. 499s
The prophet Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes, learn to do good. 513s
Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan plead for the widow. 521s
According to the law, the widow was to be protected. The widow was to be protected against abuse against exploitation. 530s
And she comes to the judge. The judge, the unjust judge who was the representative of law in society. 543s
This judge, however, it is mentioned more than one, has absolutely no fear of the Lord and no respect for man. 556s
Now, a crooked judge in the second temple period isn't necessarily out of the norm. We see crookedness all around. 569s
But this judge was absolutely ungodly across the board. 578s
He had absolutely no interest in God. He had no interest in knowing God, in serving God, in fearing the Lord and he had no shame. 584s
No shame in his behavior, the way he treated others, the way he related with others in society. 597s
This, this is who the widow was coming before the widow had absolutely no chance. 606s
She had no chance before this unjust judge. 616s
And yet she went. 623s
And when he refused her, she went again. 626s
And when he refused her, she went again. She was absolutely persistent and relentless in coming before the judge demanding justice against her opponent, 629s
and demanding the right, righteous justice that she deserved. 641s
And finally the judge relance. He gives in. He gives in, but not willingly and not for her benefit. 651s
He relance because one, she will not go away. And she's just bugging him. 662s
The second reason that he will, that he relance is because because he doesn't want her to wear him out. He says, so she will not wear me out by her continual coming. 668s
The Greek text for that actually means so she won't blacken my eye. 682s
She is so persistent, so fierce and feisty in coming before this judge time after time, 688s
after time, will not back down that he is fearing. 696s
He's fearing that she will not stop disrupting his life, not stop disrupting his peace, not stop disrupting possibly his physical person. 702s
And so he gives in. He gives in. 715s
The widow, the widow would not back down. She was persistent in her request in her petitioning of the judge. 722s
The beautiful word, a beautiful word that describes this widow, she was pertainatious. 735s
Pertainatious. That means that she was holding firmly to her course of action. 744s
She was not going to stop until she received justice. 752s
She had no business, no business coming before that judge, and yet she did day after day after day, and he relented. 758s
So what are we to gain from this parable? Are we the widow? 772s
And do we come before an unjust judge? 779s
Are we the widow coming before an unjust? 783s
God. 788s
Jesus, Jesus explains to us. 790s
The role of the widow and the judge, and who she is as judge. 795s
Looking at verse 6 and the Lord said, 801s
Listen to what the unjust judge says, and will God not grant justice to his chosen ones who 803s
cried to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 811s
I tell you he will quickly grant justice to them. 816s
Unlike the widow, when we come before the judge, we have absolutely no pace. 824s
We have no pace when we come before the Lord standing with our sin. 832s
The sin that we are born into, the sin that since the fall, every person, every person is born into. 839s
The nature of the heart that doesn't want anything to do with God. 850s
The eyes that are blinded to the judge. 857s
This is what we come before the judge with our sin ever before us as we stand before the judge. 862s
Under the law, under the law you and I, we are condemned. 876s
We are condemned for the curses that we matter under our breath. 882s
We're condemned for the murderous thoughts we have of our neighbor. 887s
We're condemned. 892s
We're condemned for wanting and getting whatever we want at whatever cost. 894s
We're condemned before the Lord under the law. 903s
But God does not leave us condemned. 909s
God does not leave us, standing condemned. 914s
Jesus is telling this parable as he is on his way to Jerusalem. 919s
Jerusalem where he knows that he is facing the cross. 924s
Jerusalem where he knows that he will be betrayed and arrested. 930s
Be in, squirmed. 935s
Jerusalem where he knows that he will undergo the wrath of his brother. 940s
The wrath, wrath that pays the penalty for all sin of all time. 946s
And he doesn't leave us condemned. 954s
In our Romans reading, we hear. 959s
We hear that those he called, he justified. 963s
What then are we to say about these things if God is for us who is against us? 969s
He who did not withhold his own son but gave him up for all of us. 975s
Will he not also with him give us everything else? 979s
Who will bring any charge against God's elect? 983s
It is God. 987s
It is God who justifies. 989s
It is God who goes to the cross taking our sins upon himself. 995s
It is God who gives up his own flesh and blood, his own spirit. 999s
So that you and I may be cleansed through the righteousness of his blood, 1006s
our sins fully and completely forgiven. 1011s
Knowing that they are fully and completely forgiven because the tomb is no longer full. 1015s
The tomb is empty. 1022s
Christ has risen. 1025s
Christ taking all of our punishment. 1028s
So when we stand before the judge, we are no longer standing condemned. 1032s
We are standing righteous because it is through the blood of Christ that the judge. 1037s
These us that the judge receives us. 1044s
And we know that we are called because we are called through the waters of baptism. 1051s
The confirmant that we have here today today, today they are affirming that they absolutely know that God has called them as his own. 1056s
He has called them through the waters of baptism. 1068s
He has sealed them with his holy spirit. 1071s
And it is this promise that they pray persistently knowing and trusting that they are claimed already through God and through his promise for them. 1076s
God is unlike any judge. 1094s
God is unlike any judge certainly the unjust judge that we read in the parable. 1098s
Not unjust but just is the judge that we come before. 1107s
God is a judge who is kind and generous. 1114s
God who is a judge who knows as deeply. 1118s
God knows us to the very core of our being better than we know ourselves. 1121s
God is a judge who has a personal interest in each and every one of you. 1130s
God who who intercede in our own prayers on our behalf in Romans. 1140s
The eighth chapter it says the Spirit helps us in our weakness. 1151s
For we do not know how to pray as we ought. 1157s
But that very spirit intercedes with size too deep for words. 1160s
And God who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit. 1165s
Because the spirit intercedes for the saints, according to the will of God. 1170s
God answers our prayers because God raises. 1177s
Interced seating for our prayers with us for us. 1183s
God is active in every aspect of our lives. 1189s
So as we come to Him persistently, petitioning and coming to Him, 1193s
praising Him and thanking Him, Him it is His own spirit. 1200s
His own spirit that knows us to the very core of our being. 1205s
That intercedes and praise with us and for us. 1211s
Martin Luther told of a story of his dog. 1216s
He talked about a time where he would dangle meat in front of his dog. 1219s
And if he would move it, the dog was so fixated on that meat that he would follow it. 1223s
Every time Martin Luther would move it, the dog would follow his attention, 1228s
complete and holy on this treat this prize. 1234s
He was a pertinacious pup. 1239s
He would not give up on getting that delight, that treat. 1243s
My brothers and sisters, we are called to be pertinacious prayers. 1252s
We are called to be persistently praying to the Lord knowing that He absolutely hears us, 1256s
knowing that He loves us and that His will indeed will be done. 1264s
And we have the Lord who is our judge, the Lord who is just and right and merciful and gracious and good. 1273s
And as we pray, we find that we grow deeper and deeper in faith. 1285s
And as we grow deeper and deeper in faith, we find that these prayers that we continuously lift to the Lord are more in line, 1290s
seeking His will, seeking His will in our lives, 1301s
and seeking to align our lives with His will. 1307s
Persistent prayer and faith, they go together, they go together and God wants us to pray continuously because it keeps us in touch with Him. 1313s
Just as the dog was so keenly focused on that meat when we are praying and consistent in prayer when we are pertinacious prayers. 1329s
Our eyes are focused on Christ. 1340s
Our attention is focused on His kingdom, on His glory, 1345s
and that pertinacious praying that persistent prayer it keeps us rooted, grounded and secure in the faith that God has so graciously given to us, 1353s
and so graciously continues to grow in us. 1368s
These conformance today, they will be affirming that they are indeed chosen by God that they are indeed robed in the white robes of His righteousness. 1374s
They are encouraged, they are encouraged to pray, pray persistently in that promise in the promise of Christ for you. 1389s
So when Jesus asks this question, when He asks, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth, 1407s
knowing that we are His, knowing that we are secure in the faith that He has given us, we can all answer with a resounding yes and amen. 1420s
Thank you. 1440s