Summary
Pastor Jon Meenk preaches from Luke 18:1–8, reminding believers that in the midst of a broken and unjust world, they are called to persistent, hope-filled prayer to a God who is nothing like the unjust judge. Though justice may seem delayed, God’s response will be swift and sure, and His people must not grow cynical or distracted, but keep their eyes fixed on the day when all things are made right.
Transcript
He told them a parable to the effect that they ought to always pray and not lose heart He said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man And there was a widow in the city who kept coming to him and saying give me justice against my adversary For a while he refused but afterward he said to himself though. I neither fear God nor respect man Yet because this widow keeps bothering me. I will give her justice That she will not beat me down by her continual coming and The Lord said hear what the unrighteous judge says and will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night Will he delay long over them? I? Tell you he will give justice to them speedily nevertheless When the Son of man comes will he find faith on the earth? This is the word of the Lord You guys can have a seat Happy Father's Day fathers I wore my finest dinosaur writing skateboard shirt, so I hope you're blessed by that today This passage that we're diving into today if we are going to like any passage this passage that we're going to dive into today For us to understand it correctly We need to see it within the context that it has been set and it is directly Tied to the passage that we heard last week outside over here pastor noise preached chapter 17 verses 20 through 37 in That passage a quick quick review if you forgot or you missed it in that passage the Pharisees asked Jesus When will we see the kingdom and Jesus says that the kingdom is in your midst? Jesus has brought the kingdom Through himself through the person in the work of Christ the kingdom has come But Jesus wasn't what they expected they were looking for Military might they were looking for political power And in all they're looking they missed what was right underneath their nose Jesus didn't look like the king that they were expecting and the kingdom didn't look like what they were expecting And so they missed what was right in front of their face As Jesus says the kingdom is in your midst, but then directly after that Jesus addresses the disciples And he says the days are coming when you will desire to see the day of the Son of man So is the kingdom here or is the kingdom coming? Yes, that is the right answer Jesus is revealing that though he's ushered in the kingdom That there's still suffering that he must go through there's still suffering that his disciples are going to go through And so then Jesus goes on to prepare them for this time of waiting He warns them of not being distracted by other things He warns them of not falling asleep to just the monotonous routines of life of losing heart and being distracted And just falling asleep Losing their hope He tells them to stay vigilant To stay awake to stay ready to stay hopeful because when the day of the Son of man will come like lightning It'll come quickly swiftly speedily And it will be unstoppable Jesus is here revealing to them what you guys have heard a lot of our pastors say this term the now and not yet They're living in and we're living in this now and not yet moment The kingdom has come through the person in the work of Jesus Christ, but there's still injustice that we see There's still suffering that we see until the day When the Son of man comes and all is made right And so for these disciples even and even for us these are really hard words to hear They want the suffering to be over They want the King to come and bring power and rule and reign right then and now And so it's hard to hear these things that there still be suffering. It's hard to see the suffering And so then Jesus proceeds to give us a parable So that he could remind them of the goodness of their God that he could increase their hope And in doing so point them to who their hope is You See this passage we're studying today And this was something that I struggled with as a as a young man growing up I think my under I know my understanding of this passage was wrong a lot of times when this passage was referenced in my life as a kid it was Just dropped into and used only at its as its Self-standing on its own and not in the context of what Jesus is trying to get across This passage today is not a formula to get anything you want out of God This passage today isn't a cheat code that we find in scripture That just tells us hey if you're just annoying enough to God If you just twist his arm enough if you are just relentless enough to your God Then he'll give you whatever you want because he just wants to be done with you This passage today is not a invitation for you to place your faith in your own persistence It's not an invitation for you today to place your hope and your tenacity My hope today is not for you to look into yourself and See am I strong enough to keep banging on that door? I think if we do that we've missed the point This parable is given to remind the disciples and to remind us To fix our eyes on the goodness of God And it's because of his goodness Knowing that he's good we can have hope and that hope as we'll see through this passage then bears itself out in a life of prayer Now you and I can be confident that this is the correct interpretation of this parable because this is one of the very few times Thank the Lord This is one of the very few times where Jesus gives the explanation explanation and the meaning of the parable before he gives the parable itself He gives us the answer right away chapter 18 verse 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart So the goal and the focus that Jesus is giving his disciples that he's giving us today is That we ought to hope continually and That hope would drive us to a life of prayer as we are hoping in Jesus in the day that one day all things will be made right So with that as our goal with that as our focus let's dive into this parable this morning We only have two characters in our parable. We have the judge and the widow With the judge it's pretty evident just by the description of him that he's a wicked judge It says that he does not fear God and he has no respect for anyone But himself this judge has power this judge has influence This judge has position and yet he doesn't use any of these things to judge rightly To judge justly for the poor But he uses these positions for strictly his own selfish gain This man is absolutely full of himself and as we'll see later in this passage He'll make no judgment Even this one today. He'll make no judgment unless he finds something Good in it for himself And Then in stark contrast we have the widow and if you guys have been paying attention at all through our study of the Gospel of Luke you'll know that the widow is an example for us of The most vulnerable and the marginalized in society. These are the least of these Her title as a widow reveals to us that her husband has died and in this culture This makes her at great risk She has no one to provide for her. She has no one to defend her. She has no one to Stand up for her Her coming on her own reveals that there's no other man in her sphere There's no other man in her life that can come and be her advocate. There's no other man that can come and defend her and Her continual coming reveals to us that she has no currency By which to bribe this judge. She has nothing to offer She has no money to bring to bribe him. She has no status To bring to bribe him. There's nothing about her that has anything of value That this judge could use as a selfish judge And so when we put all these things together that she's a widow She's a woman and That she has no currency to bribe this wicked judge We see the picture that this woman has absolutely no influence and no standing No standing at all And so with these two characters That are in such contrast to each other This wicked judge that does not care about ruling and righteousness this wicked judge that does not care at all About what he does before the eyes of God and does not care at all about other people and this woman who has nothing to offer She has nothing to give There's no reason we should walk away from this situation with this woman receiving justice or resolution to her problem But despite Everything stacked against her she continues to come before the judge and She pleads her case Look down to verse four For a while he refused but afterward he said to himself Though I neither fear God nor respect man yet because this widow keeps bothering me I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming There's two funny things to me. There's two funny things in this section right here I don't know if Jesus was trying to be funny or he's just naturally funny But if there's any doubt that Jesus characterized this judge correctly we then get I think a unique View into the judge's own mind We hear him thinking in his own mind and he reads repeats back the exact description that Jesus gives him He says to himself Which is just a funny thought for a wicked judge to have I think though I neither fear God nor respect man and then He ultimately gives her justice. I just don't understand who thinks like that. He seems for a wicked judge He seems very self-aware of his wickedness and almost like he's had such a bad streak That he's reluctant to break his bad streak But there's something that's pushing him so even though he ends up moving on behalf of the widow This glimpse inside his reasoning It's it's good that it's there because this glimpse inside his reasoning reveals to us That this wasn't a decision that was a change of heart for him He didn't go from a wicked judge where all of a sudden he did care about ruling and righteousness Or he did care about this woman, but he simply made a self-preserving decision So that this wouldn't wouldn't beat him down, which is the other Funny part of this passage to me This phrase beat me down is this is the fun words kids who po piezo who po piezo Tell that to parents when you go home. So this word is only used one other time in Scripture It's that passage in 1st Corinthians 927 where Paul is talking about being disciplined where he says I do not box as one beating the air But I discipline my body and keep it under control lest I preach to others and I myself be disqualified The literal translation of this word I think is funny To beat black and blue to smite So as to cause bruises and livid spots So it's actually a boxing term to mean to give a black eye. So I just again I don't know if Jesus is this is a dig at the Pharisees listening in who think they're powerful and ruling over these Poor people who don't have the influence they have. I don't know if it's half that and Jesus being funny. I find it funny That here you have this big tough guy judge who has everything he's got the power He has the influence he has the position but when push comes to shove He's scared of the the black eye that he's gonna get from this little widow. It's the ultimate underdog story and I just love that stuff so in the end this woman Receives justice from this wicked judge And so then from there Jesus jumps into this classic lesser to greater motif that we find throughout Scripture And this is when Jesus describes something lesser. He describes something earthly and Then he says how much more? To give us a contrast To a characteristic of God that he's trying to get across and we've already seen this in Luke multiple times Luke 11 13 If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Luke 12 28 But if God so closed the grass which is live in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven How much more will he clothe you? See here Jesus is describing this same contrast with the wicked judge even a wicked judge can administer Adjust ruling how much more Will your God in heaven who is the righteous judge? administer a righteous judgment The answer is a lot more a whole lot more infinitely more God will rule way better than this wicked judge Hear these words from Psalm 9 7 through 10 But the Lord sits and thrown forever He has established his throne for justice and he judges the world with righteousness He judges the peoples with uprightness The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed a stronghold in times of trouble and Those who know your name put their trust in you for you. Oh Lord have not forsaken those who seek you You see friends the point of this passage today the point of this parable is not for us to equate God With the wicked judge but to put them in contrast with each other This passage again isn't telling us that if we annoy God enough like the wicked judge our God will hear us and answer us Just out of the annoyance just out of the persistence The point is that even a wicked judge who doesn't fear God and who has no respect for people even he stumble across a correct judgment Even if it's for selfish reasons So how much more will our God who has got himself? Who loves his people has a deep care for his people how much more will he administer justice for them? If a wicked judge can administer justice for a stranger then how much more will our father in heaven? administer justice for his kids You see the point for us today is not to equate God with the wicked judge But is to equate ourselves with the lowly widow This widow could have grown cynical She could have viewed her state and known and thought There's no hope for this she could have thrown her hands up and given up She could have just gone on with her life and found a new routine and over time This injustice would kind of get further and further and further in the rearview mirror and she would find a new routine But she didn't do any of that I Think if we I think we would all agree that the greatest characteristic of this widow is her persistence It might be the only thing the characteristic the only characteristic that we see from her But I want to point out to all of us that it's her persistence was powered by hope a Hope that justice was on the horizon and she didn't know how close it was She didn't know how far it was, but she had a hope that justice was on the horizon and that hope for that justice for Things being made right Drew her to go before the judge day after day after day after day after day after day Looking for that justice Friends if we're to relate to the widow in this parable then we actually have to place ourselves in her state in her position Which also removes for us The position that this passage is about us Praying for and trying to bring into our lives more and more comforts This woman isn't in a place where she's asking for more and more comforts She's in a lowly place and justice in her life No one's standing up for her the most vulnerable the most marginalized And so we need to As we equate ourselves with her and put herself in her position we see ourselves in her state That friends we're gonna see injustice in the world around us. It's not fun We're gonna see Heartbreak In those who love Jesus hard times Come to those who know the Lord and love him and we're gonna see what appears to be the wicked thriving and succeeding in life It's just hard That's that stuff's not fun to see Doesn't seem right Let's not be people like this widow let's not be people who grow cynical Who throw our hands up in the air and just there's there's no hope I? give up Or let's not be people who Refuse to engage And we just busy ourselves with our own routines and we slowly get lulled to sleep by our monotonous routines and we Find ourselves no longer actively hoping for the day when all things are made right, but we've become comfortable in the dysfunction and settled in a sad way settled in even though The world appears that it's not how it ought to be we just settled into it and we Don't hope like we should does that make sense Verse 7 says And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night Will he delay long over them? I tell you he will give justice to them speedily Honestly, I think this is the hardest part of the passage I can wrap my mind around bless you bud. I can wrap my mind around Living in the now and not yet. I can wrap my mind around okay. We're in this now and not yet And so we're going to see things That don't just seem right and there's going to be God's people who suffer and there's going to be people Who are wicked who are thriving and I can wrap my mind around that? But why does he say speedily? Does it feel fast to you guys? You all feel like this is all getting resolved really quick No, right doesn't feel speedily Like I say me personally I'm be just transparent with you guys This is the hardest part for me to wrestle with here's two things that helped me. I hope that it helps you One is that you and I don't even have You and I have different opinions on what speedily may even be and We live in the same time the same generation and live roughly the same lives All of human history can't agree on what speedily would be things change over time and so We need to approach this with humility and Approach it measured as then we are listening to an eternal God Talk about time Our lives are so short and Yet there's times where life feels really long and there's times where life feels really short and So our God who is an eternal God is telling us that he will administer this Jud this judgment this righteous judgment Speedily and so I think we need to have a measured and balanced and humble approach as we think of timeframes and the Lord bringing justice but secondly speedily can also refer to the manner in which The judgment comes and not the speed at which it comes and what I mean by that The judgment will come Suddenly the judgment will come swiftly This is the same analogy that we get when Jesus refers to the thief coming in the night And this points back to again this parable is pointed back to the passage of Pastor noise preached last week And if you remember the thing that Jesus pointed to in describing the kingdom Coming the day of the Son of Man was lightning Comes suddenly it's unstoppable. It's quick. I remember growing up I Remember there being a lot more like Lightning storms as a kid growing up which as I was going through this message I thought of that that means nothing about this message But I remember lived in Santa Clarita and my parents had we lived on a hill and then on our top Floor of our house. We had a deck that like overlooked all of Santa Clarita So you could see all of Santa Clarita at night and so if there was anywhere Nearby if there was any lightning. I remember as a kid sitting out there with my family just staring out into the black night and You're just waiting and Waiting and waiting. You know if it's gonna be over here over here So you're kind of doing that like eye test at the doctor where you're trying to See everything all at once where you like click that thing, you know what guys I'm talking about And so you're trying to see everything and all of a sudden bam lightning you're like lightning. I saw lightning, right? The lightning there was a lot of waiting, but when the lightning came it was sudden. There was no stopping it It came in a flash. There was no denying it, right? This judgment Like Paso noise I think unpacked so well last week is the door is open now But the day of the son of man will come Like lightning will come like is described a thief in the night and it will be quick and it will be sudden and it Will be unstoppable and it will be final And we can have a hope in that day that in that day all things will be made right Everything will then be how it ought to be and that is the hope that is on the horizon for us Jesus ends his teaching by saying nevertheless when the son of man comes will he find faith on the earth? So will there be anybody still hoping? Will there be anybody still waiting? Like myself as a kid will there be anybody still staring out into the dark of the night? waiting waiting Looking for it not distracted Not giving up on it Not being busy and caught up in other routines, but looking and hoping For that day when all things are made right Friends nearly every Sunday your pastors as we wrap up our messages We always point to the high point the climax of our worship service, which is the Lord's table and We do this every week Not to fill time Not as an empty routine But we do this every week and I mean this when I say this we do this every week because we need it We do this because we need to be reminded of the goodness that is coming All week long all week long. We are all reminded that the world is not how it ought to be All week long no matter where you go no matter what you do Schools friends neighborhoods workplaces you're reminded all day long a Slap across the face that this world is not how it ought to be And we see that all week long we need the reminder every Lord's day that this is not how it will always be We need the reminder to not fall asleep and get used to that. This is just how it is and Take our eyes off that horizon of hope of When all things are made right Soon this room is going to be full of your voices Communing with one another around the Lord's table soon This room is going to be full of smiling mouths and smiling eyes as we commune around the Lord's table together And as we feast at the Lord's table today, we are reaching into the future and participating in the celebration of when all wrongs are being made right of when the when the world is how it should be When our King has come and has come finally and his King is King is established fully We are participating in that moment and we are rehearsing together reminding each other of This future hope that we have to cling on to it I would make the argument for all of you and I know I'm preaching to the choir because you are all here today I would make the argument for you. This is one of the very reasons and important reasons why we need to gather every week as God's people That we need to come together on the Lord's day and that we need to gather around his table Because every week you're bombarded with a world that would have you forget your future hope Every week you are bombarded with lives with situations That would want to discourage you and push you down and tell you this is just how it is Just hunker down get in your own routine be distracted by your own monotonous Circle of life and stop looking towards that hope But as we participate in this future we are reminded we encourage each other of that future hope and just like this widow that persistence that we have in going before our God then is not your own strength as We see the goodness of our God and what we believe that he will do as we look towards that day That persistence is powered by the hope that we have within us because of his completed work And because he promises one day all things will be made right and Because we have that hope in our hearts just like this widow that should drive us church That should drive us to continually go before the judge and Ask and long for and request that this day would come and come soon Christian friends There is a million things in this world right now to be cynical about There's a million things in this world right now to throw your hands up and Want to check out and I get it and I struggle with it But if there is a thing that can get our heads above the fog Pastor David was praying if there's a thing that can get our heads above this fog and be impactful in our Society be impactful in our circles of influence It's first fixing our eyes on that hope and all things are being made right and the truth of the gospel and Taking this truth of this hope that our king has come and he is coming again fully to establish his kingdom And all wrongs will be made right and all the injustices will be reversed And even the wrong things I don't understand how this works But even the wrong things that happen in life It will be as though he's gonna turn wickedness so on its head That it's gonna be as if it was better that wicked things happened That's how righteous and how just and how shockingly good this will be Christian Hoping him your God is good. He's not a wicked judge. Keep your hope in him Keep your eyes fixed on him and let that fixing you have your eyes on him draw you into prayer Draw you into communion with him over and over and over again And let's not forsake the gathering together and let's not ever forsake this table where we encourage each other and we participate and rehearse this future celebration When the whole mess is done and the new heavens and in the new earth amen, amen, let's pray Our father in heaven, we thank you for the hope we thank you for the good father that you are to us And we thank you that we have a hope Lord, I pray that through the power of your word you would take My humble teaching Lord that you would use these words to Encourage your people that you would use these words This week to encourage them with whatever they may face Lord I ask that you would use these words to draw us all into more prayer and more time with you and Lord as we come to this table today Lord Would you encourage our hearts as we see the smiling faces of the saints and we hear the smiling voices of the saints and we would be Reminded of that day when you do make all things right what a glorious day that will be we long for it Jesus come quickly we pray for your glory and Jesus thing amen [BLANK_AUDIO]