Proper 24C, 2025

Text: Luke 18:-8

Title: Wearing God Down

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Has anyone ever worn you down?  They just keep asking you, pestering you over and over and over again to give you something or do something for them, and eventually, finally, you give in- not because you really care about them, but just to get them to stop asking.

Today Jesus tells a story about a judge and widow.

Jesus tells us two things about the judge.

First, the judge does not fear God.  He has no faith and trust in God.  And so, he doesn’t care what God’s law says.

Second, the judge does not respect man.  He doesn’t care about his reputation and what other people think of him.  He doesn’t have to be reelected, he’s not answerable to anyone in the community, he can just do whatever he wants.

Now the widow comes to him with a complaint. 

We assume that the widow has a legitimate case, but Jesus never tells us who is right and who is wrong.

In a sense, it doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong because the judge doesn’t care.

The judge doesn’t care about the facts in the case. The judge doesn’t care what the law says.  The judge just cares about himself.

And eventually he just gives the woman what he wants to get her off his case.  He’s just tired of her bugging him, and so he caves and lets her have her way.

Now the moral of the story, or so you might think, is that we should just keep bugging God until He gives you what you want.

You want a new job, just pray about it constantly until God caves in.

You want healing, just pray about it constantly until God caves in.

You want the Cubs to win the World Series, just pray about it constantly until God caves in (even if it takes more than 100 years).

But there’s a problem with this.

What happens when the job doesn’t come?

What happens when the healing doesn’t come?

What happens when the Cubs lose again?

You begin to ask yourself one of two sets of questions:

First, you question yourself and your prayers. Perhaps I didn’t pray often enough. Perhaps I didn’t pray hard enough. Perhaps I didn’t pray in the right state of mind.  If only I pray the right prayer in the right way, I’ll get the right results.

The other set of questions is even more troubling. 

The second set of questions is not about you, but about God.  Perhaps God is ignoring me.  Perhaps God doesn’t care about me.  Perhaps God’s not even there at all.

That’s where this way of thinking gets you, when you think that “All I have to do is pray right and God will give me what I want.”

But the widow is not just asking the judge for what she wants.  The widow is not asking for money.  The widow is not asking for a new husband.  The widow is asking for justice.  She wants vindication.

This story is about justice, righteousness.

The widow is asking for justice, for everything to be made right.  Her adversary is the one who opposes justice, who is unjust, unrighteous.

The widow is coming to the judge and saying, “Make things right.  Give me what I deserve.”

Perhaps you’ve been through this before.  You’ve been wronged.  You’ve suffered an injustice.  And you’ve gone to the police, you’ve gone to the courts, you’ve asked the authorities to give you justice, to make things right.  You say, “I’ve been treated unfairly.  I’ve been wronged.  Fix the problem.”

That’s often our prayer to the Lord.  “I’ve been treated unfairly.  I’ve been wronged.  Fix the problem.”

But here’s the problem.  Here’s the rub.

God is not unjust.  God will always abide by the law.  He made the law, and He will judge it fairly.

And when you are judged fairly, it’s not good for you. 

You are not innocent.  You are not righteous.  As David says, “No one is righteous- no not one.”

It doesn’t do you any good to plead for justice when you’re guilty.

God does give you justice, just not the justice you deserve, and not the justice that you expect.

Instead of judging you and condemning you, God judges and condemns Jesus Christ, His own Son.  Jesus bears your punishment, your death sentence for you.

God answers your cry for justice in a strange, backwards way.  God does something that seems completely unjust and unfair.  God punishes the innocent one so that the guilty can go free.

Jesus says, “he will give justice to them speedily.” Justice is coming quickly.

Jesus says these words as He’s on the way to Jerusalem.  In fact, He’s almost there.  By the end this chapter of Luke, Jesus is in Jericho, which is only a few hours’ journey to Jerusalem.  Just before He arrives in Jericho, Jesus will predict His death one more time.

We know what will happen when Jesus reaches Jerusalem.  He will be arrested, tried, condemned, and executed.

Jesus was placed on trial before Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate.

Jesus did not beg any of them for justice. Jesus was silent and endured an unjust sentence for you, so that you would go free.

Prayer is not asking for your vindication, your righteousness.  Prayer is asking for the righteousness of Jesus to be yours.

And that’s faith.

Jesus says, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

Jesus doesn’t say, “will he find justice,” but will he find faith?  Will he find people who are justified, made right with God not by their own righteousness, but through Jesus’ death and resurrection?

And that’s a faith that prays.  Real prayers.

Real prayers don’t insist on what you deserve but beg for what you don’t deserve.

Real prayers trust in God as a loving Father and not a heartless judge.

Real prayers are answered by God, not because He wants to shut you up, but because He loves to hear you pray to Him in faith.

Pray regularly. Don’t lose heart.  God will give you justice speedily.  God will forgive your sins and give you everlasting life.

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