Sunday, November 21, 2010

[Matt's Messages] "Jesus Says, 'Keep Praying'"

“Jesus Says, ‘Keep Praying’”
Certain of Jesus:  The Gospel of Luke
November 21, 2010
Luke 18:1-8                  

In today’s passage, Jesus tells a story. 

And it’s a story about prayer.  Persistent prayer.

It has sometimes been called the Parable of the Unjust Judge.

And other times, it’s been called the Parable of the Persistent Widow.

It’s probably a familiar story to most of us.

One of the things I love about this story is that Luke tells us up front what the point of the parable is.

He doesn’t always do that!

Sometimes, he just gives us Jesus’ parables with no explanation at all!

And more often, the point is given at the end.

Here, the point is restated in some interesting ways at the end–that help us to understand it better.

But Luke tell us at the beginning what the whole point of the parable is.

Luke 18 verse 1.

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

There is the point of the whole parable.

Always pray and don’t give up.

Do you sometimes feel like giving up on prayer?
I know that I do.  At least, when I’m being honest.

There are times when I’ve prayed and prayed and prayed, and it just didn’t seem like my prayers were going anywhere.

Like they went up to the ceiling and then bounced back down.

Man!  Sometimes you just feel like giving up on prayer.

Maybe you’ve never felt that yet, but there will probably come a time when you do, so listen up.

Jesus says to keep praying.

V.1 again.  “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

“Always pray and not give up.”

Now, if you have the King James here, it says, “always to pray and not to faint.”

But that doesn’t mean to not pass out while praying.

It means as the NASB and ESV translate it, “to pray and not lose heart.”

To keep praying and not wear out.

To continue to be men and women and boys and girls of persistent prayer.

To keep praying.

Especially to keep praying for justice.  We’re going to see here that the main thing that Jesus is talking about is praying for justice to be done.

Not praying primarily for health or wealth or even blessing.  Which are not necessarily bad things to pray about.

But to pray for justice to come.

Keep praying.

Jesus says, “Keep praying.”

But He doesn’t just say it, He shows it.  V.1 again.

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Jesus tells a story.

It’s a story with only 2 characters in it.  A judge and a widow.

The powerful and the powerless.

In verse 2, Jesus introduces the first character.  The judge.  V.2

“He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.”

Uh oh!  That sounds like a bad start to a good story. 

“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.”

That’s not the kind of judge you want to have!

Can you imagine a judge like that?

I always had a hard time imagining a judge like that until recently.

When I was growing up, I had a strong sense of authority. There might be crooked judges on television, but there probably weren’t very many of those in real life.

And I still believe that, really.  I believe that the vast majority of judges in America are trying to do a good job.

But I’ve recently had occasion to visit a courtroom, and I saw a judge in action that kind of shook my faith some in the judicial system.

It’s not as hard for me now to imagine an evil person in position of authority.

And this one is really evil person. Jesus paints him in the darkest colors.

V.2 “There was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.”

That’s a recipe for disaster.

He doesn’t care about right and wrong.  He doesn’t care about God’s standards.

And he doesn’t care about people.  He doesn’t care about justice.

The unjust judge.  Very powerful and very dangerous.

However, he has just met his match.

In verse 3, Jesus introduces the other main character of this story.  V.3

“And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'”


Now if the judge is the epitome of powerfulness, the widow is the epitome of powerlessness.

Widows had very little social standing in Jesus’ day.

With no husband, it was very hard for them to get justice.

If they had no extended family to care for them, it was very difficult for them to thrive and even to survive.

That’s why James says that pure religion indeed is to take care of widows in distress.

This widow was in distress.

Someone had done her wrong.  In fact, it seems as though that other person was continuing to do her wrong.

Her “adversary.”  We aren’t told what that person was doing except that it was against her and unjust.

Perhaps he or she was stealing from her.  We don’t know.

But it was clearly against this powerless woman and unjust.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Except...bother the judge.

V.3 says that she “kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’”

“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”

Have I worn you out yet?

“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”
“Grant me justice against my adversary.”

V.4

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'”

I love that speech that the unjust judge gives to himself.

He holds up for a while but “finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men [He’s proud of his evil reputation!], yet because this widow keeps bothering me [“Grant me justice against my adversary.”], I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'’

The Greek there is literally means, “so that she doesn’t give me a black eye.”  And I don’t think he cared about the shame of a black eye.  He doesn’t care about what men think.

He’s concerned that this little widow will give him a TKO, a total knock out.

“She’s going to wear me out.  I’m going down for the count.

Okay, already!  I’ll get you justice. Just leave me alone!”

V.6

“And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says.”

Now, what’s the point of this story?

If I’m listening to what the unjust judge says like Jesus says to, what will I do?

Luke already told us, didn’t he?  V.1?

What was the point of the parable?  “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Which of the two characters are we supposed to be like?

The widow, right?

Keep praying.

Keep coming with your requests for justice.

Keep praying.

Keep knocking.  Keeping asking.  Keep seeking.

Keep praying.

Why?

Three reasons.

#1.  BECAUSE GOD IS NOT LIKE THE UNJUST JUDGE.

Do you get that?

Who is the judge supposed to be like in this story?

We are supposed to be like the widow.

So who does the judge picture?

God?

Yes!  Surprise!

But the argument is from the lesser to the greater.  Look at verse 7.

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”

Do you see where Jesus is going?

If the unjust judge will bring justice, HOW MUCH MORE will God do it?!!!

God isn’t anything like the unjust judge!

He isn’t unjust!  He’s just.
He does do what is right!  All of the time!
He does care about men.
He loves justice.
He hates oppression.

We are not unrelated to Him.

This widow had no relationship with the judge.

But we are called in verse 7, “his chosen ones.”

We are God’s adopted children through Jesus!

He isn’t just an unjust judge.  He is our loving heavenly Father!

Father!

So, you get the argument?  Do you feel the comfort?  You can’t bother Him by praying too much!

If you can wear down an unjust judge, why wouldn’t you repeatedly pray to a just and merciful Father?

Keep praying!

God is not like the unjust judge.

We have to get this into our heads.

Because we can get this wrong.  We can begin to think that we have to keep on praying because God is hard of hearing or because it’s only repeated prayers that get his attention.

That’s a mistake.

In his book, Reaching God’s Ear, Pastor Sam Storms asks some questions to evaluate our prayer life.

He says:

“Do we repeat a request because we think that the quality of a prayer is dependent on the quantity of the words?

Do we repeat a request because we think that God is ignorant and needs to be informed, or if not ignorant at least he is unconcerned and therefore needs to be aroused?

Do we repeat our prayers because we believe that God is unwilling to answer and we must prevail upon him, somehow transforming a hard-hearted God into a compassionate and loving one?

Do we repeat a petition because we think that God will be swayed in his decision by our putting on a show of zeal and piety, as if God cannot see through the thin veil of hypocrisy?” [as quoted in Hughes, pg. 187]

I hope not!

That’s acting as if God WAS like the unjust judge!

We should keep on coming to God in prayer because of our relationship with Him.

Verse 7.

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? [What’s the answer to that question?  Yes, He will!  Of course He will!]  Will he keep putting them off? [What’s the answer to that one?  No.  No He won’t.]”

Now, it’s not going to always feel like that.

Sometimes, it’s going to feel like He is putting us off.

His timing and our timing often do not match at all.  V.8

“I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

When it does come, it will seem quickly.

And in the grand scheme of things, it couldn’t come faster.

So keep praying.

Here’s reason number 2.  It’s going to sound strange, but keep with me.

#2. BECAUSE GOD IS LIKE THE UNJUST JUDGE.

In one way.

And one way only.

He will, in His timing, bring justice.

God is powerful.  God is authoritative.

And God will bring justice, vindication, vengeance if necessary.

He will bring justice.  V.8 again.

“I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

So keep praying and don’t give up.

Now, let’s talk some more about this justice thing.

I never really got how much this parable was about justice until I studied it this week.

I knew it was about prayer, persistent, consistent prayer. 

But this week I really noticed that this prayer is primarily  crying “out to him day and night” for justice.

What is justice?

It is things being right in the world.

Justice is things being the way they should be in the world.

And right now, things are not as they should be.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed that, but things in this world are not as they should be.

Last week, we saw that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus.

But that the kingdom has not yet come as it will be.

The kingdom is already but not yet.  Already here but not yet here in perfect justice.

So, you and I have to live in “the time between times.”

We have to live in the time when things are not yet as they should be but we know that it will come.

And so our prayers, often, should have this flavor to them, “Lord, mend what is broken in this world.  Set things to right.  Fix things, Lord!  Change this situation so that justice prevails!  Your kingdom come, here on earth, as it is in heaven.  And one day, will be here, too.”

Do you pray like that?

Have you given up praying like that?

Don’t stop.  Don’t faint.  Don’t lose heart.

Keep praying.  Because in this one way alone God is like the unjust judge–He will answer the continued request and bring justice and quickly!

However (v.8), Jesus turns around and asks a searching question.

He’s not done yet.  V.8

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Remember last week, the third point?

The first point was that the Kingdom of God Has come in Jesus (the Son of Man).
The second point was that the Kingdom of God Has NOT YET COME as it will be.

The third point was that the Kingdom of God WILL COME when Jesus returns.

And until that point, He want us to trust Him.

#3.  GOD WANTS US TO KEEP TRUSTING HIM UNTIL HIS KINGDOM COMES.

Keep praying and don’t give up because when you are doing that you are trusting Jesus–faith–and that’s what He wants to find when He returns.

And this important.

Do you see whose prayers are answered?

This justice comes to those who are trusting in Jesus.

If you are not yet a believer, a truster, in Jesus, then these promises don’t apply to you yet.

You can’t know that you will get justice eventually.

Actually, you will, you will get perfect justice.  That’s what Hell is.

Hell is perfect justice meted out on people who deserve it.

But you won’t get this kind of saving justice.

That’s only for those who trust in Jesus.

Because Jesus died for justice.

He took on the just wrath of God for the sins of His chosen people so that justice would be done and be seen to be done.

And so that God could justify the ungodly.  Declare the unjust justified!

That comes by trusting in Him.

And keeping on trusting Him until Jesus returns.
Keep praying.

Jesus says, “Keep praying and don’t give up.”

Are you tempted to give up on prayer?

Don’t give up.

Because God is not like the unjust judge.  He doesn’t need wearing down.  He loves you!  So keep coming to Him like the eager Daddy He is to hear your prayers.

Don’t give up on prayer.

Because God is like this judge in just one way – He will bring justice and quickly.  So keep coming to Him with your requests that He mend the world, that He make things right again in small ways now and big ways, too and then totally some day all around the world and forever!

Don’t give up on prayer.

Because God wants you to keep trusting Him until His Kingdom Comes.

How will you answer Jesus’ question, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Keep praying.

Messages So Far In this Series:

Certain of Jesus
The Back-Story of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Jesus - A Very Special Child
Preparing the Way for Jesus
Jesus Is the Son of God
Jesus in Galilee
Jesus and the Sinners
Jesus Brings Real Joy and Rest
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part One
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Two
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Three
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Four
Amazing Jesus
Disappointed with Jesus
Loving Jesus Much
Jesus' Real Family
Jesus Is Lord
Who Is Jesus?
Following Jesus
Sent By Jesus
Q&A With Jesus
Sitting at Jesus' Feet
Jesus Teaches Us to Pray 
Jesus Is Stronger Than Satan
More Blessed Than Jesus' Mom
Jesus and the Judgment to Come
Being Real with Jesus
Jesus and Our Stuff
Be Ready for Jesus' Return
Jesus and Tragedies
Set Free By Jesus
Jesus and the Surprising Kingdom
Jesus and Jerusalem
Jesus at the Party
The Cost of Following Jesus
Jesus and the Lost: Part One
Jesus and the Lost: Part Two
Jesus and the Lost: Part Three
Jesus on Money
Sneering at Jesus
Jesus and the Great Chasm
Jesus Said to His Disciples...
Thanking Jesus
Jesus and the Coming Kingdom

0 comments: