The Unjust Judge and the Widow (II): Luke 18:1-8

The story is told in only four verses (vv. 2-5), but it is painted with such skill by Jesus and then Luke that it is unforgettable. In an unnamed town there resides an judge. Like the unnamed rich man in 16:19-31, this judge is also without a name. He neither fears God nor, literally, "turns toward" people. Our first reaction might be, "Wow, that is precisely what a judge ought to do!" Isn't justice supposed to be blind? That is, the reason that we often see statues of Lady Justice blindfolded is that she represents the aspiration of the justice system--that it would be dispensed without regard to the social location, wealth or appearance of the litigants. But in this parable the combination of these two traits for the judge is probably not meant to be a good thing. They are meant to suggest that the judge is not being true to his calling. Rather than fearing God and loving people, he doesn't fear God or care about people.

Then there is the widow. By placing the widow opposite the judge (each is the first word of their respective part of the story), we are stopped in our "literary tracks" and forced to realize that this is going to be a story about social location and the results of disparity. Luke doesn't hesitate, and my previous expositions have demonstrated, to say that the true goal of the Gospel is to give without expecting repayment (6:35) and that the true guests at the feast should be the poor, lame, weak and blind (14:13-14). We had the story of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31), and we saw what happened there--the reversal of conditions for rich and poor. This reversal of conditions is not only told in parable but also is told in poetry in the Gospel of Luke (1:52) and, lest we miss all of this, Jesus says in words so stark that the dullest of us ought to catch it, "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of heaven is yours" (6:20).

Thus, we can't hear or read the word "widow" opposite the notion of a judge who doesn't regard God or people, without importing the entire social critique which Luke has brought out in his Gospel. Even though we don't yet know the story which will unfold, we are prepared by Jesus to align ourselves with the widow.

IV. The Story Unfolds

Then the story unfolds. The widow happens to live in the same city as the judge, and she frequently comes to him (the verb is in the imperfect tense, which suggests continuous past action) and asks for justice against her opponent. The word antidikos means an opponent in a lawsuit, but also could by extension refer to the devil in early Christian literature. The widow is coming to the judge for judicial relief. That it is a widow who comes to the judge suggests that she either has no family or is destitute of resources. One OT passage showing God's special care for widows is Deut. 10:17-18:

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who lovs the strangers, providing them food and clothing."

Thus, the careful reader knows that with God the widow would get relief, but such a remedy is uncertain in the hands of this "non God-fearing" judge.

All the text says is that the widow continually comes to the judge for relief. We don't know how insistent she is in her words or actions; she just keeps coming back. But v. 4-5 give us the judge's reaction to all of this. In fact, the final word of v. 5 will be so sudden and unexpected (in Greek) that these words are actually funny. Let me lay that case out for you. The judge does what we all tend to do when "little people" who make their case to us. We ignore them. We simply tend to brush all kinds of situations and people to the side; they are inconveniences or things that easily can be ignored.

This is the way, for example, that many insurance companies deal with claimants whose claims aren't immediately justified. They don't respond or they give people the "run around." Why? Because they know that 50% of people, when told that there is no coverage or that it looks like such-and-such may not be covered, will not fight the issue. The claimant becomes discouraged and goes away.

Thus, the judge reacts naturally. He didn't do anything for a time, the text says. But then he "said to himself" (the same kind of words that the prodigal son utters internally), that even though he doesn't regard God or people, he will give justice to the woman. But his reason at the end of v. 5 is hilarious in the Greek. He says, "I will give her justice lest she keep coming and give me a black eye." The image in the last word (upopiazo) is taken from the boxing ring and is so stunning and unexpected that our translation has "toned it down"--"wear me out." But why tone it down? By leaving it as it is, so to speak, we have a hilarious picture presented. The all powerful, big judge is saying that he is starting to get worried because the widow may end up beating him up and giving him a black eye in the process!

We laugh because we realize the absurdity of the judge's comment but then, while we are guffawing, we might also pause for a second. The judge may be typical of that rich person who just screams when inconvenience comes into his life. We hear these people all the time. "You can't tax me one more penny or else I, as well as the rest of the economy will collapse." The judge here uses the rhetoric of overstatement in order to try to take the pressure off of himself for being a bad judge. He tries to "blame the widow" for his discomfort. So, he dispenses justice unwillingly, by blaming the person with the righteous cause.

This is not only a parable of the woman and the judge, but it also gives us an insight into the nature of human dynamics.

V. Conclusions--Jesus and the "Point" of the Parable

Now that I have completed my rather "thick description" of the story, I can return to Jesus' message at the end. He uses a technique in rhetoric called the a fortiori argument. That is, if the judge, who has no regard for humans or God, grants justice to a persistent widow, how much more will God do the same to those who persist in prayer. God isn't like the unrighteous judge, and so God will quickly answer. But then Jesus closes the parable with a sort of warning. Even though this is true about God, faith won't be demonstrated when Christ returns.

So, we are left with a sort of paradox after reading a parable that should be so clear. That is, we are led to think from v. 1 that we have a very clear message. But the story of the judge turns our attention to the social message of Luke, and then Jesus' final words make us wonder if we will have this faith, even though it is shown to be something valuable and essential. Thus, rather than a sterling-clear message for this morning, which v. 1 would like to convince us is part of the passage, we have a much more murky message. Call to God, be persistent in the calling, God will hear. But the final message is our fickleness. So, we begin thinking we know things, but we end in uncertainty and even a bit of fear. We feel we are almost in the seat of the disciples who ask Jesus, "Will it be I who will betray you?"

But that isn't a bad way to leave our text this morning. We don't need to tie things up in a neat bow for people every week. Even if there is a way to make this passage a very simple one...

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