1 And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
The Judge & the Widow
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; 3 and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary.’”
Change of Attitude
4 For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”
Application of Parable
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.”
Will Faith Last?
Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
EXPLANATION
Introduction
Prayer is one of the most important themes in Luke’s writings. He refers to Jesus at prayer nineteen times in the Gospel. There are at least forty–six references to the early Christians at prayer in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. Both of these examples are a clear indication of an awareness of the presence of God in the life of Jesus and of the early Church.
1 And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
“And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” — Jesus continues to address his disciples. The two points mentioned here are quite frequent in Paul’s writings:
(i) “Pray always”, be consistent (I Thess. 5: 17; I Thess. 1: 11; Rm. 1: 10, 12; 12; Eph. 6: 18);
(ii) Do “not lose heart” in the sense ‘do not be discouraged’, do not give up (II Thess. 3: 13; II Cor. 4: 1, 16; Gal. 6: 9; Eph. 3: 13).
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; 3 and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary.’”
“He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man” — This judge is presented as a very unjust man “who neither feared God nor regarded man”. He had no respect for God and he had no time for people.
“and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary’” — In the Bible widows are presented as symbols of powerlessness having no male protector. There are many quotations in the Old Testament, particularly in Deuteronomy, insisting that proper respect and care be shown to widows. In this parable this widow is contrasted with a powerful and dishonest judge who showed no mercy to women.
The widow’s “adversary” could very well have been a rich man and the judge did not want to alienate or provoke him by granting her justice.
4 For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.”
“For a while he refused” — The judge refused to grant her justice, most probably because she was too poor to give him a bribe.
“but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” — The woman’s perseverance wore the judge out and he could see no end to her constantly seeking justice and never giving him relief.
“or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” — The literal translation is somewhat humourous being “she will blacken my face”, that is, give me a black eye! While that is the literal translation, the meaning is “she will shame me in public”.
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.” 7 And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.
“And the Lord said” — Jesus is referred to as “Lord”, expressing his divine nature, to emphasise what he is about to say in the following two verses of this passage.
“Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily” — The Lord says the following two things in this and the following verses.
i) He calls the judge “unrighteous” or unjust. What did this judge do? He put pressure on the poor and powerless widow for a long time and did not listen to her pleas. Then suddenly he changed his mind and granted her justice because of her persistent pleading which was annoying him.
ii) The Lord says that God will suddenly allow his “elect”, those special to and chosen by him, who are unjustly treated but who continually pray for assistance to him “day and night” to be granted justice.
Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
“Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” — This is a reference to the Second Coming of the Son of Man at the end of the world.
This parable ends with a question, “will he find faith?”, a most unusual way to conclude. Nevertheless a most important question that makes followers think about their attitude to the faith and the authenticity of their discipleship.
God will never abandon his disciples and they should not abandon God even if they encounter opposition, hardships, sufferings or feel abandoned. As stated in the first verse of this chapter, the point of the parable is that disciples must persevere in prayer so that they will not lose faith. Prayer needs faith and faith needs prayer to mutually sustain each other.
APPLICATION
This Gospel passage is addressed to Jesus’ disciples (Lk. 17: 22). The very first verse (Lk. 18: 1) tells us the purpose of this parable: “a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” St. Augustine has a lovely comment on this, “In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened”. Here we are told of the perfect balance between prayer and faith. When we are consistent and devoted in prayer our faith is assured. Lest we take prayer as the infallible solution for the increase of faith Jesus asks the question in the last verse of the passage, “when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
This is why he told the parable. Many readers and hearers presume that the central figure is the judge but in fact it is the woman. The judge appears as weak; the woman as strong and persistent. She perseveres in her prayer because she believes in the value of what she is seeking.
The judge appears as unjust. In fact, part of his job was to defend widows who had no other person to look after their interests. This judge did not have any interest in this widow until he realised that she was not going to give in to his lack of interest in her cause. Indeed the parable says that it occurred to him that, should he not grant her request, he could end up with a ‘black eye’!
If the widow had ceased seeking and begging, the judge would have had his way. We must not give up seeking and begging when we need something from God. Our prayer is not to an unjust judge but to the all–holy and just God who gives us what we need when he knows that we need it and are ready for it. We do not pray only until we receive from God. Our relationship is much deeper than that. Our prayer strengthens our relationship of faith with God.
Commentary on 29th Sunday of the year C 19.10.2025
TEXT: LUKE 18: 01–08
Purpose of Parable
1 And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
The Judge & the Widow
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; 3 and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary.’”
Change of Attitude
4 For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”
Application of Parable
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.”
Will Faith Last?
Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
EXPLANATION
Introduction
Prayer is one of the most important themes in Luke’s writings. He refers to Jesus at prayer nineteen times in the Gospel. There are at least forty–six references to the early Christians at prayer in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. Both of these examples are a clear indication of an awareness of the presence of God in the life of Jesus and of the early Church.
1 And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
“And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” — Jesus continues to address his disciples. The two points mentioned here are quite frequent in Paul’s writings:
(i) “Pray always”, be consistent (I Thess. 5: 17; I Thess. 1: 11; Rm. 1: 10, 12; 12; Eph. 6: 18);
(ii) Do “not lose heart” in the sense ‘do not be discouraged’, do not give up (II Thess. 3: 13; II Cor. 4: 1, 16; Gal. 6: 9; Eph. 3: 13).
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; 3 and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary.’”
“He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man” — This judge is presented as a very unjust man “who neither feared God nor regarded man”. He had no respect for God and he had no time for people.
“and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary’” — In the Bible widows are presented as symbols of powerlessness having no male protector. There are many quotations in the Old Testament, particularly in Deuteronomy, insisting that proper respect and care be shown to widows. In this parable this widow is contrasted with a powerful and dishonest judge who showed no mercy to women.
The widow’s “adversary” could very well have been a rich man and the judge did not want to alienate or provoke him by granting her justice.
4 For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.”
“For a while he refused” — The judge refused to grant her justice, most probably because she was too poor to give him a bribe.
“but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” — The woman’s perseverance wore the judge out and he could see no end to her constantly seeking justice and never giving him relief.
“or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’” — The literal translation is somewhat humourous being “she will blacken my face”, that is, give me a black eye! While that is the literal translation, the meaning is “she will shame me in public”.
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.” 7 And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.
“And the Lord said” — Jesus is referred to as “Lord”, expressing his divine nature, to emphasise what he is about to say in the following two verses of this passage.
“Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily” — The Lord says the following two things in this and the following verses.
i) He calls the judge “unrighteous” or unjust. What did this judge do? He put pressure on the poor and powerless widow for a long time and did not listen to her pleas. Then suddenly he changed his mind and granted her justice because of her persistent pleading which was annoying him.
ii) The Lord says that God will suddenly allow his “elect”, those special to and chosen by him, who are unjustly treated but who continually pray for assistance to him “day and night” to be granted justice.
Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
“Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” — This is a reference to the Second Coming of the Son of Man at the end of the world.
This parable ends with a question, “will he find faith?”, a most unusual way to conclude. Nevertheless a most important question that makes followers think about their attitude to the faith and the authenticity of their discipleship.
God will never abandon his disciples and they should not abandon God even if they encounter opposition, hardships, sufferings or feel abandoned. As stated in the first verse of this chapter, the point of the parable is that disciples must persevere in prayer so that they will not lose faith. Prayer needs faith and faith needs prayer to mutually sustain each other.
APPLICATION
This Gospel passage is addressed to Jesus’ disciples (Lk. 17: 22). The very first verse (Lk. 18: 1) tells us the purpose of this parable: “a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” St. Augustine has a lovely comment on this, “In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened”. Here we are told of the perfect balance between prayer and faith. When we are consistent and devoted in prayer our faith is assured. Lest we take prayer as the infallible solution for the increase of faith Jesus asks the question in the last verse of the passage, “when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
This is why he told the parable. Many readers and hearers presume that the central figure is the judge but in fact it is the woman. The judge appears as weak; the woman as strong and persistent. She perseveres in her prayer because she believes in the value of what she is seeking.
The judge appears as unjust. In fact, part of his job was to defend widows who had no other person to look after their interests. This judge did not have any interest in this widow until he realised that she was not going to give in to his lack of interest in her cause. Indeed the parable says that it occurred to him that, should he not grant her request, he could end up with a ‘black eye’!
If the widow had ceased seeking and begging, the judge would have had his way. We must not give up seeking and begging when we need something from God. Our prayer is not to an unjust judge but to the all–holy and just God who gives us what we need when he knows that we need it and are ready for it. We do not pray only until we receive from God. Our relationship is much deeper than that. Our prayer strengthens our relationship of faith with God.