Parable of the Unjust Judge

Text and Content

This parable appears only in Luke 18:1–8. Luke states its purpose before relating the parable itself: Jesus told it to teach "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).

The parable runs as follows:

• In a certain city there was a judge "which feared not God, neither regarded man."
• A widow came to him repeatedly, saying, "Avenge me of mine adversary"—that is, asking him to render a just verdict.
• For a while the judge refused. Then, reasoning that she would keep coming and trouble him—"lest by her continual coming she weary me"—he decided to grant her justice.
• Jesus asks whether, if even an unjust judge acts this way, God will not "avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him." He then declares, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily."
• The parable closes with the question, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

Background

The Old Testament law names widows, together with orphans and sojourners, among the vulnerable who must be protected (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 24:17; Isaiah 1:17). Psalm 68:5 calls God "a judge of the widows." A woman who had lost her husband often had no one to plead her rights in court on her behalf. The tension of the story arises from the contrast between the widow's plight and a judge who has abandoned his duty.

Where the judge worries that she will "weary" him, the Greek verb hypōpiazō originally means "to strike under the eye," that is, to give a black eye. Many interpreters take it here in the figurative sense of "to wear out" or "to pester."

Significance in the Broader Biblical Context

The parable immediately follows Luke 17:20–37, which deals with the coming of the Son of Man and the kingdom of God. It is therefore read as an exhortation to a suffering community awaiting the Second Coming to keep praying and not lose heart. The parable that immediately follows, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (18:9–14), also concerns prayer. Together with the story of the friend who comes at midnight asking for bread (Luke 11:5–13), it is often grouped among the passages in which Luke emphasizes prayer.

Interpretation and Debates

• Argument by contrast: Many interpreters hold that the parable does not liken God to the unjust judge but contrasts him with the judge. It argues "from the lesser to the greater": if even an unjust man grants a plea, how much more will the righteous God hear. Accordingly, allegorical readings (which assign a separate meaning to each person and object) suggesting that God answers because he is pestered are viewed with caution.
• Persistent prayer and providence: The Calvinist tradition generally emphasizes that prayer does not so much change God's will as serve as a means God has ordained within his providence. Pentecostal and Holiness traditions more often cite the parable as a model of earnest prayer that clings to God until the answer comes. The difference is one of emphasis; neither side denies the value of persistent prayer.
• Being avenged: Some interpreters read the parable less as the fulfillment of personal wishes than as the vindication of the wronged—that is, the restoration of justice. On this reading it is a promise that at the end God will set right the wrongs suffered by his people.
• Translation issues: The meaning of the second half of verse 7 is unclear in the original, so it is rendered in various ways, for example as "though he bear long with them" or "will he delay long over them?"
• Details not in the text: Explanations are often added that the dispute concerned property or inheritance, or that the verdict was delayed because the widow could not offer a bribe. These are conjectures based on the circumstances of the time; the text itself says nothing of the kind.