Author: Bill Hall

And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the corrupt judge said.’

Luke 18:6

Not only the Lord Jesus, but also Luke calls special attention to the words of this unscrupulous judge. The point is to make careful note of his thought process, and to think of that in comparison and contrast to the response given by God.

We can compare the Lord and the unscrupulous judge in that they both are petitioned by someone repeatedly. Although the Lord does not want us to use mindless reptitions when we’re praying, He does want us to pray on a consistent basis. Bringing the same issue before him over and over is not a bother to Him. We are thus meant to parallel the widow in this story. And she had every intention to continue coming to the judge for the rest of her life.

We can contrast the Lord and the unrighteous judge in their reasons for listening to petitions. The judge only listens because he’s annoyed. The Lord, on the other hand, listens to us because He truly cares for us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for listening to us. Thank You for really caring for us. You are always kind, good, and gracious. Your response is considerate. What a wonder! The Lord of all takes my frailty into consideration as He listens to me. You are HOLY! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

yet, on account of this widow continually being a bother to me, I will give her justice, so that she will not torment me by cominng to me perpetually.

Luke 18:5

The construction of the wording here is quite specific. It really paints a temendous picture for us, and Jesus is the best storyteller ever. The idea is of this widow coming to the judge incessantly. The language here gives us the idea that she would be continuously bothering him over and over again for the remainder of his career. The judge invisioned in his mind this widow incessantly, consistently, and annoyingly bothering him for years and years.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the fact that you are not annoyed by us, and you care. Unlike this unjust judge, You do not care only because we are annoying to You. You care because You love us and You value us. You are just, and You always provide for Your own. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And he did not want to for a period of time, but after this he said to himself, ‘Although I do not fear God, and do not respect men;

Luke 18:4

The inhibitions of this unjust judge were not strong. Somewhat of a wishy-washy person to begin with, it did not take him long to become impatient with what he saw as incessant whining from the widow.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with us. It would be easy for You to give up on us because we are so small and insignificant. But it is not on the basis of us that You do what You do, but on the basis of You and Who You are. You are good, and You are amazing! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But in that city was a widow, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Get me justice from my adversary.’

Luke 18:3

This woman evidently had a suit of some kind against someone who had done wrong. She was asking the judge to do what was right, and to punish the offender. We do not know the specifics of her suit, but it seems from the way Jesus presents it, we are meant to take the widow’s grievance as legitimate.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your care for the less fortunate, and for teaching us to care for them. Your love, grace, mercy and wisdom are amazing. You alone are able to bring final justice for any wrongdoing. We will look to You for vengeance, and not to ourselves. You are the perfect Judge. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

saying, ‘There was a judge in a certain city, who did not fear God, and did not respect men.’

Luke 18:2

Jesus gives us the setup here. This judge is presented as a man who is not concerned with God’s truth, nor was he particularly afraid of any other individual. He cared only for himself, and what he saw as justice. Jesus is setting up here for us a situation in which no one going to this particular judge could expect to get actual justice.

Although Jesus refers to a ‘certain city’, this does not necessarily mean he had a particular city and a particular judge in mind. However, we also cannot dogmatically say that there were not particular individuals in mind when Jesus was telling his parables.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your justice. You alone are fair. You alone are completely pure, just, good, and righteous. Without your Spirit working through your Word, this world would be a worse place than it already is. It is only by Your power that the evil one is held back. Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He related a parable to them that it is necessary for men to always pray, and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1

This is one of the precious teachings of Christ in which He brings up the subject. It is always somehting to take note of when Jesus is intentional.

Here we see that Luke shares that this parable was addressed specifically to men. This does not exclude women from the application. But it applies directly and impactfully to men in the roles that the Lord has chosen for them.

One might say this is Jesus’ ‘pray without ceasing’ parable. And it addresses vengance especially. It is quite often that righteous men will find themselves wanting to bring vengance upon the evils of this world. But, constant, vigilant, and powerful prayer is meant to be the path to proper vengance. The Lord must handle it because men will do it wrongfully.

Heavenly Father, may I never forget to pray always! Day by day, hour by hour, I will bring what I have in my heart before You. You alone are equal to the task. You can more than care for and understand every thought of my heart, and give me courage in the face of every injustice. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

In response they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” He said back to them, “Wherever the body is, there the vultures gather.”

Luke 17:37

Jesus does not answer with a specific place. This is prophecy. We can see that very clearly by the wording Jesus uses. What he does do is answer the question, just not in the way they wanted.

What He means here is that those who do not escape suffer Divine judgment. The reminder of Lot’s wife is the most clear indication of this. But His choice of illustration in this verse also indicates that this is what He is speaking of.

Heavenly Father, when we think of Your just wrath we are so afraid. There is nothing in this world worth a man’s fear but Your displeasure. All may go against those who are in Your care, and peace will attend them. But to be the target of Your wrath is a thing too terrible for me to fully comprehend. Oh God that we will seek Your face and be repentant! Our bodies and minds are corrupted and we cannot stand before You. I give You all praise for Chirst! Only through Him may I see You, know Your truth, or escape Your just allotment of destruction. Thank You for Him! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other, left.

Luke 17:36

These two will be working together out in the crops. One is taken away and the other is not. And so we undesrtand that the repetition of the same scenario is meant for emphasis. Close association is not assurance of safety. No location or activity is out of harm’s way. Some will make it, and others will not.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word. We have so much to learn and understand. We find ourselves coming back to its pages over and over. Its Truth is sweet to us. Give us understanding and wisdom. Your Truth is worth the effort! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Two will be grinding in the same place; one will be taken, and the other left.

Luke 17:35

Here again we do not have the gender in the Greek. The emphasis here is not on who is grinding, but the fact that these individuals are workng together and yet will be divided up.

In this passage, the one ‘taken’ may actually be the one rescued rather than the other way around. The way we translate to English the one taken seems to tbe the one in jeopardy, but that is not clearly the case.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for You glorious blessings! You do so much in our lives every day to help us in this present broken world, and we take it for granted. Oh Father! Open our eyes to how much we depend upon You for every little thing! You alone know just how wonderfful Your plans are. If we could but see this world as it would be without sin, our habitual incredulity would die on the spot. Thank You for the amazing and wonderful fullness of Your Divinity revealed in Christ. It is a constant wonder to have Him in our lives. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

I say to you, there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

Luke 17:34

In some translations one may find that this is translated “two men” in one bed. The gender of the individuals is not identified in the Greek. Most likely this is speaking of a husband and wife. This serves to emphasize that close association with one who makes it is no guarantee.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this wonderful world You have made. We see the calamity that endures and realize this is unnatural. You made a perfect world, and You will make a perfect world again. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.