1. The Stories Jesus Told
The Unjust Judge
The parable of the unjust judge, often called the story of the
importunate woman, is a parable about prayer. Let’s begin by looking
at the two characters of the story.
The Judge
The judge in the parable is not an honorable
man. Jesus describes him as someone who
does not fear God or respect people. He has
no sense of honor. He feels no shame.
The appeal of “for the sake of this widow
who is in need” has no effect on him.
The widow
Widows in first-century Palestine and
throughout the Old
Testament could be
extremely
vulnerable. They were considered a symbol
of the innocent, powerless, and oppressed.
Since the widow is bringing her case before a single
judge instead of a tribunal, it could be that it
involves a financial matter, a debt owed to
her, a pledge, or part of an inheritance being
withheld from her. That she went to a judge
indicates that she probably had no son or
brother or other man in her extended family to
speak for her, as if she had male relatives, they

2. The Parable
The parable begins with Luke,
providing the context:
“And [Jesus] told them a parable to the
effect that they ought always to pray
and not lose heart.” He said, “In a
certain city there was a judge who
neither feared God nor respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who
kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me
justice against my adversary.’” (Luke
18:1-3)
We have the unprotected yet bold
widow coming before the unjust judge,
asking him to take up her case, to
bring her justice against her adversary.
She has repeatedly returned, and for
some time he has rebuffed her,
refusing to help her.
“For a while he refused, but afterward he
said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear
God nor respect man, yet because this
widow keeps bothering me, I will give
her justice, so that she will not beat me
down by her continual coming.’” (Luke
18:4-5)
would have probably gone before the judge instead of her.
In the context of the story it’s understood that the widow is in the right
and seeking what is rightfully hers. The disciples to whom this parable
was originally told would have understood that the woman was
defenseless and helpless, with no one to stand up for her or defend her.

3. Eventually, it becomes clear to the judge that the widow is not going
to stop pleading for justice. He admits that he doesn’t care what God
or man thinks, but he does care that he’s being constantly bothered by
her. He decides to give her justice not because of any goodness or
compassion on his part, or even because it’s the right thing to do. His
decision stems from being sick and tired of the widow bothering him.
Jesus then gets to the point He is trying to get across:
“And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not
God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay
long over them?’” (Luke 18:6-7)
This parable speaks of the need to pray and not lose heart if our
prayers aren’t answered immediately. Perseverance in prayer is one
point of the parable; however, there is more to it.
Luke places this parable right after a discourse from Jesus about the
return of the Son of Man.
“And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire
to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.’” (Luke
17:22)
Jesus tells His disciples that the time will come when they will long to

4. see the day of His return, but they won’t see it. From there, Luke begins
the story of the judge and the widow. The context of the parable is the
unfulfilled hope of the coming of the Son of Man. The point is that
believers should not lose heart as they wait for the fulfillment of God’s
promises, but that as we wait, we should continue to pray in faith,
knowing that God will not fail to answer. As Jesus said:
“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them
speedily.” (Luke 18:7)
Then Jesus asks a very sobering question:
“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
(Luke 18:8)
That’s a question worth pondering. At Jesus’ return, will He find those
of faith, those who have persevered, who trusted and believed? Will
Jesus find that we who are Christians have remained faithful to Him?
We are meant to be persistent in our prayer lives. That means being

5. tenacious, determined to pray, praying regularly, and continuing to
pray in faith even if we don’t receive the answer quickly. Just as the
woman came boldly before the judge, we are to come boldly before
the Lord in prayer.
We shouldn’t lose faith if our prayers aren’t answered immediately.
We’re told to not lose heart. Jesus instructs us to carry on in faith and
confidence, knowing that God is a fair and generous judge, a loving
father, who will answer according to His will and in His time.
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