Luke 18:1-8

Exegesis for Lutheran Chapel Radio Service: October 24th, 2010
This parable argues from the lesser to the greater: Here is a judge who doesn't care and yet gives justice because the asker tires him out; God, who absolutely cares, will certainly give justice and help when we ask, whether we're bothersome or not. The point is not about how to pray, or how often, but about the conviction and motivation for prayer: Our heavenly fathers loves us and will certainly hear us and answer us.

(Professor Mark Braun wrote a fine devotion on this text for the October 15th, 1992 edition of the Northwestern Lutheran).

LUKE 18:1

18 ῎Ελεγεν δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἐγκακεῖν,

18 He was telling them a parable to show that they should always pray and not get discouraged.

῎Ελεγεν δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς He was telling them a parable. The "He" is of course Jesus. We don't need to be at all ashamed of the Sunday school definition of παραβολὴν, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The only time we bump heads with this definition is in one or two places where the story itself is not earthly, but heavenly, such as Luke 16:19-31 where we can question whether we have a parable at all. αὐτοῖς must point back to the disciples, mentioned in 17:22.

πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι αὐτοὺς to show that they should always pray. τὸ δεῖν is an articularized infinitive, the article being used to make the substantive use of the infinitive more plain (Robertson, Shorter Grammar, p. 372). Here the verb "be necessary" becomes "the necessity." προσεύχεσθαι is the present middle (deponent) infinitive "to pray," complementary infinitive with the articularized substantive infinitive τὸ δεῖν answering the question, "necessity for what?"

καὶ μὴ ἐγκακεῖν and not get discouraged. ἐγκακεῖν is the present active infinitive of ἐγκακέω "become discouraged," and is another complementary infinitive exactly in like with the above.

Here Luke lays out the meaning of the parable before he records Jesus' actual words.


LUKE 18:2

2 λέγων, Κριτής τις ἦν ἔν τινι πόλει τὸν θεὸν μὴ ϕοβούμενος καὶ ἄνθρωπον μὴ ἐντρεπόμενος.

2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.

λέγων, Κριτής τις ἦν ἔν τινι πόλει He said, "In a certain city there was a judge, τις and τινι bring us the unspecified "a certain...a certain." This is a story, and these details are unimportant. What is important is brought forward in the following clauses.

τὸν θεὸν μὴ ϕοβούμενος καὶ ἄνθρωπον μὴ ἐντρεπόμενος who did not fear God and did not respect man. Notice how τὸν θεὸν and ἄνθρωπον are brought forward for emphasis. This is a "neither...nor" statement. The article can serve both in the parallel structure, or the generic terms can stand one articularized and one anarthrous (God, nor "any" man); the meaning does not change. To fear (ϕοβούμενος, pr. midd. ptc.) is to honor and revere God in a believer, but in the case of this crass unbeliever it includes the terror and trembling over death, hell and torment that was absent from this undeserving judge. ἐντρεπόμενος is a passive participle of ἐντρέπω, which in the passive means "respect, regard" in addition to "be ashamed." Jesus doesn't condone such a man as judge, he merely described a scene where even as undesirable a man as this is in a position of authority, and we need to remember Romans 13, where we are commanded by God to respect the authorities who are over us, even when we have no respect or admiration for them.


LUKE 18:3

3 χήρα δὲ ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα, ᾽Εκδίκησόν με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου μου.

3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him saying, "Give me justice against my adversary."

χήρα δὲ ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ There was a widow in that city, The use of ἐκείνῃ seems to underscore the anonymity of the "definite" location. The care of widows (χήρα) was very much on the minds of the early church. Beside the places in Scripture like 1 Tim. 5:4-9, see also 1 Clem. 8:4; ISmyr 6:2; 13:1; IPol 4:1; Polycarp 4:3; 6:1; Barnabas 20:2; and throughout Hermas (Hv 2,4,3; Hm 8,10; Hs 1,8; 5,3,7) especially in the great chapter of Hermas: Hs 9,26,2 and 9,27,2.

καὶ ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα, and she kept coming to him saying, The imperfect ἤρχετο indicates continuous, repeated action in the narrative. This was clearly something she was doing over and over again -- something we should be unabashed about in our prayers.

᾽Εκδίκησόν με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου μου. "Give me justice against my adversary." ᾽Εκδίκησόν (aorist imperative ἐκδικέω) means "to get justice, judge, avenge." Here she wants it specifically against her legal adversary, which is the basic meaning of ἀντίδικος. The ἀντίδικος was the either the prosecuting attorney (for the plaintiff) who argued against you, or, if you were plaintiff, he was the ἀντίδικος for the defense. Either way, he was your opponent in court. It is more than a curiosity that the Jews began using this term as a loanword, אַנְטִידִיקוֹס (Theol. Dict. of the New Testament, Vol. I, p. 373)? The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (Aram. סְטַן) had been serving just fine, but as it came to be used as the name of our spiritual accuser, the Satan, the Jews began to see it as a proper name and moved to the Greek loanword אַנְטִידִיקוֹס, which is just ἀντίδικος in Hebrew letters. We don't need to drag the devil into this parable, but we must also acknowledge that there is never a reason why we CAN'T insert the devil into this role in any of the troubles for which we pray and pray and pray to God. The devil should mentioned as often in our daily prayers as the word "evil" (Jesus said "evil One" originally) occurs in the Lord's Prayer. Let him be part of our daily requests for deliverance.

Lord God, help me turn from my sin, and get the devil off my back. Help me to lose weight, and keep the devil out of my fridge. Lord, help me to get hold of my temper, and stop the devil from lighting a fuse under me.


LUKE 18:4-5

4 καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν ἐπὶ χρόνον, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, Εἰ καὶ τὸν θεὸν οὐ ϕοβοῦμαι οὐδὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐντρέπομαι, 5 διά γε τὸ παρέχειν μοι κόπον τὴν χήραν ταύτην ἐκδικήσω αὐτήν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς τέλος ἐρχομένη ὑπωπιάζῃ με.

4 For some time he was unwilling, but after this he said to himself, "Even though I don't respect God and don't respect men, 5 yet since this widow bothers me, I will give her justice, so that she will not wear me out in the end by her coming."

καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν ἐπὶ χρόνον, For some time he was unwilling, ἐπί with the accusative of time extends the action over a longer period (BAG ἐπί 2b). ἤθελεν imf act ind ἐθέλω "wish, be willing." The imperfect is durative, extending the time of the action (Robertson, Shorter Grammar p. 300-301).

μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, Εἰ καὶ τὸν θεὸν οὐ ϕοβοῦμαι οὐδὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐντρέπομαι, but after this he said to himself, "Even though I don't respect God and don't respect men, The construction εἰ καὶ causes the statement to be one of indifference (Robertson, Large Grammar p. 1026f). The judge restates what we already know, but he himself doesn't disagree. He knows what he is. This point is evident but not relevant to the meaning of the parable.

διά γε τὸ παρέχειν μοι κόπον τὴν χήραν ταύτην ἐκδικήσω αὐτήν, yet since this widow bothers me, I will give her justice, διά with the accusative means "on account of." Another articularized infinitive gives the woman's actions as a thing unto themselves: τὸ παρέχειν "her causing (κόπον "trouble") for me (μοι)." Her troublemaking. He sees her pleas for justice as nothing but κόπον, "suffering." The judge is so corrupt that he wants people to keep their troubles to themselves and just pay him to do nothing at all. His only recourse to stopping "his" suffering is to give her the ἐκδικήσω for which she asks.

ἵνα μὴ εἰς τέλος ἐρχομένη ὑπωπιάζῃ με. so that she will not wear me out in the end by her coming." Here ἵνα is non-final, expressing purpose or intended result. εἰς τέλος is an idiom meaning "to the end," "in the end," or "finally." Cp. 2 Clement 19:3, "...so that we can be saved in the end." ὑπωπιάζῃ (pr. act. subjunctive, with ἵνα) means "to give a black eye; annoy."


LUKE 18:6

6 Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος, ᾽Ακούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει·

6 Then the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says."

Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος, ᾽Ακούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει· Then the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says." ᾽Ακούσατε aor imv, "listen!" Jesus doesn't want us to think about anything in the parable for a moment except what the guy actually said, and judge for ourselves how we should feel about prayer based on this righteous widow's persistent petitions to this deadbeat judge.


LUKE 18:7

7 ὁ δὲ θεὸς οὐ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ τῶν βοώντων αὐτῷ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς;

7 now, won't God do justice for His elect who cry out to him day and night, and will he be slow to help them?

ὁ δὲ θεὸς οὐ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ now, won't God do justice for His elect...? οὐ μὴ together like this anticipate a "yes" answer. If there was a question about what kind of ἐκδίκησιν "justice" the widow expected, arm-wrestling it out of a yawning judge who couldn't tear his eyes off the ball game long enough to do his job, then what kind of ἐκδίκησιν "justice" should we anticipate from Almighty God? The judge might give what's fair because he wanted to shut her up, but God? God will not only give what it fair, but what is completely unfair, because he loves us and does whatever must be done to bring the gospel of forgiveness into our hearts. He does this because he called us to faith and we are his -- that is what the pronoun with τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ "his elect" is so crucial. We are the one he himself called; he knew about our faith before hand, before the beginning of the world. And so he keeps on calling, shouting into the think crowds so that he might rescue us.

τῶν βοώντων αὐτῷ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, who cry out to him day and night, We his elect are also the ones who βοώντων (pr act ptc, "cry out") to him.

καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς; and will he be slow to help them? This is an unusual use of μακροθυμεῖ "be patient." Here Jesus uses it to mean "delay, be slow." The force of the question begun above with ἵνα and the aorist subjunctive continues here with a mere present indicative, but the interrogative spell has not yet been broken, not until...


LUKE 18:8

8 λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει. πλὴν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν ἆρα εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς;

8 I tell you that he will do justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει. I tell you that he will do justice for them quickly. Jesus' phrase λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι "I tell you that..." grabs our attention. The Lord is telling us the point now. ἐν τάχει is a dative prep. phrase (τάχoς, "speed") meaning "quickly," the dative of manner acting as an adverb. The Lord's "quick" may not be what we expect, but we should know that when the Lord thinks a think should take place, it will take place and not delay (Habakkuk 2:3; Hebrews 10:37).

πλὴν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν However, when the Son of Man comes, In the New Testament, πλὴν "However" is uncommon outside Luke, with just a few instances in Matthew, Paul and once in Revelation. The participle ἐλθὼν is circumstantial temporal. Jesus' adoptive name for himself ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου is affectionately lifted from Ezekiel, and emphasizes both his humanity and divinity, and reminds us that Christ's human nature has been taken up by the divine and does not cease to exist. The one who comes again on the Last Day will not be God the Son with his flesh cast aside, but the same ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, Mary's son, as well as God's Son, in the same perfect eternal Deity.

ἆρα εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; will He find faith on the earth?" ἆρα generally expects a "no" answer, but here it is illative. Buhls ("Notes on the Gospel of Luke") calls this last sentence "searching Law" (p. 49). The characteristic of the world in the Last Days will not be a swarming mass of the faithful, but a huddled remnant about to be destroyed but saved by the mercy of God. This is also the idea expressed by the strange concluding verses of Daniel, where terrible things come to the world in the end for "1,290 days," a figurative number given in a vision, but with a blessing promised to the one who waits for and reaches "1,335 days" (45 days, a month and a half) later -- another figurative expression. The terrors of the end times will not go on forever. God will put them to a halt, and even though he finds little τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς "faith on the earth," he will bring about the end for the sake of his elect, and the doorway of the Last Judgment will swing wide open, and we will be called from our graves and from wherever our earthly remains are scattered and will be brought home to heaven with the Son of Man forever.

Notes:

     * Specific Law: Doubting whether or not we should bother to pray.

     * Specific Gospel: God certainly hears and answers our prayers.

Telic note (text color):

     1. "Always pray and not give up"

     2. "He will see that they get justice"

** Since the marks of the true church are wherever believers are gathered in Jesus' name around God's Word and the sacraments, we must remember that the "in Jesus' name" portion implies that Christians gather together for prayer as well as hearing the word and receiving the sacrament. We could make a wider application about corporate worship, but the limits of the Chapel Devotion time frame make this secondary application something for another time and for a more explicit text.