The Parables of Christ # 8 Be Ready When He Comes

                                        BE READY WHEN HE COMES

            In recent years, there has been heightened alertness and renewed interest in the end times. We Christians frantically connect natural catastrophes and certain global events to the end-time prophecies in the Bible. “U.S. politics continue to be a chaotic subject, and a new poll finds that most Americans are rapidly losing faith in their country’s leaders. Over seven in 10 people say no one they trust will save them from an end-of-the-world event.”[1]

            “Nearly four in ten Americans say we’re “living in the end times,” says a poll taken against a stark backdrop of climate change, the pandemic, nuclear brinkmanship, and doomsday cults. A Pew Research Center survey of more than 10,000 adults, conducted in April of 2022, found that 39 percent called these the “end times,” while 58 percent were assured that humanity was not moving swiftly towards catastrophe.”[2] Many have predicted when the world will end.

            But none of those predictions have come true. For followers of Christ, wars and catastrophic events shouldn’t frighten us. We can face them confidently because our Lord Jesus Christ forewarned us and gave us signs that would signal the end times. Today’s scripture passage of the parable of the ten virgins will help us address these crucial questions of when the end of the world occurs and when Jesus will return to the earth. Given His glorious second coming; how are we to Be Ready When He Comes? Matthew 25:1-13.

            The discourse on the end of the age began when Jesus left the temple and was walking away. His disciples drew his attention to its buildings. He said, “Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down. The disciples asked him privately, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:1-3). He gave them not one but several signs to alert them about His second coming to the earth.

I. The Final Sign of Jesus’ Second Coming to the Earth

            In front of our eyes, the end-time signs of famines, earthquakes, wars, increased wickedness, and people turning away from the faith are happening. Like the birth pains of a woman, they will only increase. The final sign is yet to happen: the sign of the Son Of Man’s (Jesus Christ) appearance in heaven. Matt 24:30. Let’s imagine what that might look like.

            When Jesus first came to the earth, he entered as a helpless baby. His birth was a relatively obscure event in the little town of Bethlehem. Apart from the vast numbers of angels, it was first witnessed by Mary and Joseph, his parents, and a few shepherds.             But Jesus’ second coming will not be a small event. It will be a glorious return that will impact people of all nations. The whole world will see it. All major and minor news networks will cover this spectacular event. This was how the prophet Daniel predicted His coming. Daniel 7:13-14.

            “In my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Jesus will fulfill this prophecy on his return.

            Jesus explained how his return would be witnessed by many. Matthew 24:30, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” These two prophecies will help us understand that Jesus will come as a King with the power to establish his Kingdom and judge all nations with authority.

            No one can predict the date of his return. All Christ said about his return was, “That day or hour, no one knows.” He told the parable of the Ten Virgins to prepare his disciples for his imminent yet unexpected return.

II. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-31)  

            This parable affirms the intimate relationship of God as a husband with his people, Israel, in the OT and the relationship of Jesus with his bride, the Church. Isaiah 54:5, “For your Maker is your husband the Lord Almighty is his name the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” The gospels depict Christ as the bridegroom. (Jn 3:27-30, Matt 9:15, Mk 2:19-20). The apostle Paul compares the Church to the bride of Christ (Eph 5:25-32).

            In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, D.A. Carson describes the setting of the parable as a first-century Jewish wedding: “Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a procession through the streets after nightfall to his home. The ten virgins may be bridesmaids assisting the bride; they expect to meet the groom as he comes from the bride’s house. Everyone in the procession was expected to carry their torch.” [3] (Show the slide and the Lantern).

            In the parable, we see a bridegroom and ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. They all went to meet the bridegroom, who was delayed in coming. As they awaited his arrival, they fell off to sleep. The bridegroom’s arrival was announced at the least expected hour. The five wise virgins with extra oil were ready to meet the bridegroom.

            The foolish ones pleaded with the wise to give them some oil. They were sent away. As they were on the way to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later, the others also came, saying, Lord, open the door for us! But he replied, I don’t know you.” Then Jesus made this profound statement, “Therefore keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13).

III. Be Ready When He Comes.

            What is the significance of the parable of the ten virgins for us today? The bridegroom in the parable represents Jesus Christ. The ten virgins represent the believers or the Church. The five wise virgins with the extra oil represent the truly born-again believers full of the Holy Spirit. In the scriptures, the oil often represents the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 1:9, Psalm 45:6-7, Gal 5:22).

            The five foolish virgins without the oil represent false believers. As Timothy would say, “They have a form of godliness but deny its power.” II Tim 3:5. They are not full of the Holy Spirit. They want to enjoy the benefits of being in a Christian community but do not want to follow Christ and prepare themselves for  His imminent yet unexpected return to the earth.

            The central theme of the parable is that Christ will come back at an unexpected hour and that His people must be ready whenever that happens. What does it mean to be ready when He comes? First and foremost, being prepared begins with surrendering our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which means not simply saying Lord, Lord, but knowing and doing His will.

            How do we know what Christ’s will is for our lives? The apostle Paul, in Rom 12:1-2, urges us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God and not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by renewing our minds. Then, we can know and do God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives.

 

            What would being ready practically mean? It does not mean we keep gazing into the skies 24/7, wondering when Jesus would return. It means fixing our eyes on our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us to make us holy, cleansing us by washing us with water through the word. He will return to take us as his bride without stain wrinkle, but holy and blameless. (Eph 4:25-27). Being ready means keeping our hearts filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit and abiding in Christ. (Read Eph 5:15-20). Will you be found ready when He comes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

           

 

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[1] Chris Melore, “American Apocalypse? 71% Don’t Trust U.S. Government To Prevent Doomsday,” (10-5-23)

[2] James Reinl, “The End Is Nigh! 4 in 10 Adults Say We're Living in The End Times,” Daily Mail (12-9-22)

[3] https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-ten-virgins.html 8-21-2024

 

The Parables of Christ # 7 When The Nations Gather Before The Throne

                       When The Nations Gather Before The Throne

 

            According to a World Bank Report, Of the world’s 736 million extremely poor in 2015, 368 million lived in 5 countries. The five countries with the highest number of extremely poor are (in descending order) India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. They are the most populous countries of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which account for 85 percent (629 million) of the world’s poor.[1] 

            Those of us living in the US, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, may not understand the world’s poverty and hunger. Having lived in India, I have seen abject poverty and people suffering from hunger. In their recent trip to the Dominican Republic, our young people have observed first-hand how many people live in poverty and go to bed hungry each night.

            The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip into a wasteland of poverty and hunger. A news report notes, “A mother of seven finds herself begging for food on the mud-caked streets of Rafah in Southern Gaza. She tries to feed her kids at least once a day, she says, while tending to her husband, a cancer and diabetes patient. Parents go hungry so that they can feed their children. Many Palestinians in northern Gaza have resorted to grinding animal feed into flour to stave off hunger.”

            What should Christians respond to when we watch or hear such heart-breaking news? Some might quickly jump to social action. Others might say we should care more about the soul’s salvation, so we must preach the gospel. Should we believers only preach the gospel? Or can we also render physical and material help to those in need? Or should we do both? Today’s parable of The Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46 will help us find the balance.

            In our series of the Parables of Christ, this parable has eternal consequences for the listener at the end of time. Jesus shared this parable in anticipation of his second coming and the subsequent establishment of His Kingdom on the earth. The setting of this parable is Heaven.

 

I. The Heavenly Court

            Matthew 25:31, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.” The parable opens up with, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him.” The Son of Man is a title Jesus used for himself, Jesus. “When He comes in, his glory with his angles,” suggests his second glorious return.

            Imagine yourself at the end of your journey on this earth; you were taken into the heavenly court, standing before the righteous judge Christ himself. You were speechless seeing Him seated on His glorious throne. As you observe, all the nations of the earth are also being gathered around the throne. What Happened when the nations gathered around the throne?

            Jesus separated people one from the other as a shepherd would separate the sheep from the goats. He keeps the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Before we go further, we must address a potential misinterpretation of this parable. Given our country’s current enthusiasm for politics, when we read “the right and the left,” we might quickly conclude Republicans and Democrats. This parable has nothing to do with our two political parties.

           

 

            Jesus used the sheep and goats analogy not to show one is better than the other but to highlight the vast differences between these two animals, which parallels the differences between the righteous and the wicked—Christ’s followers and non-believers. For a non-shepherd, the sheep and goats may look the same outwardly; a true shepherd has a keen eye to observe the innate differences based on their nature and personality. In the heavenly court, the prosecutor, the defense, the jury, and the judge are Jesus Christ, and the person being tried is you and me.

 

II The Random Acts Of Love and Compassion (Vs. 34-40)

            In verse 34, we read that the King begins the case by pronouncing the final Judgment on those on the right. He said, Come, you who my Father blesses; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Then he goes on to explain why.

            “I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was homeless, and you gave me a room. I was shivering, and you gave me clothes. I was sick, and you stopped to visit. I was in prison, and you came to me.”(The Message).

            The righteous must have been unexpectedly joyful by this royal welcome to inherit the Kingdom. Perhaps, to clear their doubt, they asked, “Lord, when did we see you going through all that and help you? Then the King replied, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” What is going on in these verses?

            Who were the least of these brothers and sisters that Jesus referred to? They could be the literal poor and people in need in the world or his disciples, those who were poor and struggling. Jesus wants us to be kind to the poor, the broken, the hurting, and the incarcerated.

            Prov 19:17, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Matthew 6:3-4, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

            Hebrews 13:3, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Jesus treats whatever we do to the poor and the needy as we have done unto Him and rewards us with His Kingdom on the final day of Judgment. The righteous have cultivated a lifestyle of random acts of love and compassion. Ultimately, that kind of right living earned them rich rewards.

 

III. The Disguised Jesus (41-46)

            After hearing the rousing welcome and royal treatment of those on the right, those on the left may have expected a similar treatment. Instead, the King delivered this harsh  Judgment, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angles.” Then he gave reasons why. “I was hungry, and you gave me no meal. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was homeless, and you gave me no bed. I was shivering, and you gave me no clothes. I was sick and in prison, and you never visited.”(The Message).

            Those on the left must have been shocked, but they, too, asked the same way those on the right did. They got a similar answer from the King, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Those on the left are the unrighteous, or at times, the Bible refers to them as wicked. They are only concerned about themselves.

            They ignore the cries for help from the poor. This is how God deals with them. Proverbs 21:13,“Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.”

            Proverbs 14:31: Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” The unrighteous failed to see that Jesus could come in disguise in the form of the poor, widows, orphans, homeless, strangers, and incarcerated.

            They missed the opportunities to help them in their time of need. Ultimately, that banished them away from God in Hell. How could a loving God send some to Heaven and others to hell, you may wonder?

            God is a loving God. He does not want anyone, including the wicked, to perish in hell, so he warns them to turn from their evil ways. (Eze 33:11) But He is also righteous judge, so in his final Judgment He sends the righteous to Heaven and the Wicked to hell, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels. When you face the great white throne, which side will you be on? On the right or the left? That depends on what you do or don’t do for the Lord here on the earth.

 

           

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[1] https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5-countries#:~:text=The%205%20countries%20with%20the%20highest%20number,that%20together%20account%20for%2085%20percent%20(629

The Parables of Christ # 6 Counting the Cost

                                          COUNTING THE COST

            Here is a true story of an Ethiopian Jew Seeking the Right Messiah. Obediah hated Christians for the way they treated his family. In their Ethiopian Jewish community, they were utterly rejected by their Orthodox Christian neighbors. The neighbors called them Falasha, which means foreigners or strangers. Because they were Jewish, besides verbal abuse, they were mistreated, and his older brother was beaten several times. They wanted to immigrate to Israel.

            In 1991, the Israeli government flew in their family and more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews on a crowded military transport family. Obediah recalled, "We just celebrated all night. It was a dream come true." Twelve-year-old Obediah was sent to a yeshiva, a traditional Jewish school, to study religious texts. He was discriminated against this time, and it was based on his skin color.

            Disillusioned, Obediah was transferred to another school and completed three years of military service. As the life he had dreamed of failed to materialize, he turned away from God. "something inside me was empty," he said. "I became alcohol addicted, and I lost my way at that time." The turning point came when he saw an advertisement that asked, "Why don't you read Isaiah 53 in the synagogue?" Obediah had wondered as well.

            Christians believe that Isaiah 53, which describes the "suffering servant," points directly to Christ as the Messiah. But Obediah said, "Jews call it the "forbidden chapter, and entirely skip over it. That quest led Obediah to find the right Messiah. After completing Bible college, he started a church to help Ethiopian Jews to learn about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. While some were open to his message, Ultra-Orthodox Ethiopian Jews threatened to kill Obediah. The civil unrest and violence occurring in and around Israel have caused widespread fear and hopelessness in Obediah's community. However, it has also provided opportunities to share the Gospel.[1]

             Despite the opposition and threats to his life, Obediah continued to preach the Gospel. Not only Obediah but many around the world are experiencing persecution. "Since 2000, 62,000 Christians in Nigeria have been murdered by Islamist jihadist groups including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militias."[2] In May this year, three missionaries, Davy and Natalie Lloyd and Jude Montis, who worked for Missions in Haiti, were killed in Port-au-Prince. Were the three missionaries in Haiti lacking faith? Or those Christians in Nigeria were they killed due to their sin? How can we make sense of these killings?

            Paul writes to Timothy that persecution is a normal part of Christian life. II Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." The question of counting the Cost of Discipleship is one that Jesus Christ repeatedly addressed in his ministry. In Luke 14:25-34 Jesus discusses how to Count the Cost of Christian Discipleship.

I. Counting the cost begins by making Jesus the number one priority in our lives.

            Luke describes various events on Jesus' journey to Jerusalem in chapters 9:51-19:44. Along the way, Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure. In Luke 14:25-34, he shifted his focus from his disciples to the crowds. We must pay attention to this significant shift. Some think that Christ's hard teachings are reserved for pastors and other committed disciples. The way Jesus addressed the crowds indicates that they are meant for anyone who wants to follow Him.

            Vs. 25-27, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

            Is Jesus advocating in these verses that we all must hate everyone, including our own lives? Hating our family members sounds like a very hard declaration from Jesus, so how do we understand these verses?

            Unlike our English words for "love" and "hate," in Hebrew and Greek, these words are often used not to refer to an emotion but to a commitment, to speak of a person to whom one was more or less loyal. In other contexts, these words can mean choose or not to choose, as in the famous statement in Malachi 1:2-3, "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated."[3]

            We can sigh in relief; we don't have to take the English word "hate" literally and begin to hate everybody, including our lives, to become Jesus' disciples. The implied message Jesus wanted us to know is that we love and choose him over others. Counting the cost begins by making Jesus the number one priority in our lives. Example: Saying no to my mother.

            Jesus said, in  Vs. 27, "And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Another aspect of counting the cost involves carrying their crosses and following Jesus. For modern Christians, wearing a cross becomes a fashion symbol. We trivialize cross-carrying by saying our mothers-in-law are the crosses we have to bear.

            When a person carried a cross in Jesus' day, no one thought of it as a persistent annoyance or symbolic burden. The cross meant one thing only: death by crucifixion. The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion. Bearing a cross meant one was about to die and that one would face ridicule and disgrace along the way.

            Most Christians in any era of church history have not been called to literal martyrdom. But if it ever comes to that, we must be ready to accept martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel. Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us a list of people who faced growing persecution and possible martyrdom as a key test of their genuine faith in God. I wonder how many American Christians would pass the test when real persecution is unleashed upon us. Verses 28-32 Jesus shared two short parables, one of which is of a tower builder and another of a king going to war.

 

II. The Parable of a Tower Builder (Vs28-30)

            Jesus shared wisdom through this illustration of the importance of calculating the cost before embarking on a building project, so as not to leave the building unfinished and subject to public ridicule. How does counting the cost beforehand apply to Christian Discipleship?

            Is Jesus saying that unless we know everything that God will ever ask of us beforehand and agree to it, only then will we become his faithful disciples? No! We can not know all the troubles we might face in advance regarding following Jesus. However, we must realize the amount that commitment could cost. We are willing to surrender everything to Jesus, including our very lives. If we are not, then we are not making Jesus the Lord of all our lives.

III. The Parable of a King Going To War ( Vs. 1:32)

            Again, the critical point in this parable is to count the cost. In the parable of the tower builder, the lack of completion of the building could lead to public humiliation. In the parable of a king going to war, a bad judgment can lead to total loss of lives. In verse 32, where the king sent a delegation to ask for peace terms, how do we understand? It may sound like negotiation for modern listeners, but in Jesus' days, these were expressions of unconditional surrender."[4]

            What is the overarching principle in these two parables regarding counting the cost? Vs. 33. In the same way, those of you who do not give up  everything  you have can not be my disciple." 

            Jesus is not saying to us, as He told the Rich young ruler, to sell everything and give it to the poor and follow Him. (Matthew 19:16-22). However, He is calling us to surrender our lives unconditionally. We will say to Jesus, Lord, I will follow you with all my heart, soul, and strength. No matter what happens, I will fix my eyes on you and follow you throughout my life. Hebrews 12:2-3.

 

 

 

 

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[1] The Voice of the Martyrs August 2024 Vol.58 No.8 Pages 8-11

[2] https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/nigeria-s-silent-slaughter-62-000-christians-murdered-since-2000#:~:text=Since%202000%2C%2062%2C000%20Christians%20in,ISWAP)%2C%20and%20Fulani%20militias.

[3] Carig L. Blomberg, “Preaching the Parables.” Page: 183

[4] Carig L. Blomberg, “Preaching the Parables.” Page: 184

The Parables of Christ # 5 Pray And Persevere

                                                PRAY AND PERSEVERE

            In 1986, an 18-year-old white woman named Ronda Morrison was murdered in downtown Monroeville, Alabama. The crime sent shock waves of fear and anger through the small community. Police could not solve the crime. After six months with no leads or suspects, their attention focused on Walter McMillian, a 45-year-old black man. He was a self-employed logger who had worked for many people throughout the community and had no criminal history.

            Police pressured a white man accused of crimes in another county and ultimately made him give false statements accusing McMillian of murdering Ms. Morrison. This set off events that changed Mr. McMillian’s life forever. He was arrested by Monroe County Sheriff Tom Tate and eventually charged with capital murder. The sheriff arranged for Mr. McMillian to be placed on death row before his trial—when he hadn’t even been convicted of a crime.

            Mr. McMillian spent 15 harrowing and tortuous months on Alabama’s death row before trial. In postconviction, Equal Justice Initiative’s Bryan Stevenson took on the case, showing that the State’s witness had lied on the stand and that the prosecution had illegally suppressed exculpatory evidence. McMillian’s conviction was overturned by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in 1993, and prosecutors agreed that the case had been mishandled.

            The redemptive part of the story was that McMillan was released in March 1993 after spending six years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Due to the persevering advocacy of Bryan Stevenson, Justice was finally served for William McMillan.[1] William McMillan’s story is the contemporary version of the Parable that Jesus told his disciples to show them how to persevere in prayer and not give up. Luke 18:1-8. We can learn three lessons as we focus on the three main characters in the story: A Judge who does not fear God, a Persistent Widow, and God Himself.

I. A Judge Who Neither  Feared God Nor Cared about People.

            The context of this parable concerns the coming of the Kingdom. Jesus was answering a question from the Pharisees regarding when the Kingdom of God would come. He said the Kingdom of God cannot be detected visibly, but it is already within you. He explained the days before his return to establish God’s Kingdom on earth and then told his disciples a story.

            In Vs. 2, we read about a judge who neither feared God nor cared about people. The judge in the story represents the world’s, at times, broken judicial system. And also those who neither fear God nor care about people. God holds leaders and judges to a higher standard. Therefore, He dedicated a book in the Bible dealing with Judges’ judicial prudence or lack thereof.

            Here is God’s purpose for Judges and what He expects of them. Moses first appointed judges. He chose capable men from all of Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. (Ex18:25-26).         The primary role of Judges was to deliver Israel from their enemies. They were to lead people to obey and Worship God and turn away from their evil ways. God wanted his appointed judges to judge people fairly and impartially. When Jesus talked about the judge who lacked fear of God and was apathetic, the disciples may have recognized this warning of God to unjust Judges. Isaiah 10:1-3, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” Our contemporary leaders and judges everywhere must pay attention to God’s warning. He expects them to deal with people with grace. He deals with dictators who oppress and unjust judges who deprive Justice to the poor and innocent. The uncaring judge in our story was annoyed with a helpless widow, one of God’s beloved daughters.

II. PRAY AND PERSEVERE

            Luke tells one of the lessons of this parable right up at the beginning of the story in verse 1: Jesus encourages his disciples always to pray and never give up. If this parable illustrates that we must pray and persevere, we must pay careful attention to it. Unfortunately, less than half of American adults pray daily as church membership declines and the ranks of the religiously unaffiliated swell, according to a study published by the Pew Research Center.[2]

            In Vs. 3, we read about a distraught widow who repeatedly went to a lack of God-fearing and uncaring judge seeking Justice from her adversary. For some time, the judge refused the widow’s plea, but in the end, he decided to grant her Justice to stop her from bothering him.

            Being a widow in any age and culture is hard. If that widow is poor and helpless, her situation would be even more challenging. Deut 24:17-22 reads, “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of Justice or take the widow’s cloak as a pledge. When harvesting in your field, and you overlook a sheaf, do not return to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

            The persistent widow in the parable represents countless men, women, and children who have been victimized throughout the ages. They have become victims of social, economic, racial, and ethnic injustices both in and outside of the Church. How do we respond when we face adversaries and fight for Justice? What should we do when the courts and judges are not granting you the Justice you desperately seek? Persevering prayer is the hardest thing to do when answers to your prayers are delayed or denied. We tend to lose hope and give up prayer altogether. Such moments call for us to trust and rely on God regardless of whether our prayers are answered according to how we expect answers; we pray and persevere because our God is faithful.

III. The God Of Justice.

            After explaining how the unjust judge gave in to the persistent plea of the widow, Jesus turned the disciples’ focus to someone more powerful by saying, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring Justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get Justice and quickly.”

            These verses show us another aspect of God’s character: He is God of Justice who is deeply concerned about bringing Justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night. We often think of God as loving, gracious, kind, and merciful and seldom see God’s side of Justice.

The earthly judges may make wrong judgments, but God is always right in His judgment.

            Justice is rooted in God’s character and creation: “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). “The Lord is righteous, he loves justice” (Psalms 11:7). “The Maker of heaven and earth … upholds the cause of the oppressed and … loves the righteous” (Psalms 146:6–8). “The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice” (Isaiah 5:16). God’s character includes a zeal for Justice that leads him to love tenderly those who are socially powerless (Psalms 10:14-18).

            Remember, while answering the question of the Pharisees, when does the Kingdom of God come? He said, “ It is already among you.” This means God’s children who are part of that heavenly Kingdom must already exhibit those Kingdom qualities of righteousness and Justice. Biblical Justice is not always punishing the wrongdoer but also caring for the widows, orphans, the poor, the innocent, and foreigners. Justice is central in the scriptures and Jesus’ ministry.          What would the God of Justice require of His children? To act justly and, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. For that reason, we get involved in acts of compassion. We support our missions with our giving. We pray and work for the peace of our communities.

 

 

 

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[1] https://eji.org/cases/walter-mcmillian/

[2] https://www.christianpost.com/news/fewer-than-half-of-american-adults-pray-daily-study.html 8-2-2024