God’s way of justice is quite different from the expectations of the world.
Luke 18:1-8
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”
4 ‘For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’
6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’
Imagine you are in court because someone has stolen from you, you are pleading with the judge to rule in your favour and find the person guilty. The first couple of times you are in court the judge doesn’t rule in your favour but eventually he does. But he hasn’t rule in your favour because of the evidence against the person, instead it is because of your persistence in asking for justice and because the judge is worried you might come and take justice into your own hands. This probably isn’t how things would work in Australia now days. If someone had stolen from you, you would go to the police and have them charge the person and take them to court. But in the time of Jesus things happened differently. If someone had wronged you, it was your responsibility to take them to court. In the case that Jesus tells a parable about, the judge wasn’t someone who cared what others thought nor feared God and as such Jesus calls him an unjust judge. But even this unjust judge eventually granted the widow justice.
How much more will God bring justice? The God who is loving and kind, slow to anger and full of grace. And he already has! Justice came in the form of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s not what we would have seen as justice. Justice really would have been for us to pay for our sins, but instead Jesus paid the price for them. He took our sins to the cross. This was and is the justice all peoples on earth have been waiting for.
And then Jesus ends this story with the words: Will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he returns? What a question to leave us hanging with? What do you think your answer to this question is? Take some time to actually think about this question. Do you have faith in the God who has provided justice for us all through Jesus?
Head: What was Jesus’ purpose for telling this parable was? Hint we are told in verse 1.
Heart: God wants us to call out to him for mercy and justice. He delights in listening to his people. How are you going at calling out to him in prayer this week? Are you pouring your heart out to him expecting that he will listen to you?
Hands: How can you share God’s love and justice with others today so that they can also have faith in God?
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thanks that you are a God who provides justice but not in the way we expected it. Thanks that you sent your son to take our sins upon him on the cross, to die and rise again so that we can be brought back into relationship with you. Thanks that you love to listen to us, and you want to shower us in your love, grace and mercy. Please help us to hold out your love and justice to others so that they might turn to you in faith. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
A song to listen to: Mercy Mercy
Emily Andrews
Living Church – City South
