1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus’ message of the difficult times before His return may have left the disciples wondering what God was going to do during that time. Jesus encouraged them to pray and not lose heart. He told them a story of an unjust judge who didn’t fear God or respect man. A widow came to him seeking justice against someone who acted unjustly against her. Through her persistence, the judge eventually gave her justice, not because of the right motives but because he wanted to alleviate himself from the bother. If the unrighteous judge gave justice to the widow who had no relationship with him, how much more will the loving, merciful, righteous God give justice to Israel, His chosen people who belong to Him. While the passage speaks specifically about Israel, as believers, we are God’s children and share an even closer relationship with Him. We too can be confident that when we approach God with our needs, He will hear us and “give justice speedily”. Jesus ended with a poignant question, despite God’s disposition to us, when Jesus returns will He find people who have remained faithful to the end?
Jesus then addressed those who trusted in their own righteousness and treated others with contempt. The story is of two people who go to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. Immediately the people hearing the story would have thought of the Pharisee as more righteous than the tax collector. The Pharisee addressed God but compared himself to others. He thanked God but spent most of the time praising himself. The tax collector, however, could not even bring himself to look up to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Neither of the two could claim righteousness but only one of them admitted it. The Pharisee thought himself better than the tax collector and yet he should have followed the tax collector’s example of humility. Only the tax collector left with a right relationship with God because he recognised that he had nothing of merit in himself, he admitted he needed to rely entirely on God’s mercy. Jesus proclaimed that whoever exalts himself (proudly thinks they are more righteous than they are) will be humbled and brought low. But the one who humbly admits their lack of merit (not lack of worth) before God will be given mercy and lifted up to a right relationship with God. A good indicator of your own personal humility is in your comparisons with others. Do you find yourself thinking yourself righteous based on others’ apparent unrighteousness? Humility recognises that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and helps us to reach out to others with God’s love rather than look down on them. Who do you need to reach out to today?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Invest in Life: Ecclesiastes 11-12