03 May 2024
The Parable of the Widow and Judge is found in Luke 18:1-8.
In this case, Jesus used a traditional image depicting the feudal society of the Ancient Near East. Bailey notes that the apocryphal Wisdom of Ben Sirach (AKA Ecclesiasticus), included in the canon for Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics, features this imagery. When widows and orphans cry to God, He will answer. The similarities are quite obvious.
The format of the parable is a back and forth drama between the judge and the widow. The judge was wholly without honor or shame. The widow came calling for justice. He couldn't be bothered at first, but her persistence wore on his nerves. Though he had no fear of God nor the community, he would grant the widow's request just to get rid of her. The point Jesus makes is that God is by no means an unjust judge.
Bailey points out that Jesus' version holds a far higher moral standard than that of Ben Sirach, as the latter is typical of Jewish nationalism. Jesus is making a point about faith, trusting in God to act according to His revelation.
All of that would have made a short chapter, but the analysis continues. In the Middle East, appealing to someone on the basis of God's agenda or the community are the two primary paths one has in addressing someone with authority. The only reason the widow approached him was because she had no covering, no male relative to stand up for her. A judge was technically her "next of kin" in the mythology of the Ancient Near East.
The honor code of Ancient Near Eastern societies is still alive. Women can go about the family business in public without much fear of threat, even when men would be targets. Middle Eastern militias would simply tolerate the harassment from an old woman when they would shoot any man who so much as looked at them the wrong way. This is why the women in Jesus' entourage could safely follow Him to the Cross, while the male disciples hid out. Even so, a widow can get away with harassing a judge, but a man would be forcibly ejected for the same behavior.
Thus, Jesus points out that, when we pray, we do not come into the presence of a judge who could be bribed or unconcerned about our fate. He is our loving Father, the nearest kin we have. A literal rendering of Luke's Greek says that God pushes His anger (at our sins) far away from Himself when His own come before Him. Otherwise, He would not hear our cries.
The final comment from Jesus is more of a wistful question. When He finally rises to His throne, will He find any faith, any real commitment to His reign?
Comments
Jay DiNitto
Thankfully, I never hear the argument that Christianity is anti-woman very often, but I have heard it. It's as much anti-woman as it is anti-man, which is to say, really neither.
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