Luke 18:7

My Notes

What Does Luke 18:7 Mean?

Jesus asks a rhetorical question at the conclusion of the parable of the persistent widow (v.1-8): shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? The widow pestered an unjust judge until he relented. Jesus's argument is from lesser to greater: if an unjust judge responds to persistence, how much more will a just God respond to his own chosen people?

His own elect — the emphasis is on relationship. These are not strangers petitioning a distant deity. They are God's chosen ones — his own. The intimacy of the relationship guarantees the response.

Which cry day and night unto him — the crying is continuous, persistent, unrelenting. Day and night — not occasional requests but sustained appeal. The elect are not casual in their asking. They cry — the word implies intensity, urgency, even desperation.

Though he bear long with them — the phrase has been interpreted two ways: (1) God is patient with the elect, bearing with their persistent crying, or (2) God delays his response, exercising long-suffering patience before acting. Either way, there is a gap between the crying and the avenging. The delay is real — but the vindication is certain.

Verse 8 follows with the answer: he will avenge them speedily. The speedily (en tachei) does not mean immediately but rather suddenly — when God acts, he acts swiftly and decisively. The delay is long. The action, when it comes, is swift.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does the comparison between an unjust judge and God reveal about the certainty of divine response?
• 2.How does knowing you are God's 'own elect' change the way you approach persistent prayer?
• 3.What prayer have you been tempted to give up on because the delay feels like denial?
• 4.How does the promise that God will act 'speedily' — suddenly, when the time comes — sustain you in the waiting?

Devotional

Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? The question expects a yes. If an unjust judge — a man with no fear of God and no regard for people — eventually responds to a persistent widow, how much more will a perfectly just God respond to his own chosen people who cry to him without ceasing?

His own elect. You are not a stranger knocking on the door of an indifferent bureaucracy. You are God's own — chosen, known, loved. The relationship is the guarantee. He does not ignore his own.

Which cry day and night. The crying is not casual. It is day and night — persistent, urgent, relentless. This is not the prayer you whisper once and forget. This is the prayer that keeps you awake, that you bring to God morning and evening, that you cannot stop praying because the need will not stop pressing.

Though he bear long with them. The delay is real. You have been crying, and it feels like nothing is happening. The gap between your prayer and God's action can feel unbearable. But the delay is not denial. Jesus is saying: the vindication is coming. When God acts, he acts suddenly and completely. The waiting is long. The answer, when it arrives, is swift.

Keep crying. Day and night. Not because God needs convincing — an unjust judge needs convincing. A loving Father needs only to be asked by his own. Your persistent prayer is not annoying him. It is the very thing Jesus told this parable to encourage: that you should always pray, and not faint.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture