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Don’t Give Up

January 15, 2023

Luke 18:1-8

1Then 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?”

Read Luke 18:1

  1. This parable is a little unique in that Luke provides the meaning, interpretation, and intent of the parable up front. Based only on verse 1, what two things do expect this parable to teach you?
  2. For you personally, how well are you currently putting those two things into practice?

Read Luke 18:2-5

  1. Describe the two primary characters in this parable. How are they alike? How are they different?
  2. Jesus keeps this parable hypothetical. He does not name a specific town or judge. He also steers clear of the legal details about the widow’s complaint. Why do you think Jesus chooses not to include details such as these in his parable?
  3. What power or leverage does the widow have in this story?
  4. Does verse 5 suggest that prayer is the process by which we wear God down and eventually get him to comply with our wishes? Why or why not?

Read Luke 15:6-8

  1. These verses are built on the assumption that God is different than the judge in the parable. In what ways is God different than the judge? What passages in scripture can you come up with that support your claims?
  2. How does the final sentence in verse 8 relate to the rest of the parable?