Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we come to a parable Jesus shared that is very challenging to reconcile if we take this parable out of its context, and especially if we leave off the opening verse of this event.

In this passage, Jesus shares exactly what He wants His followers to learn from the illustration He shares, and the only way this parable makes sense is if we look through the lens that Jesus gives us to help us understand it.

With that said, let’s read this parable and discover what Jesus wants to teach us through it. Our parable and passage are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.

I want to stop briefly and draw our attention onto this significant verse. Jesus is about to share an illustration meant for all of His followers that we should always pray and never lose hope. This is the lens we must look through when seeking to understand the parable Jesus is about to share, and this lens may be even more important for us living today than it was for Jesus’ disciples living in the first century.

Continuing in verse 2, Jesus continued saying:

² “In a certain town there was a judge who did not respect God or care about people. ³ In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge, saying, ‘Give me my rights against my enemy.’ ⁴ For a while the judge refused to help her. But afterwards, he thought to himself, ‘Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, ⁵ I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out.’”

⁶ The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge said. ⁷ God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. ⁸ I tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”

In this parable and the follow-up verses that Jesus shares about it, we discover that we are never to give up on praying and we are to never lose hope. This tells us that we should be like the widow in this parable.

Does this mean that God is then represented as an unfair judge who doesn’t care about anyone but himself? On the surface, it may appear so, but Jesus counters this idea in His follow-up statement in verse 7, “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.”

In this parable, we are challenged to continue bringing our requests to God day and night, God will always give His people what is right, and God will not be slow to answer them.

This brings up an interesting dilemma. When God gives us the answer of wait, or an answer that the time isn’t right yet, does this mean that He is slow to answer, or that we are being impatient?

When it seems as though God is silent, does that mean that God is really being silent or that the timing isn’t right?

In my own mind, I have to conclude that if I don’t clearly see an answer to prayer, then the actual answer is to wait and be patient, because God gives us answers quickly, and He will always give what is right to His people. God has a much bigger perspective than I can even imagine, and it is helpful to understand that God will answer our prayers most often from His perspective and not from ours.

However, if God appears silent and unresponsive to our cries for justice, does that then mean that He is like this unfair judge. Again, this might appear to be the case, however, I don’t think that the quantity of our prayers are enough to change God’s mind or God’s timing. I don’t believe that more prayers to God will wear Him down like these requests to the judge.

What if instead of the focus being on the judge, it is on the widow. What if the widow’s persistent requests actually drew her to the judge. While this sounds crazy in the context of this parable, the more we pray and the more earnestly we pray, the more we are drawn to God and the more we realize our ultimate dependence on Him.

I wholeheartedly believe that God does not withhold answers to prayers because He wants us to pray more. A good God who always gives what is right to His people would not display that type of attitude. However, God has a bigger perspective than we do and His perspective wants us with Him in heaven and sin to never return into a perfectly recreated universe.

This means that this parable, and the big message that Jesus shares in it, is applicable for everyone at every point in history, and especially for those living in the time of the end. This parable, and the challenge to continually persist in prayer never giving up hope, is Jesus’ challenge to us living near the end.

The prayer of God’s people when the world is wholeheartedly, unjustly, against them is the prayer of this widow. This widow’s prayer in verse 3 is simple: “Give me my rights against my enemy.”

This prayer is the prayer for God’s people living in the end times. When it appears as though God is silent and an unjust world has turned against us, never give up hope, never stop praying, and continually trust that God has a bigger perspective than we do and His perspective extends infinitely farther into the future than sin lasts, because God’s perspective extends into eternity!

Faith, hope, trust, and prayer draw our hearts to God, and even when times are bad, we can know and trust that God will always give what is right to His people, and that He will ultimately judge fairly all the unjustness we experienced in our lives in a sin-filled world.

As we come the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, continue to seek God first in your life and intentionally put your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Never give up hope and take everything to God in prayer because prayer opens our hearts, minds, and lives up to God and prayer lets the Holy Spirit into our lives!

Also, as you continue persisting in prayer, keep studying the Bible for yourself as well. Through prayer and Bible study, discover how to open your life to God, discover how His words and His promises never fail, and ultimately learn to see your life in the big picture of His story known as history. Our lives are best looked at through the lens of what Jesus did for us, and this lens is found in the Bible, specifically in the gospels we focus this podcast on!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue the theme of the past several podcast episodes looking at prophecies that were fulfilled while Jesus hung on the cross, and connection points between the Old Testament and Jesus’ ministry, let’s turn our attention onto a prophecy that Jesus fulfilled that some in our listening audience may have thought I missed. However, instead of focusing on this detail several episodes ago, I saved this connection point because the prophecy and description contained in this Old Testament psalm points to more than one aspect of Jesus’ time on the cross.

With this said, let’s read this psalm, and uncover what it can teach us about the time Jesus spent on the cross. Our passage is found in Psalm, number 22, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, the psalm opens with the words:

¹ My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
² O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.
³ Yet You are holy,
O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
⁴ In You our fathers trusted;
They trusted and You delivered them.
⁵ To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
A reproach of men and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
⁸ “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

⁹ Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ Upon You I was cast from birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
¹² Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
¹³ They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
¹⁸ They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.

Let’s stop reading here. While this psalm continues describing trials, struggles, and prayers to God, there are several verses of this psalm that foreshadow Jesus’ time on the cross, including a verse that describes what would happen to Jesus’ clothing. While it is possible that David had something like this happen to him, I would find it unlikely. The only way this verse about clothing makes sense is if David describes something he suspects happened when an enemy found a stash of his clothing while he was elsewhere.

However, in Jesus’ case, the gospel writers draw considerable attention onto this event. In Matthew’s gospel, we find clear references to several of the verses and ideas found within this psalm. In Matthew, chapter 27, starting in verse 33, Matthew writes:

³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ³⁴ they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. ³⁷ And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸ At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴² “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

In Matthew’s description of Jesus’ time on the cross, we discover several references to the psalm we just finished reading, as well as giving us a reminder of several of the prophecies we’ve already looked at over the past several podcast episodes.

Not only does Matthew’s gospel draw attention to the treatment of Jesus’ clothing while Jesus was hanging on the cross, Matthew also draws our attention onto some of the phrases that the religious leaders used to mock Him. In verses 42 and 43, Matthew tells us the chief priests who were present mock Jesus by saying: “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Let’s contrast that framing with a few verses within our psalm. In Psalm 22, David writes in verses 7 and 8 that: “All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

When reading how these religious leaders taunted Jesus while on the cross, it is amazing in my mind that they would pick the exact same concept that David wrote in the psalms. If these religious leaders were trying to avoid Jesus fulfilling prophecy, of all people, they should have known better, since they knew the Old Testament scriptures the best in that society.

However, a careful observer to how the psalm frames its verses with how Matthew frames the religious leaders’ words will note that there is a slight difference. In the verses in the psalm, David smoothes over the idea that God the Father delighted in the Messiah. It is in many ways assumed in what David wrote. We can also see this present in the times when God the Father speaks from heaven during Jesus’ ministry. Delight in Jesus would be one easy way of describing the words God the Father speaks.

However, in the religious leaders’ taunting of Jesus, they take the psalm’s words and make them conditional. They acknowledge Jesus’ trust in God, but then they take the phrase about rescue and frame it as conditional with the word “if”: “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him”. (v. 43)

In a subtle way, the religious leaders actually challenge God the Father in their accusation and taunting of Jesus. These religious leaders challenge God to rescue Jesus, and the only way this frame for taunting makes sense is if Satan were behind these words challenging God the Father regarding Jesus’ pain and death.

To round out the connection points in this psalm with Jesus’ time on the cross, we have the words the psalm opens by saying, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (v. 1)

These words are directly quoted by Jesus as He is nearing the end of His life. Matthew records these words Jesus cried out in verse 46: “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

While some might claim God the Father was being heartless or cruel while Jesus hung on the cross dying, the only reason God the Father didn’t call off the entire event was because of you and me. God loves you and I so much, and Jesus loves you and I so much, that no amount of pain, torture, or death would stop them from showing you their love while also making the way possible for your forgiveness and redemption.

The entire Godhead loves you. Jesus demonstrated that in the clearest way. It is now up to us what we will do with this great news!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and intentionally place your hope, trust, faith, and belief in Jesus. Lean on Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for your past sins and resolve today to move forward with God as a way of saying thank you to Jesus for what He accomplished on the cross.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Through prayer and Bible study, discover just how much God loves you and how badly Jesus wants you included in heaven.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!