The longing for justice is a deep longing of the human heart. And it’s when you’re most wronged that you most long for God to make things right. When you’re suffering without reason and nobody seems to care or even understand. Maybe that’s you right now. Do you ask God—do you pray—for his justice?
In the last talk I looked at a prayer for justice in the face of the wrongness and suffering of this world. As we live as God’s people, as we look forward to the coming of God’s future kingdom, when God will make all things right, when all will be revealed and seen, when the judge comes. But until he comes, there will be injustice and suffering. But God knows. God cares. And he wants us to pray to him for justice. As we trust him to make things right. In that context Jesus told the story about the vulnerable widow and the unjust judge, to teach his disciples to keep praying, not to give up looking for him to come and vindicate his suffering people, to bring justice to his righteous saints. And that lesson is vital for us.
But he ended with a question, didn’t he?
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8)
What does this faith look like? It looks like prayerful trust in God’s justice.
And then, straight away, Jesus tells another parable about prayer. That’s our parable for today, verses 9–14. It’s a parable that digs even deeper into God’s justice and forces us to ask more questions about ourselves and faith and justice
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt (Luke 18:9)
Because, of course, as we cry out to God for justice, we’re assuming something, aren’t we? We’re assuming we’re the good guys. We want God to bring justice because that means we’ll win, and the bad guys will get what’s coming to them. I want Jesus to return and give me what I deserve!
So Jesus tells this parable to make us ask: “Hold on. Are we the good guys?”
That feeling of moral superiority is a feature of every age. It was strong in Jesus’ time, and it’s just as strong in our world today. Whether it’s the conservatives, the champions of morality and family values. Or the new Puritans, those left-wing activists for the cause of the marginalised and the environment, with their sophisticated intersectional algebra. Or the even newer reactionaries, calling out the woke brigade, attacking the Harvard elites, restoring common sense to the world order. So many in our world are confident of their own righteousness, and they’re all looking down on everybody else.
Aren’t you glad that we’re not like that? At least we’re here as true Bible believers, aren’t we? We’re not like those stupid moralistic fools in our world.
Oh.
Jesus…
… told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt (Luke 18:9)
Which might sometimes, do you think, be you and me?
A sermon preached at Moore College Chapel, 3 June 2025.
