Luke 18:6

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) The unjust judge.—Literally, the judge of injustice, as with the unjust steward in Luke 16:8, the usual adjective giving way to the stronger, more Hebraic idiom of the characterising genitive.

Benson Commentary

Luke 18:6-8. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith — “If the repeated, importunate cries of the afflicted do at length make an impression on the hearts even of men so wicked as to glory in their impiety, injustice, and barbarity, they will much more be regarded by God; most gracious, who is ever ready to bestow his choicest blessings, when he sees his creatures fit to receive them. Arguments of this kind, taken from the feeling goodness, or even from the imperfections of men, to illustrate the superior and infinite perfections of God, were often made use of by Jesus, and with great success, in working the conviction designed. Such appeals force their way directly into men’s hearts, bear down all opposition, and make a lasting impression.” And shall not God avenge his own elect, &c. — So the true disciples of Christ are continually termed in the New Testament, being chosen of God to be his peculiar people instead of the Jews, whom he rejected because they rejected Christ: who cry to him day and night —

A just description this of God’s real people; though he bear long with them — Though God may bear long with the wicked, and seem deaf to the cries which his people send up to his throne day and night for deliverance, the just view which he has of their affliction will, in due time, move him to punish severely their enemies. Though this was spoken, as has been intimated above, with a particular reference to the destruction of the Jews, described in the preceding prophecy, yet the sentiment expressed is applicable to all cases in which God’s people are oppressed by their enemies. I tell you, he will avenge them speedily — “Or rather, suddenly; for so εν ταχει may signify. Besides, Scripture and experience teach us, that in most cases punishment is not speedily executed against the evil works of evil men; but that when the divine patience ends, oftentimes destruction overtaketh the wicked as a whirlwind, and by its suddenness becomes the more heavy.” To understand the passage thus, “removes the seeming opposition between this clause and the end of the precedent verse, the reconciling of which has given rise to several strained criticisms, and probably to the various readings found there; not to mention, that it agrees exactly with the subject in hand, the destruction of the Jewish nation having been represented by our Lord in this very discourse, as what would be exceeding sudden and heavy. See Luke 17:24.” — Macknight. Thus also Dr. Doddridge: “It is plain God might wait long, and yet at length execute a speedy and sudden vengeance. Compare Psalm 73:19; Habakkuk 2:3; and especially Sir 35:18; to which Grotius supposes there is an allusion here.” Several other interpretations of the passage have been proposed, but none of them appear to be so probable as this, nor to be justified by the text. When the Son of man cometh — Namely, to execute judgment on the Jewish nation; shall he find faith on the earth? — Or rather, in the land; namely, the land of Judea; the word γη often signifying, not the earth in general, but some particular land, or country, as in Acts 7:3-4; Acts 7:11, and in numberless other places. The believing Hebrews were evidently in great danger of being wearied out with their persecutions and distresses. Or, by faith here may be meant the belief of the particular truth which Christ had been inculcating, namely, that God would, in due time, avenge his elect, and signally punish their oppressors; and the question may imply, that when Christ should come for that purpose, faith in his coming would be in a great measure lost. Accordingly, it appears from 2 Peter 3:4, that many infidels and apostates scoffed at the expectation of Christ’s coming, which the godly in those days cherished.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:1-8 All God's people are praying people. Here earnest steadiness in prayer for spiritual mercies is taught. The widow's earnestness prevailed even with the unjust judge: she might fear lest it should set him more against her; but our earnest prayer is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there will still be ground for the same complaint of weakness of faith.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hear ... - Give attention to this, and derive from it practical instruction.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6-8. the Lord—a name expressive of the authoritative style in which He interprets His own parable.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 6 See Poole on "Luke 18:2"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the Lord said,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered out this parable to his disciples:

hear what the unjust judge saith; and take encouragement from hence to be frequent and importunate in prayer with God; for if such a cruel, merciless, and unjust judge is to be wrought upon by importunity to do justice, who has no principle to influence him, how much more will not God, who is a just judge, the judge of widows, and of the oppressed, a God of great mercy and compassion, who delights in the prayers of his people, knows their cases, and is able to help them, and who has an interest in them, and they in him? how much more will not he regard their importunate requests, and arise, and save them much such like reasoning this is used by the Jews:

"says R. Simeon ben Chelphetha, an impudent man overcomes a good man, or a modest man, (by his importunity,) how much more the goodness of the world itself (q)?''

that is, how much more will a man, by his continual prayer, prevail with God, who is goodness itself? And they have another saying (r), that agrees with this:

"says R. Nachman, impudence (i.e. importunity) even against God is profitable.''

The application of this parable follows:

(q) T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 65. 2.((r) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 105. 1.

Geneva Study Bible

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Luke 18:6-7. Hear what the unrighteous judge (ὁ κρίτης τῆς ἀδικίας, see on Luke 16:8) says! But God, will He not, etc. In this contrast lies the conclusion that the ἐκδίκησις, on which that worthless judge decided in respect of the perseveringly praying widow who was so troublesome to him, is the more certainly to be expected from God in respect of the elect, who are so dear to Him, and who so constantly cry to Him for the final decision. On οὐ μή in a question, see Winer, pp. 449, 454 [E. T. 634, 642].

According to the reading κ. μακροθυμεῖ ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς (see the critical remarks), the most simple explanation is: but God, will He not fulfil the avenging of His elect, and does He tarry[222] for their sakes? and is it His concern, in reference to them, to delay His interposition, or postpone His aid? See Sir 32:18. Comp. Maldonatus, Grotius, Bornemann in the Stud. d. Sächs. Geistl. 1842, p. 69 f, Bleek. In respect of the delay which nevertheless, according to human judgment, does occur, Grotius rightly observes: “illud ipsum tempus, quamvis longum interdum ferentibus videatur, re vera exiguum est imo momentaneum, unde to τὸ παραυτίκα τῆς θλίψεως dixit Paulus, 2 Corinthians 4:17.” According to Bengel and Ewald, ΚΑῚ ΜΑΚΡΟΘΥΜΕῖ ἘΠʼ ΑὐΤ. is connected hebraistically with ΤῶΝ ΒΟΏΝΤΩΝ: and over them He is forbearing; whereby the delay of the ἐκδίκησις would be derived from the patience with which God still allows to His elect further time for more perfect sanctification (2 Peter 3:9). According to the construction, this would be harder, and in its meaning less in correspondence with the subsequent ἘΝ ΤΆΧΕΙ. The Recepta would have to be understood: will He not … fulfil, even although He delays in reference to them?[223]—that is to say, with that ἑκδίκησις of them; ΚΑΊΤΟΙ ΜΑΚΡΟΘΥΜῶΝ ΚΑῚ ΦΑΙΝΌΜΕΝΟς ἈΝΗΚΟΥΣΤΕῖΝ ΤῶΝ ΔΕΟΜΈΝΩΝ ΑὐΤΟῦ ΝΥΚΤῸς ΚΑῚ ἩΜΈΡΑς, Theophylact, not, with Hassler (in the Tüb. Zeitschrift, 1832): since He is still patient towards them, i.e. does not lose patience as that judge did. For, apart from the incorrect view of the use of the καί, the thought itself is unsuited to the doctrinal narrative, since it was actually through the judge’s loss of patience (rather: his becoming annoyed) that the ἐκδίκησις of the woman was brought about. Moreover, de Wette is wrong in remarking against the reading ΜΑΚΡΟΘΥΜΕῖ, and its meaning, that if the thought that God delays were removed, the parable would have no meaning at all, since ΜΑΚΡΟΘ. corresponds to the ΟὐΚ ἬΘΕΛ. ἘΠῚ ΧΡΌΝΟΝ, Luke 18:4. Therein is lost sight of the fact that the example of the unrighteous judge teaches e contrario (see already Augustine, Serm. 36) the procedure of God.

The ἐκδίκησις τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν consists in the deliverance from their enemies who are punished at the Parousia, and in their own exaltation to the salvation of the Messiah’s kingdom for which they are chosen. Comp. Luke 21:22. The idea of this ἐκδίκησις enters so essentially into the texture of the New Testament eschatology, that in various forms it runs through the entire New Testament, and hence it is not easily to be seen why it should be regarded as standing apart from the views of our evangelist, and should remind us of the fiery zeal of the apocalyptic writer (Köstlin, Hilgenfeld). Comp. preceding passages in Luke (Luke 1:51 ff., Luke 1:71 ff.).

[222] The expression μακροθυμεῖ corresponds to the idea of the ἐκδίκησις, which includes within it the punishment of the enemies.

[223] Lange is wrong in saying: although even over them He rules high-mindedly (and therefore inscrutably).

Expositor's Greek Testament

Luke 18:6-8. The moral.—κριτὴς τ. ἀδικίας, cf. οἰκονόμον τ. ἀ., Luke 16:8.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. the unjust judge] Literally, “the judge of injustice.” Cp. Luke 16:8.

Bengel's Gnomen

Luke 18:6. Εἶπε, said) after having interposed a proper (requisite) pause, for the purpose of sharpening the attention of His hearers.

Luke 18:6

Vincent's Word Studies

The unjust judge

Lit., the judge of injustice. See on Luke 16:8.