Font Size
The parable of the persistent widow (vv.1-8) speaks of prayer and the return of Christ. A widow who has been exploited takes her complaint to court. The judge has little regard for her, but when she presses him, he consents to give her justice. The parable draws attention to God’s response to prayer. God is different from the judge, for God is just. But, like the judge, God listens to persistent prayer. And Jesus encourages his followers not to grow weary in prayer. In Jesus' day, in the early church, and in later ages, men and women have been perplexed by God’s delay in bringing the justice for which they pray. Jesus affirms that God will answer their prayer, and that Christ, the Son of Man, will come.
The second of these parables deals with the Pharisee and the tax collector (vv.9-14). In one sense it is a parable of prayer, since it gives examples of how to pray and how not to pray. The Pharisee is the bad example, with his self-righteousness and contempt for others. The tax collector is the good example with his contrition and admission of dependence on God. In another sense the parable tells of the condition on which God accepts people. It is the repentant tax collector, not the self-righteous Pharisee, who is accepted by God. Humility, not self-exaltation, is the way to God’s mercy.