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NT Doctrine -- Luke 18:1-14 - Ed Hurst - 04-16-2022
During His time hanging out in and around Jerusalem until the His final Passover, Jesus offered a couple of parables on prayer.
The first is the Unjust Judge. By long tradition across the entire Ancient Near East, every town and city had at least one retired bigshot who acted as the lowest level of civil court judge. They hung out at the main city gate, which was where other aging elders would sit and witness legal matters. Most of what they did was make note of standard legal property and contract exchanges and keep track for the community at large.
Jesus tells of a particular judge who didn't really respect the Covenant nor care much about people in general. Apparently he simply enjoyed having the power over others. One of the most common cases he might see on a regular basis involved widows being defrauded of their sustenance because they had no legal standing to actually inherit property. It had to go under the care of the nearest surviving male relative. Lacking a relative who actually cared about them left them in a very precarious position. There are all kinds of ways this could go wrong, and a great many widows lost everything, being kicked on the street with nothing. Sometimes the best solution was to appoint a community elder to prevent any predatory actions against them.
This was a common arrangement and the widow was trying to arrange this by having her property removed from the control of someone who wanted her gone. While the judge in question had no interest in actual justice, he knew that if he didn't grant her request, she would wear him out by constant harassment. Old Jewish women were notorious for this.
What about those cases where God alone is the only Judge who can act? Jesus said that sometimes our Father will take His time responding to an injustice for reasons we cannot guess. Still, when the time comes, He acts swiftly to execute His decisions. And you can be sure that when His Covenant children call on Him, He does hear our petitions.
So perhaps the real question is: Who has faith to actually trust the Lord and call on Him persistently? If it works well enough to move unjust judges, surely it will work with the Judge of all Creation!
What would it take to gain that kind of "legal standing" with God? Jesus told another parable about that: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. On a particular day, at the Hour of Prayer in the Temple, a Pharisee and a tax collector showed up. The Pharisee stood close to the altar did his typical arrogant ritual prayer, thanking God for choosing to make him wealthy and holy, unlike the tax collector. He boasted to God just how holy he was.
The tax collector slipped into the back corner of the Court of Israel. There he bowed and didn't dare raise his eyes. He smote his chest in genuine contrition, seeking God's forgiveness.
When the Temple ritual ended, Jesus said the tax collector left with a far greater measure of God's favor than the Pharisee did. The Covenant wasn't a mere matter of ritual, but of sincere love and commitment to the Lord of the Covenant. His Law is a Law of Hearts, not mere ritual observance.
RE: NT Doctrine -- Luke 18:1-14 - jaybreak - 04-19-2022
Was there a reason gates were used that way, and not something within the city, like a town square? Or were town squares more of a Greek thing (skimming search results say town squares were a big thing in Greece).
RE: NT Doctrine -- Luke 18:1-14 - Ed Hurst - 04-19-2022
For whatever reason, cities in that part of the world were built with the main square at the front gate. Thus, the area near the gate was the most public space available.