Persisting Inspite of Unjust Obstruction
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Persisting Inspite of Unjust Obstruction
Herb Montgomery | October 17, 2025
If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:
Our reading this week is from the gospel of Luke:
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
One of the interpretive lens of Jesus’ parables that I appreciate is in William Herzog’s Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed. In this book, Herzog moves away from always interpreting the parables as allegorically about God and us, and instead offers a way to view the parables as a critique of the social injustices the marginalized, oppressed, and disinherited of Jesus’ society were surviving under. The parables become a way to educate listeners and liberate them from internalized forms of oppression. They awakened Jesus’ listeners to liberatory actions and forms of resistance they could practice.
There are no parallels for this parable in any of the other canonical gospels. And while the author of Luke used this parable to point out a lesson about perseverance in prayer, the original audience would have resonated with the story on a personal level. Many of them might have found themselves in similar positions as the ignored widow. Before Luke’s author applied this story of Jesus’ to prayer, it would have first taught listeners how to persevere against injustice in places of power. The widow in this story was heard by the unjust judge, not because of the justice of her cause, but because of her own continued stubbornness in not giving up. The judge is not impartial. Nor is he concerned for anyone but himself. He only grants her request because of her continued harassment: he simply want to be done with her.
This reminds me of a statement in the introduction of Ched Myers’ book, Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus. There,Sam Wells writes:
The one thing everyone seems to agree on today is that there’s plenty wrong with the world. There are only two responses to this—either go and put it right yourself, or, if you can’t, make life pretty uncomfortable for those who can until they do. When we take stock of our relationship with the powerful, we ask ourselves, “Does the shape of my life reflect my longing to see God set people free, and do I challenge those who keep others in slavery?” (Kindle Location 1024)
This is the first and primary lesson of the persistent widow: When we see injustice, we can either “go and put it right” or “make life pretty uncomfortable for those who can until they do.”
I also understand why the author of Luke applied this persistence to prayer. This gospel was written for a Jesus-following community that included many Jewish Jesus followers who had just witnessed Jerusalem being razed to the ground by the Roman Empire. In moments of such deep devastation, it’s a hard sell to tell oppressed communities to keep trying. It’s much easier to tell them keep praying instead. I don’t believe the author meant to liken the God these folks were praying to an unjust judge; I believe he was making the point by contrast. If an unjust judge will respond and do justly because of persistence, how much more will a just God do so? Consider the phrasing:
“Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The people listening to Luke’s Jesus were God’s “chosen ones.” In the wake of Jerusalem’s destruction by Rome, Luke’s author is addressing an apparent “delay” too. This tells us a little about how Luke’s audience must have been feeling: “What’s taking so long.” Imagine if they could have seen us here today, still fighting for justice. What might they think?
Lastly, the author asks the question, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Son of Man image is from Jewish apocalyptic literature, specifically from the book of Daniel, which was written during the era of the Maccabean revolt. This was a time when the people were once again longing for liberation after being subjugated by an oppressive empire. In Daniel 7, oppressive empires are symbolized by wild descriptions of violent and destructive beasts. Then comes the Son of Man who delivers the people, putting all injustice, violence, and oppression right. Luke’s audience must have given these passages some weight or Luke would not have referenced them like this. Today, we could more simply say, when the time for our liberation comes, will there be anyone who still believes liberation is even possible?
I don’t believe that “faith” in our reading this week means believing in the supernatural or the existence of a deity. Almost everyone believed in the supernatural when Luke was written. The passage is describing faith of a totally different nature: the kind of faith that believes that our world can be different. This faith believes that the moral arc of the universe can be bent toward justice. That hatred, injustice, and violence doesn’t have to have the last word. That life and love and justice wins. That the narrow path, the golden rule, is genuinely the better way. This is the kind of faith that both theists and non-theists alike can embrace. In an interview, Angela Davis once said, “We always have to act as if revolution were possible. We have to act as if it were possible to change the world. And if we do that work, the world is gonna change. Even if it doesn’t change the way we need it to change right now, it will change.” (Spirit of Justice with Michelle Alexander & Angela Davis)
Theologian Delores Williams also comments on this kind of faith, though with more of a religious kind of verbiage than Davis:
I traveled to faith—learning to trust the righteousness of God in spite of trouble and injustice; learning to trust women of many colors regardless of sexism, racism, classism and homophobia in our society; learning to believe in the sanctuary power of family defined in many ways in addition to nuclear; discovering love in a variety of forms that heal, but also believing serious political action is absolutely necessary for justice to prevail in the world of my four black children and other mothers’ children. Faith has taught me to see the miraculous in everyday life: the miracle of ordinary black women resisting and rising above evil forces in society, where forces work to destroy and subvert the creative power and energy my mother and grandmother taught me God gave black women. (Delores S. Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk, Preface, Kindle location 164)
Scholars who live in a more privileged social location also agree about what this kind of faith would have meant in the gospels:
But the ancient meaning of the word “believe” has much more to do with trust and commitment. “To believe in the good news,” as Mark puts it, means to trust in the news that the kingdom of God is near and to commit to that kingdom. (Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, The Last Week, Kindle location 480)
I can understand the challenges Luke’s author must have been facing by trying to inspire people to believe in the wake of hopeless devastation. It resonates with where many of us are today. Despite growing polarization and setbacks, believing in social justice today is not naïve—it’s necessary. Every movement for equality has faced resistance, yet progress has always come through those who refused to give up. From climate justice to racial equity, just voices are louder, more connected, and more persistent than ever. Grassroots efforts, legal reforms, and digital activism are reshaping narratives and holding power accountable. The fight is far from over, and yet each small victory builds momentum. Believing in social justice means choosing hope over cynicism and action over silence. Change is slow, but it is still within reach—if we keep pushing, if we continue, like the widow, who “nevertheless, she persisted.”
Discussion Group Questions
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.
2. In what ways are you persisting against stubborn obstacles in your justice work, today? Share and discuss with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
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My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.
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Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week.
New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
This week:
Season 2 Episode 42: Persisting Inspite of Unjust Obstruction
Luke 18:1-8
“In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, I can understand the challenges Luke’s author must have been facing by trying to inspire people to believe in the wake of hopeless devastation. It resonates with where many of us are today. Despite growing polarization and setbacks, believing in social justice today is not naïve. It’s necessary. Every movement for equality has faced resistance, yet progress has always come through those who refused to give up. From climate justice to racial equity, just voices are louder, more connected, and more persistent than ever. Grassroots efforts, legal reforms, and digital activism are reshaping narratives and holding power accountable. The fight is far from over, and yet each small victory builds momentum. Believing in social justice means choosing hope over cynicism and action over silence. Change is slow, but it is still within reach, if we keep pushing, if we continue, like the widow, who “nevertheless, she persisted.”
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/persisting-inspite-of-unjust-obstruction
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.
by Herb Montgomery
Available now on Amazon!
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.
Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
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Persistence Toward Justice
Herb Montgomery | October 14, 2022
To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.
No effort invested in working toward a safe, compassionate, just world that is home for everyone is in vain. We never know what new concession from those who wield power is just around the next corner.
Our reading this week continues from the gospel of Luke:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
Historical Jesus scholars attribute this week’s parable to the Jewish Jesus although they also allow for the possibility that the author of Luke created the story given the overall focus of the gospel of Luke. The story only appears here in Luke’s version of the Jesus story. And the message encourages persistence.
The widow in the story demands justice. In the patriarchal culture of Jesus’ society, a widow had a fragile economic status, and the justice tradition of Judaism had ways of addressing that.
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in God’s holy dwelling.” (Psalm 68:5)
“The Most High watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the Most High frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Psalms 146:9)
“The Most High tears down the house of the proud, but the Most High sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.” (Proverbs 15:25)
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
“Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” (Isaiah 1:23)
“…To deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” (Isaiah 10:2)
“…If you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm . . .” (Jeremiah 7:6)
“This is what the Most High says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” (Jeremiah 22:3)
“In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.” (Ezekiel 22:7)
“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.” (Zechariah 7:10)
“‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Most High, the Almighty.” (Malachi 3:5)
I share this lengthy collection of passages so that we can begin to get the cultural context for our parable: what we would today describe as Jesus’ concern for social justice. Working for social justice is at the heart of what it means to follow the Jesus of synoptic gospels. It is a central theme of the Hebrew prophets’ justice tradition, and it is to this tradition that Luke’s version of the Jesus story adds its voice.
It strikes me as very odd today when I hear Jesus followers making fun of or speaking derisively of those who work for social, political and economic justice in our time. The Jesus of our stories was speaking throughout Galilee’s villages to communities whose entire social fabric was being impacted by Roman imperialism. This impact enriched the elite at the expense of the masses. In Jesus’ audience, then, there would have been widows who knew this story by experience. Jesus wasn’t giving them a spiritual focus on post mortem bliss to pacify them while they continued to suffer. Jesus’s story would have inspired them to continue, to persist, to keep on going in their striving for concrete, temporal justice. They would also have prayed for God to match their persistent efforts by making a way for them. This parable is about prayer for sure, but it’s not only about prayer. The phrase we read in the introduction is to “always pray and not give up.”
If you are working toward justice and you find yourself feeling as if you are swimming upstream against our society’s strong currents, don’t give up!
Also noteworthy is the unjust judge’s motive in this story.
His motive is not fidelity to God or concern for what people may think of him. The judge in the story is concerned that this widow may “eventually come and attack me.” The language for attack here would have been used to describe slapping someone in the face or giving them a black eye. So the judge acquiesces to the widow’s demand for justice for fear of her demands might turn violent. This reminds me of the political motives that lead to partial victories of the civil rights movement during the Johnson presidency. Faced with the demands of the King’s nonviolent movement versus the potential violence of other movements if changes weren’t made, the government partially heeded demands for change. Nearly 60 years later, we still have a long way to go to repair the harm born from our national sin of racism.
The author of Luke ends this section with a reference to the “Son of Man” and a question about where faith can be found. Again, this language is not concerned with post-mortem bliss but with present world realities. The title “Son of Man” comes from Jewish apocalyptic literature, specifically Daniel 7. In Daniel 7, world empires are depicted as monstrous beasts that will one day stand trial before the throne of justice to face judgment for their atrocities. In the end, the son of Man comes and gives liberation to the people.
“But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High.” (Daniel 7:26-27)
So, from start to finish, the entire context of our story is of establishing justice on Earth, ending violence, and restoring what oppression has stolen.
Lastly the question is asked, when the son of Man comes, will there be faith on the earth?
My challenge this week is not to switch tracks at the end and hear faith in terms of religious or metaphysical claims. Contextually, given the focus of our story, faith is synonymous with persistence in praying for and working toward justice here on our earth. It’s about concrete change in our present systems. It’s about persistence in our reordering this present world.
This week’s story moves me to do two things. In matters where I, like the judge in this week’s story, have the power to change things and make our world a safer, just place, this week’s story moves me to do so. In matters where, like the widow, I don’t have the power to change things myself, this week’s story moves me to make those with the power continually uncomfortable until they do.
I don’t know about you, but there are seasons when I get tired swimming against the various currents of injustice and voices that perpetuate them in our society, both inside of and outside of Christianity. I do believe it’s okay to rest sometimes, and we can accomplish more in the long run if we take time to rest today.
There is also a time to persist rather than to quit. My mother used to remind me when I felt like giving up, “It’s always darkest just before the dawn.” This week’s reading encourages Jesus followers not to give up. No effort invested in working toward a safe, compassionate, just world that is home for everyone is in vain. We never know what new concession from those who wield power is just around the next corner. Keep going!
HeartGroup Application
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.
2. What are some ways that you balance rest and persistence in your own justice work? Share some of these with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
You can find Renewed Heart Ministries on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. Also, if you enjoy listening to the Jesus for Everyone podcast, please like and subscribe to the JFE podcast through the podcast platform you use and consider taking some time to give us a review. This helps others find our podcast as well.
And if you’d like to reach out to us through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.
Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week
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