How Much More: An Unjust Judge or a Righteous Judge?
How Much More: An Unjust Judge or a Righteous Judge?
“… Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see to it that she gets justice – otherwise, she’ll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!’ Then the Lord commented, ‘Notice what this corrupt judge says. Now won’t God grant justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? (Luke 18:1-8 for the full parable).
It is fascinating that the teacher Jesus we find in the gospels nonetheless remained in the historic flow of Jewish tradition. He taught and preached and demonstrated and told His stories in ways that were accepted in rabbinic circles. Jesus taught like a Jew, He argued like a Jew, He reasoned like a Jew.
One classic method of rabbinic teaching was called the “Kal v’Chomer (pronounced as it looks, except the c is silent).” This was a commonly used strategy of reasoning and persuasion used throughout the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. Breaking down that Hebrew phrase, “kal” means “Of course, obviously Yes.” And “v’chomer” means “all the more so.” The Hebrew understating of this teaching strategy can be described in many ways: light to heavy; lesser to greater; simple to complex; minor to major; lenient to strict. The kal v’chomer is a strictly logical process used everywhere in Jewish culture, from the courtrooms to the corner conversations to the synagogues. It is used by a speaker when he or she wants the listener to logically arrive at an inescapable conclusion. If A is obviously true, then it stands to reason that B is true as well. This process is often spoken of as the “How much more” argument. If A is commonly accepted, then how much more is it likely that B should be accepted as well?
Like all effective rabbis, Jesus used this traditional strategy of argument when He read the room and believed that His audience was up to a logical argument. He would say, ‘If something is true in a minor matter, then how much more true will this major matter be?’ Jesus made successful use of Kal v’Chomer in His public ministry. ‘If this is obviously good, then that must be good as well.’ This is a commonsense type of reasoning that Jesus used many times in His speaking. There are at least eight different times He used this ‘lesser to greater’ approach to persuasion. In fact, because St. Paul loved to use this type of argument, and was probably taught it by the Master Rabbi Gamaliel, the New Testament has well over twenty different passages that include Kal v’Chomer reasoning.
The Parable of the Judge and the Widow. (Luke 18:1-8). Jesus told this parable immediately after conversations with both the Pharisees and his disciples about the coming Kingdom of God. His comment and parable are about prayer, both for present needs and for the 2nd Coming of the Lord. Jesus tells here an amusing story to his audience to inspire persistence and faith in their prayer life. The audience was probably a mixture of disciples and Pharisees, the common religious person and the religious elite, all of whom could use some wisdom on prayer.
THE IMPLIED Kal v’Chomer. How much more! If even a callous judge, who cared for no one, will help out a poor widow who keeps pestering him, how much more will a loving Father help those who approach Him! “By role-playing with divine nature and by using an exaggerated characterization of what God is not like, Jesus teaches what God is like.” (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian)
THE JUDGE. He was a recognized power figure in society. During this time period, there were municipal authorities assigned by either Herod or the Romans. They were not Jewish, were not held to religious standards, and were generally pagan in their values. Jews considered these unpopular “village-judges” ignorant, arbitrary, dishonest, but still with the kind of authority they had to accept and deal with. These judges were not inclined to handle their duties in a just manner, and they didn’t care about public opinion. The judge in Jesus’ story would have been immediately recognized as one of these pagan judges, since he didn’t fear God and didn’t respect anyone.
THE WIDOW. She was the opposite extreme from the judge, powerless and vulnerable, weak and in low standing in the community, not at all influential in society, and without an advocate in the courts. Her situation appears hopeless from the beginning. In society at that point in history, men always advocated for women in the courts. Widows would not even be allowed in the courtroom. In this case, the widow was advocating for herself before the judge, which means that there was no male in her family to advocate for her. She was utterly alone, with no husband, son, uncle, cousin, brother to plead her case. She was desperate and alone. Despite her low standing, she feels she has been victimized and continues to plead her case before the judge. She wants his attention, and she won’t give up till she has justice. She pesters and badgers the judge, persistently demanding his attention to her case. She is insistent that the judge defend her against her adversary, and she won’t be ignored. It’s interesting that, in a traditionally patriarchal culture, Jesus puts a woman into the heroic role in the story. Women were loved and appreciated and held up for admiration by Jesus throughout his ministry. Here we have a widow held up as a role model when it comes to patience, courage and persistence in prayer.
THE JUDGE. True to form, the judge initially couldn’t have cared less about this wronged widow. He stubbornly didn’t give her the time and attention she demanded. He finally gets worn down by her persistence. He could turn a deaf ear for only so long. He realized this widow was prepared to go on indefinitely, forever, and simply is determined to continue her aggressiveness for as long as it takes. “The Greek word has an unusual verb that means ‘ever tapping,’ signifying one who keeps knocking on the door of heaven until she receives what she came for.” (Dr. Brian Simmons). The Greek word for “wear me out” is actually a boxing term, and has been translated to mean “punch in the eye,” “slap in the face,” or even “give me a headache.” It’s clear that the judge was physically intimidated as well as exasperated, which would have amused Jesus’ listeners. So finally the judge relented, just to get her out of his hair. He caved in, through sheer courage and persistence from the widow. The audience would have felt like cheering, the unpopular villain being beaten by a powerless widow.
JESUS. For Jesus to use this unscrupulous, unpopular judge as a symbol for God is laughable. Jesus told this parable with a twinkle in his eye. The judge was an extreme opposite of God in every way. Every Jew knew that in Scripture God was a tireless defender of widows, a passionate advocate for widows and orphans. “Your widows too can trust in me.” (Jeremiah 49:11). That thought is all through the Law and the Psalms and Prophets. The audience would have laughed at the irony of God and the unjust judge.
FINAL THOUGHT. If a powerless widow persistently badgered a pagan judge knowing sooner or later she would find justice, how much more should we not give up when appealing to a righteous God? We are encouraged here to pray, and keep praying under all circumstances, even when it looks like an answer is long in coming and discouragements are many. By contrast, it is important to remember in faith that we pray to a just judge, who shows no favoritism to the powerful, who loves people, who won’t ignore or overlook those who seek Him.
A SCARY QUESTION. Jesus asks a frightening question at the end of the story. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Oh my. Why did he ask that? Was he discouraged about the amount of faith he witnessed around him? Did he lack confidence that his followers would hang on? The reader is not sure where Jesus is going with this puzzling question. Perhaps he is preparing his disciples for the tough times ahead, telling them that they will have a difficult time holding onto the faith unless they have the persistence and courage of the widow in the story. Let us consistently pray that Jesus will indeed find faith on the earth when he returns in glory. If doubts about this surface, remember that Jesus told us he would never leave us or forsake us, and rejoice that he has left us his Holy Spirit to transform us and prepare us for the Final Day.