Parable of the unjust judge

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The parable of the unjust judge ( Luke 18: 1-8 EU ), also called the parable of the suppliant widow , is one of Jesus' parables of the Parousia and is part of the Lukan special property .

Through the parable , Jesus made clear to his disciples the effectiveness of persistent prayers against injustice ( Lk 18.1  EU ). In contrast to various other parables of Jesus, such as B. the parable of the workers in the vineyard , in which Jesus abstains from an interpretation and allows a wide exegetical leeway, Jesus explains his words immediately afterwards in the parable of the unjust judge ( Lk 18 : 6-8  EU ).

content

A city was ruled by an unscrupulous judge who feared neither God nor man . When a disadvantaged widow turned to him with the request to finally get her right, the judge initially ignored her request. In view of the persistent complainant, however, he decided to take on the matter in order to finally have peace in front of the woman who was becoming increasingly annoying to him ( Lk 18,2–5  EU ).

With regard to the unjust judge who is urged to act, Jesus refers his listeners to the righteous God who consciously turns to his own. If these are constantly in his ears "day and night", how should he let himself go for a long time? Rather, he will soon get them right ( Lk 18.6–8  EU ).

interpretation

classification

Luke places the parable in the third section of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem (Luke 17: 11–19, 27). It concludes a course of discussion on the topic of “The Days of the Son of Man ” (Luke 17: 20–18: 8), which deals with the coming of the kingdom of God .

Luke immediately follows the parable with the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector ( Lk 18.9–14  EU ), in which prayer is also discussed.

The parable is particularly reminiscent of the previous Lukan parallel of the supplicant friend ( Luke 11: 5-8  EU ). Luke puts the emphasis on the immediate fulfillment of the requested request, provided that it is only brought forward with sufficiently persistent intrusiveness.

Key message

It has sometimes been asserted that in the course of the parable the increasing pattern a minori ad maius emerges : If this unjust judge can at some point be moved to a change of heart by the urging of a simple woman, how much more will the righteous God soon become his elect Be heard when they call out to him day and night. But since the judge is designed as a counter-image to God, an allegorical interpretation misses the core of the parable: to resist against injustice and to cry out to God when the law reveals his commandments ( Torah ). So it is the widow who is placed in the center of attention for the listeners, with which Sirach 35 : 14–19 EU is accepted: the widow's tears stir up against the injustice suffered by the perpetrator. So the parable is not to be misunderstood as an allegory. The stubborn resistance to injustice, twice experienced in the light of the Torah , portrays the widow as a woman who knows God's right on her side and who righteously expresses this through her improper conduct. In crying out against injustice, the widow becomes visible as a role model for believers.

Special features with Lukas

The prayer

Luke emphasizes prayer as an expression of faith or the believer like no other biblical author. Prayer scenes frame the Gospel at the beginning with the appearance of the angel during a temple liturgy ( Lk 1.10  EU ) and at the end after the ascension of Jesus in praise of the disciples ( Lk 24.52f  EU ). The prayer hymns Magnificat ( Lk 1.46–55  EU ), the Benedictus ( Lk 1.68–79  EU ), the Gloria in excelsis ( Lk 2.14  EU ) and, which have become an integral part of the church liturgy , come from the beginning of the Gospel of Luke the Nunc dimittis ( Lk 2.29–32  EU ). Numerous accounts of prayer in the congregations as well as individual prayer are also given in his book of Acts .

The widows

Luke puts the religious and social declassified of his time at the center of Jesus' attention. These include sinners and tax collectors, as shown both in the following parable of the Pharisee and tax collector and in the story of Zacchaeus . In ancient times, women, especially widows, were among those particularly disenfranchised and excluded. In addition to the marginalized women in general, the widows are the special focus of the Lucanian Jesus. He emphasizes the plight of the widowed mother of the youth of Naïn ( Lk 7.11–17  EU ), he emphasizes the special value of the mite of the widow compared to the relatively small gifts of the rich. Finally, when choosing the seven deacons ( Acts 6.1–6  EU ) , Luke focuses on the social problems that have flared up in the Christian community in view of the widow's care.

literature

Web links

Commons : Parable of the Unjust Judge  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jeremias: Parables , p. 105
  2. ^ Schottroff: Parables , p. 254.
  3. ↑ Schottfroff: Parables , pp. 252f
  4. ↑ "The widowed woman is defenseless and has no rights, which is why the prophets already urge not to bow to the widow's right and to accept it (cf. Jak 1.27)", Leipoldt / Grundmann: Umwelt des Urchristentums , I, 174
  5. ^ KL Schmidt: The frame of the story of Jesus , 1919, p. 277 refers to the fact that Luke 21, 1–4 was taken up as a special Lukan property by Markus (12, 41–44).

See also