Luke 18:3

"saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man."

Key Reflection

In Luke 18:3, Jesus begins a parable with a scenario involving a judge who is neither afraid of God nor concerned with human opinion. This setting contrasts sharply with the expectation that a just and righteous person would be fair in their judgments. The cultural context here reflects first-century Jewish society where judges were often seen as corrupt or indifferent to justice, highlighting the need for a trustworthy mediator—Jesus Himself—who would act with integrity and impartiality.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 3. A widow. This is a circumstance that gives increasing interest to the parable. Judges were bound to show peculiar attention to widows, Isa 1:17; Jer 22:3. The reason of this was that they were defenseless, were commonly poor, and were liable to be oppressed by those in power. Avenge me. This would have been better translated, "Do me justice against my adversary, or vindicate me from him." It does not denote vengeance or revenge, but simply that she wished to have justice done her--a thing which this judge was bound to do, but which it seems he had no disposition to do. Adversary. One opposed in law.

Related Verses

More from Luke 18

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

Go deeper with Bible.talk - your AI Bible study companion