Bob Dylan wrote it in 1973. Eric Clapton made a cover of it two years later in 1975. Even Guns N’ Roses gave it a shot in 1990. Do you know the song? It’s the one that goes “knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door.”
So why do we start with that song? Because Jesus is teaching about prayer and he says, “Keep knocking. Keep asking until you get what you want.” Or , at least, that’s what the first verse makes us think this story is about.
This story is a parable. A parable is an earthly story that reveals a heavenly truth. In his parables, Jesus is teaching about himself. As we read the Bible, we want to look for the things that are surprising. And this story tells us something surprising about grace.
In , Jesus is talking to people who, like Garth Brooks, have unanswered prayers and they’re getting anxious. You know when you’ve been praying, asking God for something, and you’ve tried calling and left voicemails. You’ve sent emails and texts, you’ve tried every way you know to get God’s attention, and he still hasn’t answered.
We’ve all been in that place where we’ve been asking for something, but we don’t see it under the Christmas tree. And Jesus tells this story. This story that Luke says is about our need to pray always and not to lose heart—to not give up.
This story is about a crooked judge and a widow. She goes to him to make right some wrong that she’s suffered. And because this judge is crooked, the only way to get him to do what you want is if there’s a little something in it for him. If you can slip him a special donation, you’re likely to get a favorable ruling.
But the woman is a widow. She’s poor. She has no rights, no family, no status. She doesn’t have the means to make a bribe. But she is persistent. She keeps bugging this judge. So to finally get this woman off his back, the judge says he will rule in her favor.
Now, at first glance, it looks like Jesus is saying, “Just keep knocking. Just keep praying until you get what you want. Just keep on praying for whatever it is you want—a new car, a bigger house, a promotion, to lose that weight—just keep asking.” We read this story and think we have to just keep knocking on heaven’s door, until he opens it up and gives us what we want.
But as Tom Cruise said in Mission Impossible 3, “No.” That’s a bad interpretation. The problem with that interpretation is that it does that thing that we’re really good at doing—that thing that says this is about me and what I should do, and it misses the miracle of the Bible. This story wants to say something you don’t already know and that totally turns your world upside down. Jesus wants to tell us something about God that is NOT what we expect.
The hard truth is, if you believe you’ll get everything you pray for, it’s going to lead you to disappointment, and it can even cause you to lose your faith.
Do you remember the classic ‘80s movie The Goonies? Corey Feldman is with his group of friends under the ground in Oregon and they get to the bottom of a wishing well. They start grabbing the coins. Martha says, “You can’t steal those coins; those are people’s wises!” And Corey holds up a coin and he says, “Yeah, well, this one was mine and it didn’t come true. So I’m taking it back. I’m taking it all back.” Corey lost his faith because he kept asking for something and he didn’t get it.
The honest truth is, many of our prayers are about God giving us things or fixing stuff for us. But that’s not what this is about. And the way we know this story is not about just asking for things until you get it is because the story itself tells us it’s about a very specific kind of prayer.
Four times in the story we hear that this is a prayer for justice. In verse 3, the widow says, “Grant me justice.” In verse 5, the judge says, “I’ll grant you justice.” And twice Jesus says, “God will give justice.”
In this historical context, justice meant something very specific: It meant, God send the Messiah to make the world right.
Let’s do a quick history lesson: Do you know what the Jews in Jesus’ time were praying for? They were praying for another King David to come and kick out the Romans and make Israel great again. Fix the world and put us on top—that’s what Jesus’ listeners have been asking for. Over and over they’ve been praying, “God send the Messiah” and they feel he’s been deaf to their prayers. You see, this is about a very specific prayer.
So now that I’ve messed up what you hoped this story was about you’re wondering, “What is Jesus really trying to say?” He’s saying, “God does see. God does care. When you pray, God does hear. God does answer, but it often comes in ways we don’t expect.”
These people are asking for the Messiah, they want him to come, but when he comes, will they be able to see him? Will they know him? Will people see that their prayer has been answered.
Remember, in these parables, Jesus is teaching about himself.
And Jesus is standing right in front of them. He is the answer to the prayer they’ve been praying. He’s saying, “You’ve been asking for the Messiah. Well, here I am. But you don’t realize it because you’re expecting something different.”
If we see God as some divine Santa Clause, who gives us what we want. And if we’re honest, isn’t that what we pray? We want God to make life work out the way we want. For life to not be so hard. To sleep 8 hours a night without a toddler waking us up. To be recognized for our achievements. And for things to go smoothly … just for a little while. Please God? That’s what we want.
And here’s the kicker: We can’t see where God is working—because rather than fixing all the things around us, what God would much rather address is the stuff in us.
These people want a Messiah to come and fix everything around them. But what they’ve received is a Messiah who is here to address their deepest and realest problems—the reality of sin and death.
Jesus has not come to fix our relationship problems or turn our financial situation around, he has come to deal with us.
After I left here, I went to serve as an associate at Waycross First. If you drive into Waycross on Highway 82, you’ll see Pogo on their water tower. Do you remember Pogo? He was a cartoon opossum from the ‘50s or ‘60s. Pogo is famous for saying, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
So if we’re praying for justice, then watch out because we may be on the receiving end of it. What God is inviting us to see in this passage is that he’s NOT Santa Claus who gives good gifts to good little children. He’s not here to fix your external circumstances.
Let’s be clear: He cares. He knows. In time, he will address those things. One day he will make all things right. But the main thing is that Jesus comes to work in your suffering, to work in your problems for your holiness, for your healing, for your redemption and restoration.
The big point Jesus is making is that God’s grace never looks like what we expect. Grace is always a surprise.
So, what does grace look like?
Grace often looks like the worst moment in life. When you lose the job. When your marriage is falling apart. When you can’t beat that addiction. Because that is the place where grace goes and works in a surprising way. When the script of the life we want doesn’t work out and we hit bottom—that’s when God comes to us. God’s grace comes to us in surprising ways and draws into new life. This is God’s crazy, upside-down kingdom. We prayed for this, but we got that.
And that’s what we see in Jesus. He’s on his way to Jerusalem. There, he won’t sit on a throne. He’ll hang from the cross. Instead of being surrounded by a royal court, he’ll be surrounded by soldiers who mock him. And what we see is a God who enters into human suffering in order to bring relief to you. In Jesus, we see a God who doesn’t always give us what we want, but does give us what we need—a surprising grace that brings us forgiveness and mercy. And that is what we all so desperately need.
Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” He’s asking us to see God as the Suffering One who loves us and who comes to give himself for us. And the “justice” that should fall on us—the punishment for how we’ve hurt others—falls on him. This is the surprising grace of God. This is what is most needed.
The point, in case you fell asleep, is to point out that the people most aware of their need, are the ones that God’s grace targets. And when grace comes your way, it transforms you.
Now, you’re sitting there, thinking, “Ok, preacher-man, what am I supposed to do with this? I’ve come to church. You’re supposed to tell me what to do.”
If there is any advice I can give you, it’s get in touch with the place you’ve failed—because that is the place where the gospel goes. That is where the message of grace will speak to you. That is where forgiveness will feel real. That’s where healing of the broken happens.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die. The cross is the place where Jesus communicates so clearly that he is here for the broken because he himself is broken. He is here for those who suffer because he suffers. Jesus takes his place among sinners and lawbreakers to show us that he is for us.
And when you know that Jesus is for you—that helps with the pain of this life. Thank God that these stories are not about what we can do to make life come out the way we want. The Bible is a book about this surprising God who is not shocked by our failures, but he comes to those places to let us know that we are loved. This book is not about us; it’s about God and what he has done for you in Jesus.
And what has Jesus done for you? He’s put you in right standing, like the widow in this story. You see, in this story, the widow is jusified. So how are we justified; how we are made right? By grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). It’s our simple trust in the gracious and surprising thing that God did in the death of Jesus.
Finally, Jesus answers the questions he asked, “Will God judge in favor of his people . . . And have mercy on them?” Yes, yes he will. Like the unjust judge, Jesus issued a totally unfair and disreputable verdict of forgiveness—over us. And that’s what the verse means that says: There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God has granted us freedom by what he did for us on the cross. He has made us right. He has forgiven us. And what we do is we trust in that. Because the only way we’re justified—the only way we’re made right is by grace alone. Can you believe that?
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