It occurred to me that Jesus is giving us a definition of corruption. We are hearing about corruption all around us and yet no one can explain what it really is and Jesus has the judge in the Gospel lesson define it for us. Some one is corrupt if they neither fear God nor respect men.
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
We are surrounded by folks who do not fear God and they certainly do not respect men. The more folks cry for respect the less of it there seems to be around.
Lord’s question was intended originally to sum up the admirable pluck of that
importunate widow who wouldn’t take “No” for an answer from What gets him to
yield is the unpleasant prospect of that woman shattering his blissful repose by her
incessant demands for justice. “Finally she’ll come and beat me down,” the ESV says.
But, as is usually the case, the original Greek is far more expressive: “she’ll come
and brow beat me,” BDAG suggests―or even, “she’ll come and give me a black eye
[ὑπωπιάζῃ]!” That’s why he yields. But there the comparison stops: “And shall not
the true God dispense justice for the sake of his elect who cry out to him night and
day, and shall he delay over them? I tell you that he shall wreak vengeance for them
in haste!”
