“Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
The full verse · Luke 18:8 · KJV
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Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, telling the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-6)
Asked to
Disciples: "the disciples" (Luke 17:22), the hearers of the parable "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1); Jesus ends it by asking whether the Son of man will "find faith on the earth."
The Scene
Jesus has just finished the parable of the widow and the unjust judge and promised that God "will avenge them speedily" (Luke 18:1-8).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus has settled that God will be faithful. Now He asks whether His people will be. The word "Nevertheless" turns the question from God's side to ours. Barnes puts it plainly: "There is more danger that his people would grow weary, than that God would be found unfaithful and fail to avenge his elect." He reads the question as asking, "Would they be found persevering in prayer, and believing that God would yet avenge them; or would they cease to pray always, and faint?" Gill allows that the question may refer either to the land of Judea or to the world at the last day, when there will be "little of the doctrine of faith, and less of the grace of faith." Matthew Henry says Christ "will find but little faith in comparison with what one might expect."
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo one answers, and Jesus does not answer it Himself. The question is left open for the hearers. Luke moves straight to another parable, spoken "unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others" (Luke 18:9), about a Pharisee and a publican at prayer (Luke 18:10-14).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Son of man" is the title Jesus has been using for Himself in this teaching about His coming (Luke 17:22, 24, 30). The question begins with the Greek word ara, which marks a question. The Greek also has the article before "faith": literally "the faith." Barnes takes it to mean the kind of faith the parable has just described, belief that God will deliver His people, not necessarily a statement about how many Christians there will be.
On "he will avenge them speedily," Gill says God did this "in a few years after the death of Christ," when believers among the Jews were delivered before Jerusalem's ruin, "and so will he do in the end of the world."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question comes at the end of a long section about the coming of the Son of man (Luke 17:20-37). People will be eating, drinking, buying, and building, as in the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-29). Against that background, Jesus asks whether anyone will still be praying and trusting when He comes.
The parable has already shown that God is faithful. What remains open is the faith of His people. Jesus does not ask in order to discourage, but to wake His listeners up. The parable's purpose stands over the whole passage: "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).
Look Closer
What does Jesus promise just before asking this question?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, as I wait for You, what would help my faith keep praying and not lose heart?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What wears down your faith most while you wait on God: delay, disappointment, or distraction?
- Who has shown you a faith that kept praying for years? Tell their story.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus' question is not meant to make you anxious but awake. The issue is not whether God will be faithful; He will. The issue is whether you will keep trusting Him while you wait.
Faith in this passage looks like prayer that keeps going. Build it into your days: a regular time, a list of things you are waiting on, a habit of bringing them back to God. If you have grown tired, the parable's opening line is for you: pray always, and do not faint (Luke 18:1).
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