| Geneva Study Bible I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? People's New Testament 18:8 Shall he find faith on the earth? Prayer is the utterance of faith. Prayerlessness is proof of unbelief. The Lord, pained by the unbelief of even his disciples, shows in these words what a burden to him is our unbelief (see Mt 17:17). Wesley's Notes 18:8 Yet when the Son of man cometh, will he find faith upon earth - Yet notwithstanding all the instances both of his long suffering and of his justice, whenever he shall remarkably appear, against their enemies in this age or in after ages, how few true believers will be found upon earth! Scofield Reference Notes [1] faith The reference is not to personal faith, but to belief in the whole body of revealed truth. (Cf) Rom 1:5 1Cor 16:13 2Cor 13:5 Col 1:23 Col 2:7 Ti 1:13 Jude 1:3. See "Apostasy," above, in marg. of Lk 18.8. See Scofield Note: "2Tim 3:1". Margin Son of man See Scofield Note: "Mt 8:20". Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 8. speedily-as if pained at the long delay, impatient for the destined moment to interpose. (Compare Pr 29:1.) Nevertheless, &c.-that is, Yet ere the Son of man comes to redress the wrongs of His Church, so low will the hope of relief sink, through the length of the delay, that one will be fain to ask, Will He find any faith of a coming avenger left on the earth? From this we learn: (1) That the primary and historical reference of this parable is to the Church in its widowed, desolate, oppressed, defenseless condition during the present absence of her Lord in the heavens; (2) That in these circumstances importunate, persevering prayer for deliverance is the Church's fitting exercise; (3) That notwithstanding every encouragement to this, so long will the answer be delayed, while the need of relief continues the same, and all hope of deliverance will have nearly died out, and "faith" of Christ's coming scarcely to be found. But the application of the parable to prayer in general is so obvious as to have nearly hidden its more direct reference, and so precious that one cannot allow it to disappear in any public and historical interpretation. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 18:1-8 All God's people are praying people. Here earnest steadiness in prayer for spiritual mercies is taught. The widow's earnestness prevailed even with the unjust judge: she might fear lest it should set him more against her; but our earnest prayer is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there will still be ground for the same complaint of weakness of faith. | 
