Something’s Missing
“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
Faith – There’s something missing here. It might not seem like much, but once you know what should be in the text, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for this very disturbing question. What’s missing is the definite article “the”. The Greek really says, “will he find the faith on earth”.
Greek has a funny rule about articles (“the”, “a” and “an”). It never uses the indefinite article (“a” and “an”). Whenever we find a noun by itself, we can be pretty sure that the noun doesn’t name a specific thing. It’s indefinite. But when a Greek noun is about some specific thing, we always find the definite article “the”. This tells us that Jesus wasn’t talking about just any kind of faith. What he had in mind was very specific. It was not to be confused with other similar things. Jesus says that when he comes looking, he will be searching for just one specific kind of faith.
Now the question is even more disturbing. I want Jesus to find me waiting and ready when he returns. I want to hear him welcome me into the kingdom. I want to have the specific kind of faith that he will come looking for.
What is the faith that Jesus expects to find? Catholic? Presbyterian? Baptist? Southern Baptist! Is it baptized by immersion faith or is it sprinkling faith? Is it election faith or choice faith? How many of those Jesus comes to find will we exclude because we have the faith and they don’t? Is this what Jesus meant? Or did he have something quite different in mind?
Back to the story of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-7). What is the purpose behind this little vignette? Continuing action based on anticipated results. This woman demonstrates a faith in justice even when everything around her shouts that she won’t get it. She keeps on acting as though her goal is a given reality. She never quits. Do you suppose that Jesus’ question is about this specific kind of faith, the faith that never doubts for one second that he will return? The faith that always acts on the basis of his lordship even when we can’t see it. The faith that goes on praying, giving and serving even when it looks like there is no reward. Now look at the first verse in this little story. Luke 18:1 tells us why Jesus told this story. He wanted to make a point about prayer. It is praying faith that he comes to find. “Men ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
The definite article tells us that Jesus is coming to find followers who are on their knees, relentlessly petitioning God’s grace. Too bad it got left out. Where else would you want to be when he arrives?
