§28 Lessons on Prayer (Luke 11:1–13)

This section is made up of three parts: (1) the Lord’s Prayer (vv. 1–4), (2) the Parable of the Persistent Friend (vv. 5–8), and (3) the exhortation to trust God for meeting needs (vv. 9–13). The first and third parts evidently come from the sayings source and appear in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, though not together as they are here (see Matt. 6:9–13; 7:7–11). The Parable of the Persistent Friend occurs only in Luke. Evans (p. 43) suggests that Luke may have seen a parallel with Deut. 8:4–20 where Moses reminds the Israelites of God’s adequate provision of food and clothing during their years of wandering in the wilderness.

11:1–4 / Some commentators have suggested that Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is derived from a source other than one utilized by Matthew (or that Luke adapted and modified Matthew’s version). More plausible, however, is the theory that the Lucan and Matthean versions are derived from a common written source (usually designated as “Q”) with Luke’s version closer to the original wording. (Matthew has in all probability expanded his version of the Lord’s Prayer; see Gundry, pp. 105–9; Marshall, pp. 456–57.) The original setting of the prayer was probably not known to the evangelists, although this cannot be categorically ruled out. Matthew placed it in his Sermon on the Mount in order to illustrate the correct way to pray, as opposed to the ostentatious prayers of the hypocrites (Matt. 6:5) and the meaningless repetitions of the Gentiles (Matt. 6:7). Luke did not place the Lord’s Prayer in his equivalent sermon (the “Sermon on the Plain,” 6:20–49), but chose to place it in the Central Section (or Travel Narrative) in order to illustrate the need for faith and persistence in prayer.

The first part of the prayer is concerned with God’s name being kept sacred (or hallowed, a traditional Jewish concern of first importance) and with the inauguration of his kingdom. (Matthew adds: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”; see Gundry, p. 106.) The second part of the prayer is the petition that God give us each day our daily bread. “Bread” could refer to the messianic feast that was anticipated whenever the kingdom would come (Ellis, p. 165). For the kingdom to come and for this bread to be supplied, there must be repentance (which is implied) and forgiveness. This entails the third part of the prayer. We may ask God to forgive our sins because we forgive everyone who sins against us. The idea is that it would be impossible for one to ask God properly for forgiveness if at the same time one harbored grudging and unforgiving feelings toward another person (cf. Matt. 5:23–25). The prayer closes with the petition that God lead us not into temptation. What is probably in view here is the temptation that will come upon all of those who follow Jesus, particularly during the days that precede the coming of the kingdom of God. These temptations (or testings) would include persecution and violence and, perhaps, the allurements and enticements of false teaching and worldly living. These temptations, probably understood as of Satanic origin, pose the danger of leaving the faithful unprepared for the kingdom and, at worst, of disqualifying the faithful altogether. Matthew’s version confirms this idea, for it adds: “but deliver us from the evil one” (6:13b; see Gundry, p. 109).

11:5–8 / The Parable of the Persistent (or Importunate) Friend teaches that prayer will be answered. If a person will answer the summons of a friend, though not eagerly because of extreme inconvenience, certainly God, for whom there is no inconvenient time, will answer the prayers of his children (see also Luke 18:1–5).

11:9–13 / These sayings expound upon the point of the previous parable. Because God will answer our prayers, we should go to him and ask, expecting that it will be given. Would a father give his son a snake (something evil) instead of a fish? Thus, Jesus drives home the point. If imperfect (or evil, see note below) people usually do the right things for those they love, will not our Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit (the giver of “good things,” cf. Matt. 7:11) to those who ask him?

Additional Notes §28

11:1 / teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples: Jesus’ disciples wanted to have their own distinctive community prayer, as other groups had (such as John’s group of disciples, and other groups of disciples who followed various rabbis and teachers). Lachs (pp. 118–19) points out that the Lord’s Prayer is best compared to the Jewish “Short Prayer,” not to the longer prayers (such as the Eighteen Benedictions). One of the short prayers that he cites begins, “Perform your will in heaven and bestow satisfaction on earth upon those who revere you …” (t. Berakoth 3.2).

11:2 / Father: In the OT the people of Israel are often referred to as God’s children (Deut. 14:1; Hos. 11:1–3).

11:3 / daily bread: The meaning of the word that is translated “daily” is obscure. Fitzmyer (p. 896), following Origen (De oratione 27.7), translates, “bread for subsistence.” Appealing to a short prayer in t. Berakoth 3.11, Lachs (p. 120) comes to a similar conclusion: It is the bread that is sufficient for our needs.

11:4 / Forgive us … for we also forgive: Compare Sir. 28:2: “Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray” (RSV).

lead us not into temptation: Lachs (p. 122) cites the following rabbinic parallel: “… do not accustom me to transgression, and bring me not into sin, or into iniquity, into temptation, or into contempt” (b. Berakoth 60b). In light of this parallel Talbert (p. 130) suggests that the idea is not that no temptation ever come upon Jesus’ follower, but that God not allow his follower to be overcome by temptation.

11:5 / midnight: The lateness of the hour is not intended as parabolic exaggeration. Such a detail is quite plausible, for people often traveled at night to avoid the heat of the day (Marshall, p. 464).

11:7 / my children are with me in bed: It is not at all uncommon in small Palestinian homes (“huts,” Ellis, p. 165) for the entire family to sleep together “on a mat which serves as a bed” (Marshall, p. 465). Consequently, for the man to rise would disturb his whole household.

11:9 / seek and you will find: We may ask: seek and find what? The reference is probably to seeking entrance into the kingdom (Luke 13:24). Knocking and having a door open may have in view the same idea of being admitted into the kingdom. In any case, Marshall (p. 468) is surely correct in seeing it as a guarantee that God will respond.

11:11–12 / Water snakes were sometimes caught in the fishing nets. When rolled up the scorpion would resemble an egg.

11:13 / though you are evil: Lachs (p. 142) suspects that underlying “evil” is the Hebrew word biša, which originally was intended only as an abbreviation for bāśār vādām (“flesh and blood”). He notes that to describe one as “flesh and blood” is to call someone mortal, and he cites a rabbinic tradition that parallels the logic of Jesus’ saying very closely: “If this man, who is flesh and blood, cruel and not responsible for her [his divorced wife’s] maintenance, was filled with compassion for her and gave her [aid], how much more should You be filled with compassion for us who are the children of Your children Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and are dependent on You for our maintenance” (Leviticus Rabbah 34.14).

Holy Spirit: Gundry (pp. 124–25) suspects that Luke’s “Holy Spirit” may be original, while Matthew’s (literally) “good things” (7:11) is a Matthean modification. I do not agree. Given Luke’s pronounced interest in the Holy Spirit (recall 1:35, 41, 67; 2:25; 3:16, 22; 4:1, 14, 18) it is much more probable that it was Luke who changed the original “good things” (as is read in Matthew) to “Holy Spirit” (so Schweizer, p. 192).