Lucas 11
John Calvin · Citado em PreceptAustin
Lucas 11
Calvin comments “For [God] is not only a father but by far the best and kindest of all fathers.” He always welcomes His children in His presence....The Jews of Jesus’ day tended to view God as so awesome and holy that they dared not be too intimate with Him. If someone got a glimpse of God, he thought that he would die. They dared not utter the name of God, because it was too sacred. They kept their proper distance in the temple, because if they touched any of the sacred objects, they would drop dead. They needed to learn that they could approach God as a kind and loving Father.In our day, it seems that the reverse is true. Most American Christians think of God as their Good Buddy in the Sky. We don’t worry about His consuming holiness and His blinding splendor. We don’t fear His chastening hand. We’re more like the children who call their permissive fathers by their first names. We’re too casual about the Holy One. But the term “Father” should not only encourage us to draw near to a kind and loving God. It should also cause us to respect His authority and to submit to Him in fear. As the author of Hebrews puts it, “we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb. 12:9). Thus while we can draw near to the Father as His beloved children, we must always do so with reverence, respect, and submission to His sovereign authority. (Luke 11:1-4 Lord, Teach Us to Pray!) Related Resource: How should I understand the concept of the Father God? What does it mean that God is our Abba Father? Say "Father" - Say is a command in the present imperative, which is a call to make prayer to our Father our priority and our lifestyle, something as necessary to our spiritual life as oxygen is to our physical life! The Old Testament saints seldom addressed God as Father (cf Isa 63:16; Dt 32:6) In fact Philip Keller points out (Borrow A layman looks at the Lord's prayer), in all of the Old Testament God is referred to as Father fewer than seven times, except indirectly and rather remotely. In fact consider the Tabernacle with the Holy of Holies separated from the people by the Holy Place and then the walls of the Tabernacle, giving a clear picture to the Jews that God was unapproachable. In fact only once per year would the high priest (alone) enter the presence of God in the Shekinah Glory over the Ark of the Covenant (Day of Atonement - Lev 16+, cf "consuming fire" Ex 24:17, Heb 12:28-29+, cf Moses' request Ex 33:18-23). We in the New Testament too often either forget or become complacent regarding the great privilege we now have to boldly approach the Throne of Grace because Jesus' sacrifice has flung wide open the doors to the Throne Room and the presence of the Father (cf Heb 4:14-16+, Heb 10:19-23+). Through Christ's death and High Priesthood, the unapproachable God has now become approachable for all those who are in Christ by grace through faith! Pause and ponder this great truth for a moment and then offer up a sacrifice of praise, giving thanks to His Name (Heb 13:15+) for giving us so great a salvation and such an incredible privilege of eternal entree into His Holy Presence (cf Ro 5:1-2+, Jude 1:24-25+). To say God was unapproachable in the OT needs to be qualified, for clearly even in the OT, saints had access to God in prayer - Ps 50:15, Ps 91:15, Ps 145:18, Ps 18:6, Ps 65:2, Jonah 2:9, etc.
Lucas 11
Calvin observes, “Nothing is better adapted to excite us to prayer than a full conviction that we shall be heard”. Our Lord wants us to come to the Father and keep on coming until He gives us what we need to see His kingdom come. Approach God with boldness as His friend, persisting until you obtain what you need to minister to your friends (Luke 11:5-10). The story (Luke 11:5-8): The story gives us a humorous incident from the culture of Jesus’ day. A guy has a traveler drop in on him late at night and he has no fresh bread to set before him. You couldn’t run to the all-night supermarket and buy a loaf of bread. They didn’t have freezers or refrigerators full of food. Cultural hospitality demanded that you give him something to eat. So the guy goes over to his friend’s house at midnight. It’s dark inside and the door is bolted shut. But, after all, this is his friend, and what are friends for? So he starts banging on the door. Inside, the family would all be sleeping together in one place. There were probably some domestic animals inside for the night, and the banging on the door would arouse them, too. The guy groggily calls out, “Who is it? What do you want at this hour?” The “friend” cheerily explains his need. The guy inside says, “Stop bothering me! The door is bolted shut, we finally got the kids to go to sleep (every parent knows what that is like!), and I don’t want to get up and give you anything!” But the “friend” keeps on knocking and asking! Finally the guy in bed realizes that the quickest route to getting back to sleep is to get up and give him what he’s after. Then Jesus gives an initial application (Luke 11:8) before expanding on it (Luke 11:9-10): Apart from the friendship issue (which may be a bit strained at this midnight hour!), the host will obtain what he went for because of his persistent boldness. The word translated “persistence” (KJV = importunity) has the idea of shameless boldness. The idea of persistence comes out in the present tense verbs of Luke 11:9-10. Before we look at the direct application, let’s consider some things about the story. First, it shows us that necessity drives bold prayer. The host had a need to provide for his friend, and he did not have the resources to meet that need. It is an awareness of great needs and our own lack of resources to meet those needs that will drive us to prayer. All too often we fail to pray because we assume our own sufficiency or competence. We wrongly think that we can get by with just a little boost from God here and there. But the fact is, we are destitute of physical, mental, and spiritual resources unless God graciously provides them. In every situation, we must recognize our desperate need and call on God for help. Second, the need in this case was not directly personal, but the need of someone else. If the man himself had been hungry, no doubt he would have waited until morning to go to his friend’s house. But the need was not his; it was the midnight guest’s need that drove this man to his friend’s house at this unseemly hour. While we should go boldly to God to find help for our own needs, we should keep in mind that the main thrust of prayer is not just to meet our needs, but to further the Father’s kingdom. Thus we are to ask for what we need to meet the needs of others in the name of the Father’s business. Third, the man already had an established friendship before he went to his neighbor’s house at midnight. He wasn’t just introducing himself for the first time that night! They had a personal relationship that he was acting upon. While God is often gracious to introduce Himself for the first time in response to a midnight knock on His door, the time to meet Him is before the midnight need! If you know Him as a familiar friend, you will feel more comfortable banging on His door at midnight when you have to! Fourth, we should recognize the stark contrast between the man in bed and God. The man in bed was asleep, whereas God never sleeps. The man in bed did not want to be disturbed, whereas our requests do not disturb God. The midnight request probably put a strain on the relationship between these two friends, whereas our midnight requests do not strain our relationship with God. Jesus’ point is that we should be boldly persistent in bringing our requests to God at any hour and in any situation. If a cranky friend responds to this kind of bold persistence, how much more will your Friend in heaven respond! (Luke 11:5-13 How to Approach God) Luke 11:9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, krouoand it will be opened to you. KJV Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. I say Luke 13:24; Mt 6:29; 21:31; Mark 13:37; Rev 2:24 Ask Ps 50:15; 118:5; Jeremiah 33:3; Mt 7:7,8; 21:22; Mark 11:24; John 4:10; 14:13; John 15:7,16; 16:23,24; 2 Cor 12:8,9; Heb 4:16; James 1:5; 5:15; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 5:14,15 seek 13:24; Ps 27:4,8; 34:4,10; 105:3,4; Song 3:1-4; 5:6; Isa 45:19; 55:6,7; Jer 29:12; Daniel 9:3; Amos 5:4-6; John 1:45-49; Acts 10:4-6; Ro 2:7; Heb 11:6 knock Luke 13:25; 2 Cor 6:2 Luke 11 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Luke 11:5-10 Pray Boldly - John MacArthur THE PRAYER ACROSTIC "A.S.K." A for asking, S for seeking and K for knocking. Guzik subtitles Luke 11:9-13 Pray with a childlike confidence. And remember that while this is a promise from God, it is not a "blank check" to allow us to pray for anything we might want and expect God to grant the request. So I say to you, ask (aiteo), and it will be given to you; seek (zeteo), and you will find; knock (krouo) and it will be opened to you - The pronoun "I" is in the Greek text which serves to place emphasis on this statement. Note the ascending degree of intensity from asking then to seeking and finally to overtly knocking! Each of these verbs is in the present imperative, which is a command to do each of these activities continually. These three present imperatives show the priority that prayer is to have in our lives. Jesus is calling for persistence in prayer. Prayer is as necessary to our spiritual life as oxygen to our physical life. Prayer is our supernatural "walkie-talkie," our lifeline as citizens of the Kingdom of heaven who are still on earth. Prayer expresses our continued dependence on God as we beseech Him for the grace and power to live the supernatural life that Jesus lived providing our Perfect Example (See Walking Like Jesus Walked!). David Thompson writes "Now let’s face it, most people do not pray with this kind of persistent intensity. Those who do will see answers. Babe Ruth is known for his incredible ability to hit home runs. What is often overlooked is that he struck out 1,330 times. That almost totals four complete seasons of striking out. But he consistently got into the batter’s box and he swung the bat. God wants His people consistently and persistently praying." Luke 11:9-10 speaks of the Lord's certainty to answer prayer. However some take this passage out of context and use it as if God has given them a "blank check!" A similar misuse can occur with John 15:7 where Jesus gives a similar promise "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (cf similar promise in Jn 14:13-14) I have seen otherwise sound Christians take this verse as a veritable "carte blanche" taking it to mean that God will give us whatever we ask for. John gives us the proper balance in his first epistle writing This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask (present tense - continually) anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask (present tense - continually), we know that we have the requests which we have asked (perfect tense) from Him. (1 John 5:14-15+, cf 1 Jn 3:22+) So John's qualification is that we ask according to God's will, which is best discerned from God's Word, which is why praying Scripture back to God is one of the best disciplines we can develop in our prayer life. But even if we pray in His will, there may be delay. THOUGHT - My parents prayed for me to become a believer in Christ for 20 years and finally at age 39, God's Spirit granted me the grace to believe and be born again (see My Personal Testimony). I prayed for my son for almost 20 years and he was recently born again. On the other hand I am still praying for a daughter who is not born again (and I have prayed for her for over 25 years). And yet, from passages such as Luke 11:5-13, I receive encouragement to continue to pray and will do so until the day I die. We see similar qualifying phrases regarding answered prayer in the Psalms For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Ps 84:11) (A GOD-CENTERED HEART) If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; (Ps 66:18) (A SIN-CENTERED HEART) Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4) - If we focus on God, His desires will tend to become our desires and they when we ask Him, we are more likely to be asking for the desires of His heart. Bob Utley on ask (aiteo), seek (zeteo), and knock (krouo) - These are all present active imperatives which speak of habitual, lifestyle commands (cf. Deut. 4:29; Jer. 29:13). It is important that one balance human persistence with God's responsive character. Believers cannot force God to do that which is not good for them. However, at the same time, they can bring any perceived need to their heavenly Father at any time and as often as desired. Jesus prayed the same prayer in Gethsemane three times (cf. Mark 15:36,39,41; Matt. 26:39,42,44). Paul also prayed three times about his thorn in the flesh (cf. 2 Cor. 12:8). But the great thing about prayer is not that one receives a specific answer to his request, but that he has spent time with the Father! Persistence (literally "shamelessness") is important (cf. Luke 18:2-8). However, it does not coerce a reluctant God, but reveals the level of interest and concern of the person praying. Neither one's many words nor his repeated prayers will motivate the Father to give that which is not in one's best interest. The best thing believers get in prayer is a growing relationship and dependence on God.
Lucas 11
Calvin put it, “Let us ... learn that, as we are all subject to the tyranny of Satan, there is no other way in which [God] commences his reign within us, than when he rescues us, by the powerful and victorious arm of Christ, from that wretched and accursed bondage” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Evangelists,” 2:72-73)." (Steven Cole) Bock on plunder (skulon or spoils) - The spoils in these texts are the benefits of salvation distributed to those who have been redeemed. (Ibid) J C Ryle on plunder (KJV = "divideth the spoils") - He takes possession of the affections and intellectual capacities, over which the devil once exercised dominion, and uses them for His own glory. Ford quotes a saying of Bishop Reynolds: “God maketh use of that art, wealth, power, learning, wisdom, intellect, which Satan used against Christ’s kingdom, as instruments and ornaments unto the Gospel; as, when a magazine in war is taken, the General makes use of those arms, which were provided against him, for his own service.” One is reminded of a phrase in Isaiah 53:12+ describing one of the effects of Christ's Crucifixion - "Therefore, I will allot Him (MESSIAH) a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors." (See also Isaiah 49:25-26). Overpowers (conquer) (3528)(nikao) means to conquer, to be victorious or to prevail in the face of obstacles. Satan's kingdom presents obstacles such as the scribes who opposed Jesus, but Jesus overpowers them with His pristine perfect logic. And because He has overcome, all of His brethren are now overcomers in Him even as He promised the first disciples "You are from God, little children, and have overcome (nikao) them; because greater is He Who is in you (CHRIST AND HIS SPIRIT) than he who is in the world (SATAN AND HIS EMISSARIES)." (1 Jn 4:4+) " For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome (nikao) the world–our faith." (1 Jn 5:4+) Now we need to bask in and believe His Word for He declared "These things I have spoken to you, so that (PURPOSE CLAUSE) in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome (nikao) the world.” (Jn 16:33) Overcome describes the quality of a true saint who may stumble and fall but who God always picks up and he continues onward and upward in the power and motivation of the victory Christ has won for us on the Cross. THOUGHT - Paul uses a derivative of nikao in Ro 8:37KJV+ declaring "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer (hupernikao) through Him who loved us." This is our lot in this life beloved. Are you living in light of this great truth? If not confess, repent and be filled with all powerful Spirit Who Alone can enable this quality of "overcoming life," which is the will of God for all of His children in Christ! Takes away (142) airo literally means to lift up something (Mt 17:27) and to carry it (Lxx - Ge 44:1, Ex 25:28 = the Ark). In the first Septuagint use of airo in Ge 35:2 Jacob told his household "Put away (airo) the foreign gods." Friberg's summary of airo - (1) literally, as lifting up something take up, pick, raise (Mt 17.27; Rev 10.5); absolutely, of a ship weigh anchor, depart (Acts 27.13); hyperbolically, of a mountain arise (Mt 21.21); idiomatically literally raise one’s eyes, i.e. look up (Jn 11.41); literally take up the cross, i.e. be prepared to suffer to the point of death (Mt 16.24); literally lift up someone’s soul, i.e. keep someone in suspense without being able to come to a conclusion (Jn 10.24); (2) as lifting up and carrying something away remove, carry off, take away (Jn 11.39); idiomatically = literally take from, i.e. cause to no longer experience (Mt 21.43); (3) of removing by force; (a) do away with, kill, execute (Jn 19.15); (b) sweep away as with a flood (Mt 24.39); (c) destroy, do away with (Jn 11.48); (d) as a religious technical term, of the effect of Christ’s paying the complete penalty for sin remove, take away (Jn 1.29) (Borrow Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament ) Armor (3833) panoplia from pás = all, every + hoplon = weapon, originally any tool or implement for preparing a thing, became used in the plural for weapons of warfare) is literally wholly armed and refers to the complete set of instruments used in offensive and defensive war. The literal meaning referred to the full preparation of a foot soldier for offense and defense - the complete suit of armor. Certainly Paul could claim knowledge of the Roman soldier’s armor, being chained to one for some three years. Distributes (1239)(diadidomi from dia = transition, dispersion + didomi = to give) literally is to deliver through and means to give out, assign, distribute, dispense, allot, give out especially hand to hand in succession, " apportion among various parties" (BDAG). Used 4x in NT - Lk. 11:22; Lk. 18:22; Jn. 6:11; Acts 4:35 Plunder (4661)(skulon plural in the NT, for what is stripped off a fallen enemy spoils, booty. the arms striptoff a slain enemy. Thayer - (from the obsolete skuo, `to pull off', allied to xuo xulon (but cf. Curtius, sec. 113; Vanicek, p. 1115)); a. a (beast's) skin stripped off, a pelt. b. the arms stripped off from an enemy, spoils: plural Luke 11:22. (Sophocles, Thucydides, and following; the Septuagint.)* J C