(5) And he said unto them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him' (7) And he from within shall answer and say, 'Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee'? (8) I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." (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. (10) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Luke 11:5-10)
Most commentators find in this illustrative parable of our Lord an exhortation to perseverance in prayer. Perseverance in prayer is vital; but Luke records another parable later on in his gospel to teach this:
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, 'Avenge me of mine adversary.' And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" (Luke 18:1-7)
In that parable, the purpose is clearly stated (verse 1), and the circumstance of long delay is explicit (verses 4,7).
In spite of the consensus of commentators, I cannot but think that the parable under consideration has a very different meaning. It is not about perseverance. It is rather about unashamedness in prayer. There is no reason to believe that the word translated "importunity" means that. It only appears in this place in the New Testament; and it is the Greek word for shame with a negative prefix. It does not mean perseverance; but the want of shame, audacity, or impudence (See Robertson's Word Pictures on this text). There is nothing in the illustration that indicates how long the one man had to wait at the door, or that the other delayed a long time before answering the plea.
The question mark at the end of verse 6 ought to have been placed at the end of verse 7; for it is manifest that Jesus meant to say that under such circumstances, not one of us would refuse the request. Whenever Jesus poses a question that begins with "which of you" or its equivalent, it is a rhetorical question. The assumed answer is "not one of you". Here are all the instances I could find of this phenomenon:
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Luk 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 12:25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Luk 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
In every case, the implied answer is "no one". This case is no different. Consider the reading of the Authorized Version (with quotation marks added to distinguish the words of the man in the parable from the words of Jesus):
"Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him'?"
The meaning would then be that none of us would go to a friend under such circumstances. But this is not what Jesus is saying. This is not what is supposed to have happened. What happened is that the one friend did go to the other and knock on his door at an untimely hour.
The sentence does not end there, and the question mark does not belong there. It continues until the case under consideration is fully stated:
"Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him' and he from within shall answer and say, 'Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee'?
The supposition is that no one would refuse a friend under such circumstances. If the bond of friendship were insufficient to motivate us; we would know by his very shamelessness in thus inconveniencing us that his circumstances must have been such that he could not do otherwise.
Thus, the connection between the parable and what follows is made clear:
(8) "I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (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. (10) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (11) If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? (12) Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (13) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
The same theme continues through verse 13: "All you have to do is ask. Prayer is as simple as that. God is ready to answer. Ask, seek, knock -- and expect to get what you asked for. Don't be bashful! Don't be ashamed! Be bold to approach God. He will hear you, and give you what you need."
The connection is also indicated by the repetition of the phrase, "I say unto you" in verses 8 and 9. The word "and" which begins verse 9 is another connecting link.
Further, the parable sets before us the case of waking a friend at midnight, in order to ask him a favor. How could this be done without knocking on his door? Thus, the word "knock" in verse 10 may well be explained as another link to the aforementioned parable.
Shame, and a sense of unworthiness is a great obstacle to prayer. We rightly feel that God is infinitely far above us, that He does not need us, that we are unworthy of His notice, much less of His personal care. All this is true. But it is also blessedly true that we have been brought into a family relationship with God by Jesus Christ! He has declared and demonstrated that He is willing to be our friend, to be accounted our Father. All His rightful resentment of us, His outraged holiness, His offended justice, His injured dignity, His terrible anger are laid aside! There is no more condemnation, no more alienation, no more guilt or shame. We are as worthy as Christ Himself because of His sin-destroying sacrifice and His imputed righteousness. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need!
Howard Douglas King
February 5, 2017
Most commentators find in this illustrative parable of our Lord an exhortation to perseverance in prayer. Perseverance in prayer is vital; but Luke records another parable later on in his gospel to teach this:
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, 'Avenge me of mine adversary.' And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" (Luke 18:1-7)
In that parable, the purpose is clearly stated (verse 1), and the circumstance of long delay is explicit (verses 4,7).
In spite of the consensus of commentators, I cannot but think that the parable under consideration has a very different meaning. It is not about perseverance. It is rather about unashamedness in prayer. There is no reason to believe that the word translated "importunity" means that. It only appears in this place in the New Testament; and it is the Greek word for shame with a negative prefix. It does not mean perseverance; but the want of shame, audacity, or impudence (See Robertson's Word Pictures on this text). There is nothing in the illustration that indicates how long the one man had to wait at the door, or that the other delayed a long time before answering the plea.
The question mark at the end of verse 6 ought to have been placed at the end of verse 7; for it is manifest that Jesus meant to say that under such circumstances, not one of us would refuse the request. Whenever Jesus poses a question that begins with "which of you" or its equivalent, it is a rhetorical question. The assumed answer is "not one of you". Here are all the instances I could find of this phenomenon:
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Luk 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 12:25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Luk 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
In every case, the implied answer is "no one". This case is no different. Consider the reading of the Authorized Version (with quotation marks added to distinguish the words of the man in the parable from the words of Jesus):
"Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him'?"
The meaning would then be that none of us would go to a friend under such circumstances. But this is not what Jesus is saying. This is not what is supposed to have happened. What happened is that the one friend did go to the other and knock on his door at an untimely hour.
The sentence does not end there, and the question mark does not belong there. It continues until the case under consideration is fully stated:
"Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him' and he from within shall answer and say, 'Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee'?
The supposition is that no one would refuse a friend under such circumstances. If the bond of friendship were insufficient to motivate us; we would know by his very shamelessness in thus inconveniencing us that his circumstances must have been such that he could not do otherwise.
Thus, the connection between the parable and what follows is made clear:
(8) "I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (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. (10) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (11) If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? (12) Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (13) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
The same theme continues through verse 13: "All you have to do is ask. Prayer is as simple as that. God is ready to answer. Ask, seek, knock -- and expect to get what you asked for. Don't be bashful! Don't be ashamed! Be bold to approach God. He will hear you, and give you what you need."
The connection is also indicated by the repetition of the phrase, "I say unto you" in verses 8 and 9. The word "and" which begins verse 9 is another connecting link.
Further, the parable sets before us the case of waking a friend at midnight, in order to ask him a favor. How could this be done without knocking on his door? Thus, the word "knock" in verse 10 may well be explained as another link to the aforementioned parable.
Shame, and a sense of unworthiness is a great obstacle to prayer. We rightly feel that God is infinitely far above us, that He does not need us, that we are unworthy of His notice, much less of His personal care. All this is true. But it is also blessedly true that we have been brought into a family relationship with God by Jesus Christ! He has declared and demonstrated that He is willing to be our friend, to be accounted our Father. All His rightful resentment of us, His outraged holiness, His offended justice, His injured dignity, His terrible anger are laid aside! There is no more condemnation, no more alienation, no more guilt or shame. We are as worthy as Christ Himself because of His sin-destroying sacrifice and His imputed righteousness. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need!
Howard Douglas King
February 5, 2017
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