Christ teaches to pray, and that instantly, 1-10; assuring us that God will give all good things to those who ask him, 11-13. He, casting out a mute demon, rebukes the blasphemous Pharisees, 14-26; and shows who are blessed, 27, 28; preaches to the people, 29-36; and reproves the outward show of holiness in the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers, 37-54.
1 And it came to pass, that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples." 2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say,
'Our Father who is in heaven,/
may your name be hallowed./
May your kingdom come./
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us of our sins,/
for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us./
And do not lead us into temptation,/
but deliver us from evil.'"
5 And he said to them, "Which of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 For a friend of mine in his journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him,' 7 And he from within answers and says, 'Do not trouble me. The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give to him as many as he needs.
9 "And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any of you who is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he instead of a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
14 And he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. And it came to pass when the demon had gone out, the mute spoke, and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons through Beelzebub, the chief of the demons." 16 And others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong armed man keeps his palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when someone stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
24 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through dry places seeking rest, and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house where I came out.' 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. Then the last state of that man is worse than the first."
27 And it came to pass, as he was speaking these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts which nourished you." 28 But he said, "Yes, but rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."
29 And when the people were assembled in crowds, he began to say, "This is an evil generation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of man shall be to this generation. 31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them. For she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.
33 "No man when he has lit a candle puts it in a secret place, neither under a basket, but on a candlestick, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is single, your whole body is also full of light, but when your eye is evil, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If your whole body therefore is full of light, having no dark part, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle gives you light."
37 And as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee implored him to dine with him. And he went in and sat down to eat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the platter clean, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 You fools. Did he who made that which is outside not make that which is inside also? 41 But rather give those things which you have on the inside as alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.
42 "But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint, rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God. These you ought to have done, and not to leave the others undone. 43 Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are as graves which are unseen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."
45 Then one of the lawyers answered, and said to him, "Master, saying thus, you reproach us also." 46 And he said, "Woe to you also, you lawyers, for you load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly you bear testimony that you allow the deeds of your fathers. For they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. 49 Therefore, the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and persecute, 50 So that the blood of all the prophets which has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple.' Truly I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You have not entered in yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering in."
53 And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently and to solicit him to speak of many things, 54 Lying in wait for him and seeking to catch something from his mouth so that they might accuse him.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Luke, Chapter 11[➚]
[v.1-4] - Gospel Link: Matthew 6:9-13.
[v.2] - "When you pray" - Reference, Jeremiah 33:3.
[v.5-13] - Gospel Link: Matthew 7:7-11.
[v.14-15] - Gospel Link: Matthew 12:22-24; Mark 3:22.
[v.16] - Gospel Link: Matthew 12:38.
[v.17-23] - Gospel Link: Matthew 12:25-30; Mark 3:23-27.
[v.24-26] - Gospel Link: Matthew 12:43-45.
[v.29-32] - Gospel Link: Matthew 12:39-42.
[v.29] - "the sign of Jonah" - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "A promise that yet there should be one sign more given them, different from any that had yet been given them, even the sign of Jonas the prophet, which in Matthew is explained as meaning the resurrection of Christ. As Jonas being cast into the sea, and lying there three days, and then coming up alive and preaching repentance to the Ninevites, was a sign to them, upon which they turned from their evil way, so shall the death and resurrection of Christ, and the preaching of his gospel immediately after to the Gentile world, be the last warning to the Jewish nation. If they be provoked to a holy jealousy by this, well and good; but, if this do not work upon them, let them look for nothing but utter ruin: The Son of Man shall be a sign to this generation (verse 30), a sign speaking to them, though a sign spoken against by them."
[v.31] - Reference, 1st Kings 10:1.
[v.32] - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "The Ninevites would rise up in judgment against them, and condemn their impenitency: They repented at the preaching of Jonah; but here is preaching which far exceeds that of Jonah, is more powerful and awakening, and threatens a much sorer ruin than that of Nineveh, and yet none are startled by it, to turn from their evil way, as the Ninevites did." Reference, Jonah 3:5-9.
[v.33a] - See the comment for Matthew 5:16.
[v.33b] - Gospel Link: Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16.
[v.34-36] - Gospel Link: Matthew 6:22-23.
[v.43] - Gospel Link: Matthew 23:5-7; Mark 12:38-39.
[v.44] - Reference, Matthew 23:27-28.
[v.46] - Gospel Link: Matthew 23:4.
[v.47-48] - Gospel Link: Matthew 23:29-31.
[v.49-51] - Gospel Link: Matthew 23:34-36.
[v.49] - Reference, Jeremiah 7:25; Matthew 23:34.
[v.51a] - "the blood of Abel" - Reference, Genesis 4:8.
[v.51b] - "the blood of Zacharias" - Reference, 2nd Chronicles 24:20-21.
[v.51c] - See the comment for Matthew 23:35 for an interesting observation about Jesus mentioning these two people.
[v.52] - Gospel Link: Matthew 23:13.