I.
INTRODUCTION
Prayer has been
universally observed as a means by which the faithful communicates with higher
beings. In fact, each world religions
have their own respective prayer books, which served as guides to the
faithful. For some, prayers are mere
incantations that one can simply utter in times of trouble. On the other hand, some treat prayer as a
means of tapping into supernatural powers.
From the Christian tradition, Prayer
is defined as an offering up of our
desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in
the name of Christ, with confession of our
sins, and thankful acknowledgment
of his mercies (WSC Q.98). Moreover,
Jesus also taught his disciples how to pray.
In doing so, he gave them a pattern prayer, otherwise known as the
Lord’s prayer, which serves as a model for his disciples to follow. This pattern prayer is recorded in the
gospels of Matthew and Luke. However,
Jesus did not just give a pattern prayer; he likewise provided certain
teachings about prayer, and the same is recorded in Luke 11: 5-13.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
The opening verses of the Gospel of
Luke readily shows the purpose for which the gospel was written. The author deemed it necessary to write an
orderly account for Theophilus, so that the
latter may have
certainty concerning the things he had been taught
(Luke 1: 3-4).
The accounts narrated in the gospels were not personally witnessed by
the author himself. These accounts were
constructed based from the facts and narrations gathered from the eyewitnesses
themselves (Luke 1: 2).
According
to Darrell Bock, we can assume that Theophilus needed reassurance based from
the opening verses of the gospel (Bock 18).
Further, he asserts that Theophilus is a gentile believer who finds
himself in a Jewish movement. Despite
its Jewishness, the movement receives persecutions from Jews. Possibly, he maybe doubting as to whether
this new movement belonged to God. For
this reason, the gospel writer explains the claims of this movement by showing
God’s plan and the reasons why this new community suffers (ibid). Moreover, it has also been suggested that
even though Theophilus is the intended audience of the gospel account,
nevertheless, Gentile Christians were considered to be the gsopel’s implied
readers. (Fee and Stuart, 286)
A
cursory reading of the whole gospel account shows several themes such as God’s
plan, God’s faithfulness and Gentile inclusion, as means of giving assurance to
Theophilus (Bock, 20). However, the
gospel is not merely intended to give assurance but also to elicit proper
responses of faithfulness and perseverance.
In short, the gospel account provides a picture of what a strong
Christian is, and how to live in a hostile world (ibid).
LITERARY
CONTEXT OF LUKE 11: 5-13
The story of the Friend at Midnight is part
of a bigger narrative context. This
bigger narrative context is the so called Journey to Jerusalem account which
comprises of Luke 9: 51 to 19: 44 (Carson and Moo 200). This narrative unit is dominated by the
teachings of Jesus (ibid). In 9: 51 – 56,
it recounts the rejection of Jesus by the Samaritans. Thereafter, in 9: 57 – 62, Jesus discusses
the cost of following him. In 10: 1-24,
Luke reports on the sending of the seventy-two (72) evangelists and their
fruitful ministry. Luke went on to
narrate the confrontation that Jesus had with the religious leaders. In 10: 25-37, we can read the famous parable
of the Good Samaritan. Through this
parable, Jesus taught about true love for the neighbour (ibid). In 10: 38-42, we can also read the famous
story of Martha, Mary, and Jesus. This
story shows that Jesus is properly welcomed by listening to what he says (Fee
and Stuart, 293). In the next passage,
Luke records the teachings of Jesus about prayer in Luke 11:1-13.
Moreover,
from Luke 9:51 to 11: 13, we can see the prevalence of the theme of
discipleship. According to Fee and
Stuart, this unit is aimed at teaching the disciples. Their negative attitude towards the
Samaritans for rejecting Jesus was rebuked and corrected by Jesus through the
Parable of the Good Samaritan. Further,
they assert that the story of Mary and Martha shows the proper way of welcoming
Jesus, and that is by listening to what he says. Then, Jesus gave the disciples
instructions on Prayer (ibid).
II.
SITUATIONAL CONTEXT OF LUKE 11: 5-13
The
parable of the Friend at Midnight is a continuation of Jesus’ teachings about
Prayer. In Luke 11: 1, we can see that
after Jesus prayed, he was approached and asked by his disciples to teach them
how to pray just as John the Baptist taught his disciples. Then, Jesus taught them a prayer known in
Christian tradition as the Lord’s prayer.
This prayer can also be read in the gospel of Matthew. However, in the Gospel of Matthew, the prayer
was taught in the context of a sermon, unlike in Luke 11. In Luke 11, the prayer was taught in the
context of a discourse between Jesus and his disciples.
COMMENTARY:
5 And he said to them,
“Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a
journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
In the Greek New Testament, verse 5
begins with the phrase “kai eipen pros autous”
which can be translated as, “and he said to them”. The phrase readily tells us that Jesus was
speaking to the same audience with whom he spoke to in verses 1-4. In other words, right after teaching the
Lord’s prayer, Jesus continued to elaborate on the topic of prayer. In doing so, Jesus narrates the parable of
the friend at Midnight. Jesus began by
asking the disciples a hypothetical question (Green 446). The disciples are then drawn into imagining
the scenario that Jesus was narrating to them.
Jesus went on to narrate that there was this man who went to his neighbour,
who also happends to be his friend, at midnight and asked from him three loaves
of bread. In verse 6, we can read the
reason why he went to his neighbour-friend in the wee hours of the night. We read that the man had another friend who just
arrived from a journey. Now, he is confronted with the dilemma that he has
nothing in his house to feed his guest.
According to Joseph Fitzmeyer, it is
a custom among Palestenian travellers to travel by night in order to avoid the
heat of the sun. As such, the arrival of
the person to another person’s house is unexpected. At the same time, the host is culturally expected
to grant the guest hospitality when the latter arrives (Fitzmeyer 911). Moreover, the hospitality covers the guest’s
food and lodging (Keener __). Anent the
number of breads requested, Joel Green asserts that three breads are the number
of loaves for an evening meal (Green 447).
Since the host does not have any food left in his house, there was
urgency on his part to go to his neighbour-friend’s house to borrow for three
(3) breads. With his dilemna, the host
did not hesitate to go to the neighbour-friend’s house even if it was already
midnight; when people were already supposed to be sleeping.
7 and he will answer from
within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in
bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and
give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
Jesus
continues by stating the response of the neighbour-friend. In his reply, we can see that the
neighbour-friend did not address the host as friend. Initially, we see that the neighbour did not
immediately rise from his bed. He
claimed that their door was already shut, and that the children inside the
house were already sleeping. From the reply
itself, we can imply that the said neighbour lives in a single room peasant
home where the whole family sleeps together on mats (Green 447). For this reason, if the neighbour would
accede to the request of the host, such would mean waking up the entire family
(Bock 206). Hence, his reluctance to get up and entertain the request of the
host.
However,
the story did not stop in the reluctance of the neighbour-friend. Jesus said that this neighbour-friend will
rise from his bed and grant the host’s petition, not because they are friends
but because of the man’s imprudence. The
term imprudence in the original greek is “anaideia”, which literally means “shamelessness”. However, in other bible translations it is
translated as “persistence”. But for John
Nolland, there are no valid reasons to translate the word as “persistence”
because there are no evidences from the text itself to translate such the term
as “persistence” (Nolland 625). Nolland
also notes that the term “aidws”, from which the term “anaideia” came from, refers to both a sense
of shame and actual shame or scandal (ibid 626). With a negative prefix added to the term “aidws”, we can say that Luke intended the
term “anaideia”
to mean “shamelessness” (ibid). In
short, the neighbour-friend will grant the host’s petition due to the
scandalous circumstances under which the petition was made. Hospitality, according to Joel Green,
involves not only individuals but the whole community (Green 448). Again, the possible failure of the
neighbour-friend to give assistance may reach the entire community, since
showing hospitality is a communal obligation.
A bad report can place the neighbour-friend in a bad light and
humiliation if he fails to provide assistance (Keener ___).
In
short, Jesus is telling his disciples that the demands of friendship suffice to
secure a favourable decision from whom the petition is made. However, there are instances in which
friendship may not be a strong reason to provide a positive grant for a
request. Nonetheless, the request will
still be granted due to the possible shame that the person maybe placed, if one
did not provide any assistance (Green 448).
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For
everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who
knocks it will be opened.
After narrating the
parable of the Friend at Midnight, Jesus goes on to tell an encouragement to
his disciples. The opening line of verse
9 says “kagw umivn legw”, which
means “I myself am telling you”, shows a consequential connection between the
parable and the subsequent words of Jesus (Green 449). In this verse, we can see that Jesus is
encouraging the disciples to venture to ask, seek, and knock because of what
they heard in the parable of the Friend at Midnight. According to Nolland, it is a venture for
asking for something that another may be able to provide, seeking for what has
been lost or whose location is initially unknown for some other reason, and
knocking on a door to gain admission to a building. He further notes that this venture may even
be a venture of risk (Nolland 629).
Though a venture of risk, verse 10 provides for the success of such
venture (ibid 630).
For Fitzmeyer, these
verses are examples of the so-called theological passive paradigm (Fitzmeyer
915). In a theological passive
paradigm/construction, God is believed to be the responding party. In other words, Jesus is telling his
disciples that they can come to God with boldness and present their request,
because surely God will respond to their prayers.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a
serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will
give him a scorpion? 13 If you
then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
To give further encouragement for
his disciples to venture into praying to the Lord, and expect a reply from God,
Jesus gave a similitude to highlight his point (Nolland 629). This similitude is base from the daily
experience of his disciples. Jesus pointed
that since earthly fathers know how to provide good things to their children,
how much more for God who is good. It is
worthy to note that Jesus went back to the imagery of God as father just like
he presented him in Luke 11: 1-4. In
fact, Jesus not only depicted God as good, he also described him as magnanimous
or generous in that God will not only provide for his children, but He can also
give them the greatest possible gift, which is the His Spirit/ Holy Spirit
(Ibid 630).
III.
THEOLOGICAL
POINT/S OF LUKE 11: 5-13
The
point of the passage is to encourage the disciples to trust God and be bold in
their prayers. They can come to the Lord
with the expectation that God will not ignore their prayers. God being their good father will not ignore
them but respond to their petitions. In
doing so, God is not responding out of shame but out of His goodness and
generosity. This passage is not a blank
check promise but an assurance that what we received from God are things which
are good (Bock 207). Though I personally
disagree with Fitzmeyer that verses 9-10 are in the theological passives tense,
nonetheless, it is clear from the context of the passage that God is the
implied respondent. Furthermore, the
verbs ask, seek, and knock are in the present active imperative, and not in
aorist passive.
Moreover,
it is my personal opinion that the passage is not mainly intended to teach
about persistence in prayer. The term “anaideia” is better
translated as shameless audacity than persistence. Base from the context, we can see the
untimeliness of the petition. The man
asked for his needs during the time when it was very unconvenient. Normally, a person would not disturb another
person during midnight. Nonetheless, the
urgency prompted the man to go to his neighbour-friend to ask for help. Further, there are no indications from the
parable that there was progressive or repeated demands from the
petitioner. Hence, we can say that the
act of the petitioner is shameless, in the sense that he asked for assistance
during an untimely manner.
In
the context of the Kingdom of God, God is not just a transcendent King who knows
that needs of his people from a distance.
Rather, this King is also our Father with whom we have intimate
relationship with. Having an intimate
relationship with God as our Father, we can be assured that He will supply our
needs.
IV.
APPLICATION
The
passage in this paper is very timely.
Upon submission of this paper, someone dear to my heart is undergoing
trials in her life. I personally shared
the verses to her as a form of encouragement that God will respond to our
prayers, and that whatever the consequences be, we can be assured that God’s
response to our prayers are good in themselves.
With these, I personally feel encourage as well because I feel for this
special person. I feel the weight and
burden of her problem. Yet, this passage
encourages me to go to the Lord and present to him my requests.
In
addition, this passage tells me that no matter what my petition be, whether it
be physical or spiritual need, the Lord will gladly supply them because he is
my father in heaven. The focus is not in
the difficulty or impossibility of the requests but the goodness and generosity
of God.
