Bible In One Year Day 317 (Luke 11 - 12, Proverbs 26: 7-9)

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 Day 317: Perseverance in Prayer

Agape Bible Study 
Luke 11 -12 

Chapter 11: Jesus Teaches about Prayer and the Continued Hostility of the Pharisees and Scribes

This chapter can be divided into three parts:

1. Jesus teachings on the Christian's attitude to God in prayer (11:1-13)
2. Jesus' teachings on Satan and unclean spirits (11:14-26)
3. Jesus' teaching on true blessedness and the failure of the Pharisees and Scribes (11:37-54)

Jesus offered a public prayer to the Father in Luke 10:21-22, expressing His joy over the success of the first missionary journey of His disciples. In chapter 11 the disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray just as St. John taught his disciples (11:1-4). It was common for the disciples of Rabbis to have a communal prayer to unite them. Jesus will give three teachings in this chapter defining the Christian's attitude toward God in prayer:

• The Lord's prayer (Lk 11:1-4)
• Persistency in prayer (Lk 11:5-8)
• Sayings on the efficacy of prayer and the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who call on God in prayer (Lk 11:9-13)

Luke 11:1-4 ~ The Lord's Prayer

Jesus probably taught the people how to pray many times during His ministry. We have two renderings of how to pray in the Gospels: in Luke 11:1-4 and in Matthew 6:9-15 (see the study on the Gospel of Matthew Lessons 10-11). The longer version of this prayer in the Gospel of Matthew has an invocation and seven petitions while this version has an invocation and five petitions.

Question: There are 3 versions of the Lord's Prayer in Scripture and in antiquity. The short version is in the Gospel of Luke 11:1-4, a longer version is in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13, and a third version is found in the Church's first catechetical instruction known as the "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," also known as the "Didache" (c. 50/120 AD; Greek word for instruction/teaching). Which version is prayed in the Catholic Mass and in most Protestant Churches?
Answer: The version from the Didache that contains a doxology (see Didache 8.2).

Luke 11:5-8 ~ The Parable of the Persistent Neighbor

This is Jesus second teaching on how to pray and the Christian's attitude toward prayer (the first was the Our Father). This time He presents a parable that emphasizes the importance of being persistent in prayer. Jesus offers three parables on the power of prayer in the Gospel of St. Luke:

1. The Parable of the Persistent Neighbor (Lk 11:5-13)
2. The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Lk 18:1-8)
3. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14)

Question: What comparison is Jesus making and what is His teaching point?
Answer: A neighbor who is relentless in his request to borrow some food and the friend who fulfills his request to get rid of him is compared to the person who is persistent in petitioning God for an answer to prayer. The point is that our persistence and urgency in prayer will get results. It doesn't change God's intentions toward us; instead our persistence changes us to recognize God's work in us and His will for our lives.

Luke 11:9-13 ~ Effective prayer

Addressing the effectiveness of prayer to the Father, Jesus does not put any restrictions on prayer. St. Jerome commenting on this passage notes: It is written, to everyone who asks it will be given; so, if it is not given to you, it is not given to you because you do not ask; so, ask and you will receive (Jerome, Commentary of Matthew, 7).

Question: Even though prayer is infallible, we are not infallible. If Jesus says prayer is as easy as asking and "it will be given to you," why is it that sometimes God's answer to our prayers is "no" or "be patient" which is often wrongly interpreted as the absence of an answer?
Answer: Our petition may be delayed or denied because:

1. Our personal dispositions are not righteous because of personal sin.
2. What we have asked for is not a righteous and unselfish request.
3. Now is not the time to receive such a petition in God's plan for our lives.

Jesus has already warned us against the sin of hypocrisy using the Pharisees and scribes (scholars of the Law) as an example, and He has already given us His own model prayer in the Lord's Prayer/Our Father. Now He encourages His disciples to pray by giving several commands and promises. In verses 9-10 Jesus gives three direct commands and three promises if one follows these commands in connection to how we should pray.

Luke 11:14-23 ~ Beelzebul and the parable of the strong man

Jesus and the disciples are no longer alone. A crowd has gathered and Jesus heals a demon possessed person. Most of the people are impressed and amazed but some level another accusation against Jesus. This is the first of three episodes that Luke recounts where Jesus deals with either demons or signs from heaven (11:14-23, 24-26, and 29-32).

Question: Jesus has already faced several challenges/accusations by the scribes and Pharisees. What is the list of accusations against Him?
Answer: This is another accusation to add to the list:

1. He blasphemes (5:21a)
2. He claims equality with God by forgiving sins (5:21b)
3. He eats with tax collectors and sinners (5:30)
4. He does not fast (5:33)
5. He allows His disciples to do what is unlawful on the Sabbath (6:2)
6. He drives out demons by the prince of demons (11:15)

Jesus defends Himself against the accusation that He has healed by the power of Beelzebub, a reference to Satan (see verse 18). It is thought that Beelzebul refers to the principal false god of the Philistine city of Ekron, Ba'al-zebub (2 Kng 1:2-3, 6, 16). However the name is altered to show the Jew's disgust for the pagan god by calling it Beelzebul making the title "Lord of the Flies" in Aramaic (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 9.2.1). Another suggestion is that it is the Aramaic word be'el-debab, which means "adversary," and is the Aramaic word for a prosecuting attorney in a lawsuit. The Hebrew word satan also means "adversary" or "accuser" as in a court of law. The third suggestion is that it is the Aramaic for be'el-zebbul, "Lord of Dung" (Fitzmyer, page 920).

Luke 11:24-26 ~ The continued danger of unclean spirits

Question: What is Jesus' warning? See 2 Pt 2:20 and Jn 5:14.
Answer: His warning is not to feel smug concerning the apparent defeat of evil in the driving out of a demon. Once being driven out, a demon can return if the delivered person does not repent and get his life right with God. It is not enough to experience an exorcism by becoming a "house swept clean" "the "house"/soul must guard against evil by continual conversion.

Luke 11:27-28 ~ The truly blessed

A woman in the crowd who is impressed with Jesus' wisdom and healing blesses His mother. What she says is reminiscent of Proverbs 23:25: Let your father and mother have joy; let her who bore you exult. Again, Jesus' response must not be taken as a criticism of His mother (see Lk 8:21). Rather Jesus echoes the sentiments of Elizabeth's blessing of Mary in Luke 1:45 and Mary's Canticle in Luke 1:46-48.

Jesus' beatitude does not reject the woman's blessing for His mother but sets the priority of blessedness in obedience to God.

Luke 11:29-32 ~ The sign of Jonah

Jesus reference to "a sign" refers us back to verse 16: Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven, where some in the crowd were asking for a divine sign as proof of His authority from God.

Question: Why is does Jesus call His generation evil or corrupt? What other generation was given the same label by God and by God's covenant mediator? See Num 14:10b-11, 27; Dt 32:4-5.
Answer: No other generation with the exception of the Exodus generation has seen such mighty works/signs of God and yet they refuse to believe and to trust Jesus just as the Exodus generation refused to trust God.

Luke 11:33-36 ~ A parable about a lamp and its light

This is Jesus' second parable about a lamp and the light (see Lk 8:16-18 in Lesson 7). In the earlier parable, the faithful disciple is the lamp and Jesus lights the lamp with the "word." The light is the "word" illuminated by the faith of the disciple that is evidenced by his righteous deeds that are radiated out to the world from the lampstand that is the Church.

Question: What is the symbolic meaning of this teaching? What does each element in the parable represent?
Answer:

The Symbolism in Luke 11:33-36
the lamp	a life
the light	Christ
the darkness	evil
the sound eye	spiritual understanding and insight
bad eye	blinded and corrupted by evil desires
lampstand	the Church through which the Christian's light of Christ shines out to the world

Evil desires make the "eye" less sensitive to the will of God and the darkness of evil actions can blot out the "light" of Christ's presence. Those who are like many of the Pharisees and scribes are unable to perceive the work of Christ in the world. They are blinded by the darkness of their own un-repented sins and are closed to the light of Christ in their lives.

Luke 11:37-54 ~ Jesus denounces the Pharisees and scholars of the law (scribes)

This is not the first time Jesus was invited to dine in the home of a Pharisee (see Lk 7:36 and 14:1). In this passage Jesus reads the thoughts of His host who is critical of Jesus' failure to observe the custom of the ritual purification of His hands before the meal. That is not to say Jesus did not have clean hands. The ritual of dipping one's hands in water was not to cleanse them but to emphasize one's internal righteousness after the blessing of the food and the washing away of any contamination from that is ritually unclean. In the ritual of eating the Passover victim, for example, there were three ritual hand washings during the meal. This was not a command found in the Mosaic Law but an addition to the Law. Jesus' response to the critical heart of His host is a three-part "woe" judgment against the Pharisees and their hypocritical approach to fulfilling the Law (verses 42-44) followed by a similar three-part judgment against the scribes (teachers of the Law) who are also at the meal (verses 46, 47-51 and 52). The total of six curse-judgments may be significant. Six is the number of man and often of man in opposition to God's divine plan. In this case, in opposing Jesus both the Pharisees and the scribes are in opposition to God's divine plan for man's salvation.

Luke 12:1 ~ The leaven of the Pharisees

St. Luke begins chapter 12 by linking Jesus' next teaching to the events at the banquet and Jesus' judgment of the Pharisees and Scribes.

1. St. Luke sets the time of the next event to show the association with the last event in the previous passage by opening with the word "meanwhile" (literally "at that time" in the Greek text).
2. Jesus' characterization of the Pharisees and Scribes as "hypocrites" is a concise summary of His indictment against them at the banquet in the previous part of the narrative.

Notice how St. Luke heightens the drama of this next part of the narrative by describing the crowd. In the literal Greek translation the passage reads that there were "tens of thousands" in the crowd trampling one another underfoot. The size and condition of the crowd gives the impression of being threatening. Turning to His disciples, Jesus' summarizes the condition of the Pharisees and Scribes and the danger they pose to others.
Question: To what does Jesus compare "leaven" in verse 1? What is the comparison in Mt 16:12.
Answer: In Matthew 16:12 the "leaven" of the Pharisees is identified as their false teaching. In Luke 12:1 the "leaven" is identified as their "hypocrisy."

Luke 12:2-9 ~Jesus' call for courage in proclaiming Christ and courage under persecution

In a series of sayings, Jesus offers both warnings and encouragement. In the first series of sayings, each saying is a doublet (verses 2-3) that contains a warning:

concealed --> revealed

secret --> will be known

said in the darkness --> heard in the light

whispered behind closed doors --> proclaimed on the housetops

Question: What is Jesus' point?
Answer: Nothing can be hidden from God and in the "end" (divine judgment) what was attempted to be kept hidden will come to light.

Question: How should what Jesus teaches in verses 2-3 be applied to our confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Answer: We should be fearless and forthcoming in our confessions because, since nothing can be hidden from God, we might as well reveal all our sins without reservation.

Luke 12:10-12 ~ Concerning the Holy Spirit and the unforgivable sin

Jesus assures the disciples that there is no limit to His mercy, but anyone who stubbornly refuses to accept His mercy by repenting his sins rejects His forgiveness and God's gift of grace offered by the call of the Holy Spirit. This demonstration of the deliberate rejection of God's gift of salvation up to and including the end of one's earthly life can lead to the loss of eternal salvation (see CCC 1287, 1864 and John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem, 46).

Luke 12:13-21 ~ A warning against the sin of greed (The Parable of the Rich Fool)

A man seeks Jesus' intervention in a family dispute over inheritance, but Jesus denies his request because that is not His mission. There were courts of law set up to deal with such issues. Instead, He offers a teaching on the dangers of greed and a warning that material possessions do not define what is really important in life. The contrast in His teaching is between those like the rich man in the parable who only defines "riches" in the material sense with no thought to his eternal condition as opposed the others who focus on pleasing God and the promise of an eternal reward. The parable is related to Jesus' earlier teaching on the importance of fearing God "the One who will deliver one's final judgment. The rich fool does not fear God.

Luke 12:22-34 ~ Trusting in the providence of Godf the Rich Fool urging the disciples not to worry excessively about earthly things.

Question: Jesus tells His disciples to be free of worries using what three examples?
Answer: God takes care of the ravens, the lilies, and grasses of the field, yet the disciples are more important than these.

He uses the example of ravens (verse 24); they were unclean birds which the Jews were not allowed to eat (Lev 11:15; Dt 14:14), but God still cares about them. Just as the birds and other parts of nature exist by God's providence, we should trust God in the same way. His point is that the disciples need a priority of values, which is made clear in verses 30-34. They are not to behave like the pagans who run after the material "their focus must be on the spiritual. That is not to say that Jesus is telling the disciples that they shouldn't continue to work and care for their families "He says in verse 30 that "your Father knows that you need" these material things. His teaching is that excessive worry about what will happen tomorrow shows lack of faith in God's providence. He does not mean that we should ignore our earthly responsibilities to earn a living and care for those who depend on us.

Luke 12:35-40 ~ Parables on being ready for the Master's return

Still addressing the disciples, Jesus changes the topic from concern about earthy possessions to a warning to the disciples about being watchful and faithful servants.

Question: How are watchfulness and fidelity related to the previous teaching?
Answer: The previous teaching was about not concentrating the focus of one's life on the material. Now He says that the focus in this life should be on fidelity to Jesus and being ready for His return.

Luke 12:41-48 ~ A warning for Peter, the Apostles, and the future leaders of the Church

A steward was the Master's chief servant and exercised the Master's power and authority over the other servants. He was responsible for everything in the Master's house and kept the keys to every door. In the description of the authority of Eliakim, the steward of the King of Judah, Isaiah writes: I shall place the key of David's palace on his shoulder; when he opens, no one will close, when he closes, no one will open. I shall drive him like a nail into a firm place; and he will become a throne of glory for his family (Is 22:22-23). When Simon-Peter was invested as Jesus' chief Steward/Vicar Jesus told him: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:19-20).

Luke 12:49-53 ~ Jesus: His mission a cause of division

In a series of teachings on His ministry in verses 36-40, 43 and 45-46, Jesus made symbolic references to the "coming of the master," a "burglar" and the "Son of Man." Now He speaks openly about His own coming in verses 49 and 51.

In verse 49 Jesus tells the disciples that He has come to set the earth on fire! In the Old Testament, fire is sometimes used as a means or symbol of purification (Lev 13:52; Num 31:23; Mal 3:2-3;), of discernment (Jer 23:29; Is 33:14), as a symbol of judgment (Gen 19:24; Ex 9:24; Ps 66:12; Is 43:2; Is 66:15-16; Lk 3:9; 9:54) and a manifestation of the presence of God (Ex 3:2; 13:21-22). St. John the Baptist told the Jews that the Messiah was coming with the Holy Spirit and fire (Lk 3:16). In Scripture, fire is one of the most expressive symbols of the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit (CCC 696; Acts 2:1-4). In this case the fire Jesus speaks of can either be the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or it is the refining and purifying fire that Jesus will light in His death and Resurrection that will ignite and transform the New Covenant people of God and bring about the Kingdom of heaven on earth.

Luke 12:54-59 ~ On recognizing the signs of the times

For the first time in His discourse, Jesus turns His attention to the crowds. He upbraids them for their attention to insignificant things like the weather. They know the signs in the sky that mean rain is coming or predict the coming of the hot desert winds, but they ignore the signs written in the books of the prophets that predict the coming of the Messianic Era "signs that are being preached and fulfilled by Jesus. They should recognize these signs and realize that judgment is near but they have closed their minds and hearts to the light of the Gospel.