Chapter Text
The Lord's Prayer
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3Give us day by day our daily bread.
4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
5And 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;
6For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7And 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.
8I 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.
9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11If 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?
12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13If 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?
Jesus and Beelzebul
14And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
15But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
16And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
17But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
18If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
19And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
20But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
21When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
23He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
24When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
27And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
28But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
The Sign of Jonah
29And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
30For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
31The 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, a greater than Solomon is here.
32The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
34The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
35Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
36If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
Woes to the Pharisees
37And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
38And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
41But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.
42But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
43Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Woes to the Lawyers
45Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
46And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
51From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
53And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
54Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
Summary
Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, giving them a model prayer and parables about persistent prayer. He casts out a demon from a mute man, and some accuse Him of acting by Beelzebub's power. Jesus refutes this logic and warns that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
He teaches about the return of an unclean spirit, blesses those who hear and keep God's Word, and refuses to give a sign except the sign of Jonah. He warns about inner spiritual light and pronounces woes upon the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy, burdening others, and persecuting the prophets.
Meaning
Jesus' teaching on prayer emphasizes boldness and persistence. The parable of the friend at midnight teaches not that God is reluctant but that prayer should be marked by shameless persistence born of genuine need. Ask, seek, knock conveys an escalating intensity of expectation.
The woes against the Pharisees and lawyers expose the danger of religious systems that burden people rather than liberate them. The Pharisees tithed herbs but neglected justice and love. The lawyers loaded burdens on others they would not lift themselves. True religion lightens burdens; false religion multiplies them.
Background
The Lord's Prayer in Luke is shorter than Matthew's version, reflecting either a different occasion or Luke's condensation. The parable of the friend at midnight draws on the cultural obligation of hospitality in Middle Eastern society, where failing to provide for a guest brought shame.
The sign of Jonah refers to Jonah's three days in the great fish, which prefigured Jesus' three days in the tomb. The men of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching, making their response a judgment upon those who rejected someone greater than Jonah.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4The Lord's Prayer
- vv. 5-13Persistence and the Father's generosity
- vv. 14-23The Beelzebub controversy
- vv. 24-26The return of the unclean spirit
- vv. 27-32True blessedness and the sign of Jonah
- vv. 33-36The lamp of the body
- vv. 37-54Woes against Pharisees and lawyers
Key Verses
“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”— 11:2
Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer, the model petition Jesus gives His disciples and the most universally recited prayer in Christian history.
“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.”— 11:9
A foundational promise on persistent prayer, often cited to encourage believers that God responds to those who earnestly seek Him.
“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?”— 11:13
Jesus frames the Father's generosity in giving the Holy Spirit as the supreme answer to prayer, a key text on the Spirit's availability to the faithful.
“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”— 11:28
Jesus redirects veneration from physical kinship to obedient discipleship, defining true blessedness as hearing and keeping God's word.
People & Places
People
- Jesus — The Lord, teaching His disciples to pray and confronting the Pharisees and lawyers.
- John the Baptist — Mentioned as having taught his own disciples to pray.
- Beelzebub — Named by Jesus' accusers as the chief of demons through whom they falsely claimed He cast out devils.
- Satan — The adversary whose kingdom Jesus argues cannot stand if divided against itself.
- Jonas (Jonah) — The prophet whose ministry to Nineveh Jesus invokes as a sign to His generation.
- The Queen of the South — The Queen of Sheba, who sought Solomon's wisdom and will rise in judgment against this generation.
- Solomon — Israel's wise king, contrasted with Jesus as one greater than he.
- Abel — The first martyr, whose shed blood marks the beginning of prophetic suffering.
- Zacharias — A righteous man slain between the altar and the temple, marking the end of the martyred witnesses Jesus cites.
- The Pharisees — Religious leaders rebuked by Jesus for outward purity masking inward corruption.
- The lawyers — Experts in the Mosaic law denounced for burdening others and withholding the key of knowledge.
Places
- Nineveh — The Assyrian city that repented at Jonah's preaching, invoked as a witness against Jesus' generation.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Jesus presents Himself as the fulfillment of the 'sign of Jonas' (vv.29-32), foreshadowing His own death, burial, and resurrection through Jonah's three days in the fish. He declares 'a greater than Solomon' and 'a greater than Jonas is here,' identifying Himself as the climactic fulfillment of Israel's wisdom and prophetic traditions. His warning that the blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zacharias shall be required of this generation (vv.50-51) prophesies the coming judgment that would fall in A.D. 70.
Devotional
Prayer is not performance but family conversation. Jesus invites us to address God as Father, to ask boldly, and to trust that the Giver delights in giving good gifts—chiefly His Spirit—to those who persist in asking.
Yet this chapter also warns against a religion that polishes the outside while neglecting the heart. It is easy to tithe our mint and rue while passing over judgment and love. Today, ask honestly: does my inward life match my outward devotion? Hear the word, keep it, and let the light within you be light indeed.
Literary Style
Narrative gospel woven with teaching discourse, parable (the friend at midnight, the strong man), proverbial sayings, and prophetic woe oracles. Luke employs vivid dialogue, rhetorical questions, and the formal sevenfold 'woe' pattern reminiscent of Old Testament prophetic indictment.