5-8. at midnight . . . for a friend is come—The heat in warm countries makes evening preferable to-day for travelling; but "midnight" is everywhere a most unseasonable hour of call, and for that very reason it is here selected. read more
7. Trouble me not—the trouble making him insensible both to the urgency of the case and the claims of friendship. I cannot—without exertion which he would not make. read more
8. importunity—The word is a strong one—"shamelessness"; persisting in the face of all that seemed reasonable, and refusing to take a denial. as many, &c.—His reluctance once overcome, all the claims of friendship and necessity are felt to the full. The sense is obvious: If the churlish and self-indulgent—deaf both to friendship and necessity—can after a positive refusal, be won over, by sheer persistency, to do all that is needed, how much more may the same determined perseverance in... read more
13. the Holy Spirit—in Matthew (Matthew 7:11), "good gifts"; the former, the Gift of gifts descending on the Church through Christ, and comprehending the latter. Matthew 7:11- :. BLIND AND DUMB DEMONIAC HEALED—CHARGE OF BEING IN LEAGUE WITH HELL, AND REPLY—DEMAND OF A SIGN, AND REPLY. (See on Matthew 7:11- :.) read more
3. The relation of disciples to God the Father 11:1-13Jesus continued to point out the disciple’s proper relationships. Having explained their relation to their neighbors (Luke 10:25-37) and to Himself (Luke 10:38-42), He now instructed them on their relation to their heavenly Father. This pericope, as the former one, clarifies the meaning of the first commandment (Luke 10:27).This whole section consists of teaching on prayer. Luke presented prayer as a major subject in which Jesus instructed... read more
Hospitality was a sacred duty in the ancient Near East. When visitors arrived, the host would normally provide lodging under his roof and food to eat. The host in this parable did not have enough bread for his guest, so he appealed to his neighbor for some. The fact that he came knocking on his friend’s door at such a late hour as midnight indicates that this was an inconvenient time for the neighbor. Jesus did not explain why the man came so late, and the reason is immaterial. read more
The parable of the persistent friend 11:5-8Having helped his disciples pray, Jesus now gave them incentive to pray. He contrasted the character of God and the character of the reluctant neighbor in His story (cf. Luke 11:13; Luke 18:1-8). This parable contains a very helpful and encouraging revelation of God’s character (cf. Luke 10:22). Understanding the character of God removes many of the problems we have with prayer. [Note: See C. Samuel Storms, Reaching God’s Ear, for a fuller development... read more
This unfriendly behavior of this "friend" is understandable since in the typical one-room Palestinian home the whole family, and even often the household animals, all slept near each other. In the parable the sleeping neighbor’s desire to avoid shame in the eyes of the knocking host, and probably in the eyes of all his neighbors once his inhospitable behavior became known, led him to get up and give his neighbor bread. The Greek word anaideia means shameless, or avoidance of shame, not... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 11:12
Luke 11:12. If he shall ask an egg,— Naturalists tell us, that the body of a scorpion is very like an egg, especially if the scorpion be of the white kind, which is the first species mentioned by AElian and others. Bochart has produced testimonies to prove, that the scorpions were about the bigness of an egg; and therefore, in Judea a white scorpion, nearly resembling an egg, might, to children, who were not capable of distinguishing the one from the other, be offered in the place thereof, if... read more