Chapter Eleven

1–13. On prayer (the Lord’s Prayer). – 14–26. The Lord defends Himself against the accusation of making a covenant with the devil. – 27–28. A woman’s blessing of the Mother of Jesus Christ. – 29–36. Christ’s Answer to those demanding a sign from Him. – 37–54. Christ’s Denunciation of the Pharisees and Scribes.

Luke 11:1. Now it came to pass as He was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. It is not known at what time and where the Lord once performed prayer—probably at some distance from His disciples. After the completion of this prayer, one of the disciples turned to the Lord with a request to teach them to pray, that is, of course, to give them some definite form of prayer, as the Baptist did for his disciples (compare Luke 5:33).

Luke 11:2. And He said to them: When you pray, say: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In answer to the disciple’s request, who evidently spoke on behalf of all the other disciples, the Lord teaches them the prayer “Our Father.” Thus, the Lord’s Prayer was evidently given to the disciples in answer to their request, and the evangelist Matthew apparently placed it in the Sermon on the Mount only because he began to set forth Christ’s teaching on how in general one should pray (Matt 6:9). In newer editions (for example, in Tischendorf), the Lord’s Prayer according to the Gospel of Luke has a more abbreviated form than in the evangelist Matthew. So in the second verse the words “our, who art in heaven” and “your will be done as in heaven and on earth” are omitted. Some (for example, I. Weiss) attach very great significance to this difference, saying that in general the Church did not preserve the authentic words of Christ. But it seems to us that these accusations are unjust and unfair. First, it is still necessary to prove that indeed both evangelists do not agree with each other in transmitting the Lord’s Prayer. After all, the text of this prayer as presented by the evangelist Luke, accepted in the Eastern Church, has also grounds for itself in some ancient manuscripts (see Tischendorf’s note to chapter 11 of Luke, p. 561), and it is quite possible that in those manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke where the Lord’s Prayer is presented in abbreviated form, the reading is offered which existed only in those churches in which these manuscripts were written. In fact, the Lord’s Prayer was first recorded identically in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. And then, second, such a supposition is possible—if we accept as a fact that in Luke the Lord’s Prayer has only five petitions—that the evangelist Matthew gave in his Gospel the formula of prayer, while the evangelist Luke outlined its content in a more concise form, since in fact, for example, the expression “your will be done” is essentially similar to the preceding petition “your kingdom come.” In short, the question of what form the Lord’s Prayer originally had in the Gospel of Luke cannot yet be considered finally settled. One cannot, in fact, disregard the testimony of the Sinai Codex, which has the petition “your will be done as in heaven, so on earth....” For explanation of the Lord’s Prayer see the commentaries on Matt 6:9-13.

Luke 11:3. Give us this day our daily bread. Instead of “give,” as is said in Matthew, here stands the word “give” (present tense). This means continuing, constant giving, which corresponds to the expression used further on: “each day” (in Matthew—this day), that is, day after day, daily.

Luke 11:4. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone indebted to us; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. “Sins”—a more precise expression than “debts” used in Matthew. “For”—in Matthew: “as.” The meaning is generally the same here and there. “But deliver us from evil.” This petition is also omitted in newer editions of the Gospel of Luke. Regarding it one can say the same as has been said above regarding the omissions presumed in verse 2. The doxology is omitted in the Gospel of Luke and according to our text.

Luke 11:5. And He said to them: Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight and say to him: Friend, lend me three loaves. Luke 11:6. For a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him. Luke 11:7. And he from within shall answer and say: Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you. Luke 11:8. 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 him as many as he needs. After Christ had taught His disciples to pray, He gives them assurance that their prayer will be heard. He tells a parable about a friend who, through his persistent requests, compels his friend to rise at night from his bed to give the petitioner three loaves for the entertainment of an unexpected traveling friend. “Which of you....” In the Greek text here is not a conditional, but a question form of the proposal, and only from verse 7 does a conditional proposition begin, to which verse 8 is the main clause or conclusion (compare Matt 7:9). The proper flow of thought could be represented as follows: “Who of you finds himself in such a situation that he has a friend and a friend comes to him at midnight and says to him: and would he not get an answer from him: Do not trouble me?.... And I say to you....” “Because of his importunity”—more precisely: “because of his shamelessness” (διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν). This shamelessness, which the Lord apparently advises to imitate (see verse 9), does not seem to be an intolerable deed, because, as Trench rightly notes (p. 279), the petitioner persists not for his own sake, but for another’s and in order not to fail in the sacred duty of hospitality. So Abraham gives us another example of insistent and persistent prayer: he also begs not for himself, but in defense of Sodom (Gen 18:23-33).

Luke 11:9. And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. Luke 11:10. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Here is the application of the parable to the position of Christ’s disciples. They also must persistently ask God for their needs, and their requests will be fulfilled (see Matt 7:7-8).

Luke 11:11. Now which of you fathers, if a son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Luke 11:12. Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? Luke 11:13. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. (See Matt 7:9-11). A characteristic feature of the Gospel of Luke here is, first, the addition about an egg and a scorpion, which, curled up, becomes similar to an egg and sometimes has white skin color, and second, the replacement of the expression “goods,” found in the evangelist Matthew, with the expression “the Holy Spirit.” However, this latter change does not alter the substance of the matter, because the source of all true good is, of course, the Holy Spirit, so it is equally well to say: good, or the Holy Spirit (as the source of good).

Luke 11:14. Now He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; and it came to pass, when the demon went out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. Luke 11:15. But some of them said: He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Luke 11:16. And others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. Luke 11:17. 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. Luke 11:18. If Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. Luke 11:19. And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. Luke 11:20. But if I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. Luke 11:21. When a strong man armed guards his own house, his goods are in peace. Luke 11:22. But when one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. Luke 11:23. He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters. Luke 11:24. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through waterless places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says: I will return to my house from which I came out. Luke 11:25. And coming, he finds it swept and set in order. Luke 11:26. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Regarding the healing of the demon-possessed mute man, the evangelist Luke speaks, apparently following the source which was close to Matthew (Matt 9:32-34), and the speech of Christ on account of the accusation brought against Him by the Pharisees and scribes he sets forth, holding closer to the Gospel of Mark (Mark 3:22-30) and in part making some additions to Mark’s account. “Mute” (verse 14; see Mark 9:17). “Some” (verse 15)—these were evidently the Pharisees (see Matt 9:34). “But others, testing....” (verse 16). This is an addition of the evangelist Luke (see Mark 8:11; Matt 16:1). “But He, knowing....” (verse 17; see Matt 12:24 and following). “With the finger of God” (verse 20)—in Matthew: “with the Spirit of God” (Matt 12:28). Luke frequently uses such figurative expressions (see Luke 1:66). Finger—this is the external expression of God’s activity (compare Exod 8:19). “When a strong man....” (verse 21). This parable is set forth here more fully than in Matthew (Matt 12:29) and is related to the comparison given in the book of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 49:24). “He that is not with Me” (verse 23; see Matt 12:30). “When the unclean spirit” (verse 24; see Matt 12:43-45). Probably, by appending this section (verses 24–26), the evangelist Luke wished to explain what such ordinary castings out of demons represent, which were accomplished also by the disciples of the Pharisees. These exorcists healed a man not forever, but only temporarily, and the dominion of Satan over men they were not able to destroy.

Luke 11:27. And it came to pass, as He spoke 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 gave You suck. Luke 11:28. But He said: Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. A remark about a woman, in all likelihood having had children and perhaps not entirely good ones, is made only by the evangelist Luke. To the exclamation of this woman, who valued highly only the bodily relationship of the Mother of Christ to Her Son, the Lord says that bodily proximity to Christ alone is not enough to be blessed, and that for this a spiritual closeness to Christ is also required—a willingness to listen to and keep the word of God which He proclaims. “Blessed rather are those who hear....” More precisely: “Yes! But blessed also are those....” (μενοῦν μακάριοι) or: “on the contrary, blessed are those....”

Luke 11:29. And when the multitudes were gathering together, He began to say: This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Luke 11:30. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of Man be to this generation. Luke 11:31. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Luke 11:32. 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, a greater than Jonah is here. Regarding the Lord’s response to the demand for a sign from heaven, the evangelist Luke on the whole sets it forth in accordance with Matthew (see Matt 12:39-42). About the sign of the prophet Jonah, the evangelist Luke speaks more briefly than Matthew. Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites in that he was sent to them by the true God, which was pointed to by his remarkable fate (deliverance from the belly of the whale after three days of being there); Christ, in turn, will be a sign to the generation of His own time that He was sent by God as the Messiah also through His own personal fate (as risen from the belly of the earth after three days of being there—Euthymius Zigabenus). “With the men of this generation”—more correctly: “with the men....” Evidently, here a woman is contrasted with men: a woman serves as an example to them!

Luke 11:33. No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar, neither under a bushel, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. Luke 11:34. The lamp of the body is the eye; therefore when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Luke 11:35. Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness. Luke 11:36. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly bright, as when the lamp with its brightness lights you. Here the Lord shows how in vain is the demand made by the Pharisees for miraculous signs. Why do you need these signs when in Christ the light of divine revelation has appeared, which can be seen by all? It is only necessary to have the healthy eyes of the soul to perceive this light. By “lamp” one can understand Christ Himself as the Light of the world. Commentaries to individual sayings see Matt 5:15.

Luke 11:37. Now as He spoke, a certain Pharisee besought Him to dine with him; and He went in and reclined at table. “When He spoke”—more correctly: “when He said this.” “He went in” in order to give instruction to the Pharisees (blessed Theophylact).

Luke 11:38. And the Pharisee, when he saw it, marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. The Pharisee probably marveled in his heart that Christ, who had just come into contact with the people and had cast out a demon, did not perform, on sitting down to dinner, the customary washing (compare Mark 7:2).

Luke 11:39. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. The Lord begins here to reprove the Pharisees for false piety, repeating what, according to the Gospel of Matthew, He spoke in His denunciation of the Pharisees in Jerusalem (Matt 23). It is possible to suppose that the evangelist Luke only adapted these denunciations to this dinner. In fact, it is hardly possible to assume that the Lord addressed them to the master of the house and his friends: their proper place is indeed where they are found in the evangelist Matthew. “Now you”—that is: “Look, you!” “But your inward part.” In Matthew this is expressed somewhat differently (Matt 23:25). There the external appearance and the inner content of the cup and platter are compared, while here—the external cleanliness of vessels and the inner uncleanness of those drinking and eating from them.

Luke 11:40. You foolish ones, did not He that made the outside make the inside also? God created both the external things and the inner world of man. How then is it unwise to be concerned about the cleanness of only the external creation of God, neglecting one’s own inner world!

Luke 11:41. But rather give alms of such things as you have; and behold, all things are clean to you. This verse is very difficult to explain. The conclusion appears very unexpected: “give alms.” What has this to do with washing before dinner? The discussion was about washing before dinner. B. Weiss finds it possible, however, to establish some connection of this verse with the preceding one. “To what is said in verse 40,” he says, “here in addition (πλήν) is indicated still a way how to cleanse cups and dishes: it is necessary to give what is contained in these cups and vessels (their inner content) as alms, and then all for you will be clean—you will not need the established ceremonial purifications! They will not be necessary for you because everything will be clean for you—nothing will defile you!” It is quite possible that the Pharisees indeed did not like to give alms, and the Lord in this case rebukes this their deficiency. But in any case, such an interpretation cannot fail to be recognized as somewhat artificial. A more plausible explanation of this passage is given by Klein in the “Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Theologie” (1906, pp. 252–254). Klein finds a similarity between the instruction contained in the verse under discussion and the words of the prophet Isaiah about what the essence of washing consists of. According to the prophet’s thought (Isa 1:16), the essence of washing consists in cleansing oneself from the uncleanness of sin, and the Lord here clearly brings, the beginning of verse 16 from chapter 1 of the book of the prophet Isaiah. But the verb used here in Isaiah “zakki” (in the hiphil form “hizakku”) the evangelist Matthew translated correctly with the word “cleanse” (Matt 23:26: “cleanse first”), while the evangelist Luke understood it in its later Aramaic meaning “give alms.” Therefore, if we replace here the root word “hizakku” with the word “cleanse” (what you have), then the meaning becomes clearer and the connection with the preceding verse is preserved. The Lord advises the Pharisees to cleanse or maintain in purity all that they have, not only cups and dishes, not hands only, but also their own soul; then external uncleanness will not be terrible to them.

Luke 11:42. But woe to you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by justice and the love of God; these ought you to have done, and not left the other undone. (See Matt 23:23). “Woe” to the Pharisees, because they hold to completely different rules. “Rue” (τό πήγανον)—instead of “anise” mentioned in Matthew. “Every herb”—all garden vegetation (πᾶν λάχανον) instead of “cumin” mentioned in Matthew.

Luke 11:43. Woe to you, Pharisees! for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplaces. (See Matt 23:5-7). The evangelist Luke shortens here Christ’s speech because some of its details were unclear to his readers.

Luke 11:44. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. (See Matt 23:27). The thought of the comparison presented by the evangelist Luke is somewhat different from that in Matthew. Luke depicts the Pharisees as similar to unmarked graves, which are not painted with bright yellow paint, which would let everyone know that here is a tomb with the body of a deceased person. Seeing this, a passerby would step aside in order not to touch the tomb and become defiled. And you cannot recognize the Pharisee: by appearance he is like all other people, perhaps even more pious than others, so that people can easily be influenced by him, which is very harmful to the moral life of a person.

Luke 11:45. Then one of the lawyers answered Him, saying: Teacher, when You say these things, You reproach us also. The scribe, apparently, did not openly belong to the Pharisaic party, but everything that the Lord had hitherto said about the Pharisees applied to him as well, because he, like other scribes, was in many ways similar to the Pharisees.

Luke 11:46. And He said: Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens grievous to bear, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. (See Matt 23:4).

Luke 11:47. Woe to you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. (See Matt 23:29 and following)

Luke 11:48. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed the prophets, and you build their sepulchers. “And you build their sepulchers.” The usual interpretation of this passage is as follows: by building the sepulchers, or rather by maintaining them, the Jews thereby approve and those murders of prophets which were committed in ancient times by their ancestors. But one cannot fail to acknowledge that such an interpretation is rather unnatural. Therefore, it is better to accept the thought of Stier, that the Lord here does not at all recognize the maintenance of prophetic tombs as an evil deed, but says only that the Jews of His time have not gone far in their attitude toward the prophets and their teaching from their ancestors. Those did not listen to the prophets and even sometimes killed them—of course, sometimes—while these limit their relation to the prophets only to the fact that they build them monuments, but do not perform their words.

Luke 11:49. Therefore also said the Wisdom of God: I will send them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute. “Therefore,” that is, because of this your agreement with your fathers—the murderers of prophets. “The Wisdom of God....” This is not a quotation from the Old Testament, as such a passage is not in the Old Testament, nor His own, previously spoken saying of Christ. It is possible to think that Christ means here God, Who sent prophets in the Old Testament and apostles in the New Testament. In Matthew, apparently Christ speaks of Himself (Matt 23:34).

Luke 11:50. That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation. Luke 11:51. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. (See Matt 23:35).

Luke 11:52. Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you entered not in yourselves, and those who were entering you hindered. (See Matt 23:13). The evangelist Luke speaks not of the fact that the scribes do not let others into the Kingdom of Heaven, as said in Matthew, but of the fact that they have taken away the key to knowledge, that is, to the knowledge of divine saving truth as it appeared in Christ. Truth is like a locked house, to which you can enter only if you have the key. But the key is in the hands not of the people, but of a few scribes: their teaching prevented the people from making use of Christ’s teaching, from knowing the truth.

Luke 11:53. And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and to press Him hard with many questions. Luke 11:54. Laying wait for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him. The scribes and Pharisees, when Christ went out from the Pharisee’s house (thus it reads in the best manuscripts instead of “said”), began in every way to force answers from Him to their questions, in order to catch Him at something.