Chapter BY Chapter

Luke 11:1-26 – Pray for the Holy Spirit

​

This passage is as follows:

 

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

 

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

 

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, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 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’?  I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.  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.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  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!”

​

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute.  When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.  But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.  But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.  And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.  Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

​

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’  And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.  Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.  And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

 

(End of Passage)

 

The end of chapter 9 marked the end of a section that had mostly accounts of Jesus’ miracles.  In chapter 9 and 10, Jesus “sets his face towards Jerusalem.”  In other words, Jesus is determined to go to Jerusalem.  As he goes, he appoints 72 of his disciples to join with the healing and the preaching of the gospel.  As Jesus goes to Jerusalem from chapter 10 to chapter 18, there is more about the teachings of Jesus.  Perhaps the 72 along with the apostles doing the healing made it easier for Jesus to concentrate on his teaching.  Chapter 10 ends with Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet to listen to his teaching.  Her sister asks Jesus to tell her to help with serving food, but Jesus says that Mary has chosen the good portion and it will not be taken away from her.  So, just like Mary had the good portion, we are now in the good part of the gospel of Luke.

 

(Go over the Good Samaritan story in chapter 9, if it hasn’t been covered yet.)

 

The next thing that Jesus is going to teach them is how to pray.

 

Verses 1-13,

 

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

 

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

 

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, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 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’?  I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.  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.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  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!”

 

Now, this version of the Lord’s prayer is a little different than the one in Matthew chapter 6.  What differences do you spot and why do you think that difference is there?

​

1. Matthew’s version is right after the Sermon on the Mount, which is early in Jesus’ ministry.Luke’s version is later in Jesus’ ministry, as Jesus is going to Jerusalem for the last time before his crucifixion.Perhaps they are 2 separate occurrences.

2. Matthew’s version is part of a discourse Jesus gives on prayer. Luke’s version comes about because one of his disciples asks Jesus to teach them to pray as John taught his disciples.Perhaps this disciple wasn’t there for the first time that Jesus taught them how to pray.

3. After Jesus gives his example in Matthew 6, he emphasizes forgiving your brother of trespasses.Perhaps because of what Jesus was just teaching on the Sermon on the Mount.After Jesus gives his example in Luke 11, he talks about persistence in prayer.Perhaps he does this because he recently spoke about how that even though some places had much revelation, that many were unrepentant.

4. In Luke’s version only, Jesus equates what we are asking God for with the Holy Spirit.Perhaps he does this because now he is teaching people more for ministry than for life in general.

 

Perhaps, asking for the Holy Spirit has something to do with some of the things that Jesus is doing.  Let’s see.

 

Verses 14-23,

 

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute.  When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.  But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.  But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.  And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.  Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

 

What is there to learn from this experience?

​

1. Jesus healed a mute man and people marveled at this.

2. Some people there accused that Jesus was casting out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.Beelzebul translated literally means “Lord of the flies.”Referring to the view that they feasted on excrement.Beelzebul is a derogatory rendering of the Philistine god, Baalzebub, which the Israelites depicted as the prince of demons, or the devil.

3. Jesus refutes their accusation that he casts out demons by the prince of demons.

   • Beelzebul cannot be divided against himself.

   • It takes one stronger than Beelzebul to overcome his palace.

 

Why does Jesus say, “Whoever is not with me is against me?

 

        Perhaps he says this because of those that falsely accused him of getting his power from Beelzebub.

 

Was there anything related to the Holy Spirit here?

 

        Nope.

 

Maybe there is something about the Holy Spirit in the next paragraph.

 

Verses 24-26,

 

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’  And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.  Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.  And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

 

What is this saying?

 

Is he saying that people with evil spirits can only get worse?

 

Does this have anything to do with asking for the Holy Spirit?

 

Yes it does.  If one asks for the Holy Spirit, the Holy spirit will keep out evil spirits.

 

Ephesians 1:13-14,

 

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

The Greek word here for sealed here is “esphragisthAte.”  This word means to set a permanent seal.  It is only used in the New Testament 2 times.  Here and also where the soldiers are commanded to seal the tomb of Jesus in Matthew 27:66.  This is what Jesus means that if you ask for the Holy Spirit, the Father give the Holy Spirit to you.  I truly believe that some people who genuinely asked for the Holy Spirit to come into their heart, and later strayed from following Jesus will someday die, then wake up in heaven wondering how they got there.

 

Song: Come Holy Spirit by Vertical Worship