ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Luke 11

Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us to pray. The disciples ask for a distinctive prayer that they can pray as his disciples. Usually this is called “The Lord’s Prayer” (vv. 1–4).

Luke 11:2 Father. See note on Matt. 6:9. Hallowed be your name is a request that God’s name be honored and treated with reverence. Your kingdom come is a prayer that God’s kingship would continually advance in people’s hearts and lives until the day Jesus returns and brings the kingdom in perfect fullness (see Luke 11:20).

Luke 11:3 daily bread. All physical needs, which God supplies every day.

Luke 11:4 Forgive us our sins refers not to initial salvation but to the continual confession of sins (1 John 1:9) needed to maintain one’s relationship with God (see note on Matt. 6:12). for we ourselves forgive. Asking God’s forgiveness requires forgiving others. “Sins” and indebted to us are synonyms (compare Luke 7:41–43, 47–49). lead us not into temptation. See note on Matt. 6:13. The use of the first person plural (“us”) throughout emphasizes that the petitions are primarily for the entire community of believers.

Luke 11:6 Having nothing to set before a guest was unthinkable for a host in Jesus’ day.

Luke 11:7 “Do not bother me.” The omission of “friend” (compare v. 5) reveals the man’s irritation.

Luke 11:8 Impudence means lack of sensitivity to what is proper. The friend is shamelessly and boldly awakening his neighbor, and of course the neighbor will give him whatever he needs. If even a human being will respond to his neighbor in that way, then Christians should go boldly before God with any need they face, for God is more gracious and caring than any human.

Luke 11:9–10 Jesus tells his followers to ask God (a common term for “pray”), seek God (Deut. 4:29; Isa. 55:6), and knock at the gates of God for mercy (compare Luke 11:5–8; see note on Matt. 7:7–11). The promised result is that it will be given and opened (by God). Everyone who asks receives means that when they ask for things that are in line with God’s plans, they will be given.

Luke 11:11–13 This is a “lesser to greater” argument. Since vv. 11–12 are true, then the concluding statement (v. 13) must be even more true (compare 12:6–7; 25–27; 13:15–16; 18:1–8). If you then, who are evil. Jesus’ audience would have agreed that they were sinful (see Genesis 3; Rom. 3:10–23; see note on Matt. 7:11). Fish and eggs were common foods in Palestine, while serpents and scorpions were common hazards. Holy Spirit. See Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:13–14, 26; 1 Cor. 12:11; Gal. 5:18.

Luke 11:15 He casts out demons by . . . the prince of demons. The Pharisees could not deny the reality of Jesus’ miracles, so they attributed his powers to Satan. Beelzebul means “master of the house” and refers to Satan.

Luke 11:16 kept seeking . . . a sign. Jesus knew that no sign would convince a person who was unwilling to believe.

Luke 11:17–19 Knowing their thoughts is an indication of Jesus’ deity. Jesus’ defense consists of two arguments. (1) A kingdom divided against itself is laid waste (that is, through civil war). The idea that Satan was working through Jesus to undermine his own work was absurd (v. 18). (2) The charge brought against Jesus in v. 15 could also be leveled against the casting out of demons by your sons, that is, “your followers” (see note on Matt. 12:27).

Luke 11:20 kingdom of God has come (see note on Matt. 12:28). Compare Mark 1:14–15.

Luke 11:22 The one stronger is Jesus, and the “strong man” in v. 21 is Satan. Jesus has overcome him. See note on Matt. 12:29.

Luke 11:23 with me . . . against me . . . does not gather with me scatters. One cannot be neutral about Jesus (see note on 9:49–50).

Luke 11:24–26 Cleansing from sin should be followed by obedience to God’s word. unclean spirit. A demon. Demons were often associated with waterless places. Apparently deserts were thought of as lacking God’s blessing. the house swept and put in order. The demon has been cast out. seven other spirits. A complete group of demons. On the significance of “seven,” see note on Matt. 12:45.

Luke 11:29 Verses 29–32 answer the request of v. 16. evil generation. The leaders of the day (see note on Matt. 12:39). no sign will be given. Compare Luke 16:31; John 12:9–11. The sign of Jonah refers first to Jonah’s “three days and nights in the belly of the great fish” (see note on Matt. 12:40), which foreshadows Jesus’ death and resurrection. Additionally, “the sign of Jonah” reflects the need to repent as Nineveh did.

Luke 11:31 The queen of the South (the queen of Sheba) came a long distance to see Solomon and hear his wisdom (1 Kings 10:1–13). Something greater than Solomon (the Son of God and his wisdom; see note on Matt. 12:42) has come to them. The people reject this and ask for a sign.

Luke 11:32 Even though the Ninevites were wicked, they at least repented at the preaching of Jonah (see Jonah 3:5). Jesus is both the ultimate wise man (Luke 11:31) and the ultimate prophet (v. 32).

Luke 11:33 lamp. Probably a metaphor for Jesus and his mission.

Luke 11:34 An eye that is healthy describes a spiritually healthy way of looking at things. A bad eye is an evil way of looking at things. It results in a life full of moral and spiritual darkness.

Luke 11:36 When a person is filled with the light of Christ, it will affect his or her whole being (wholly bright).

Luke 11:37 reclined at table. The usual posture at a banquet or Sabbath meal (see note on Matt. 26:20).

Luke 11:38 wash before dinner. An extrabiblical tradition (see note on Mark 7:5) involving ceremonial cleanness rather than personal hygiene.

Luke 11:39–41 inside . . . full of greed and wickedness. See note on Matt. 23:26. For “greed,” see Luke 16:14. those things that are within. If the believer first offers his heart to God, then everything is clean. God will accept the good he does even if he does not follow the outward ceremonial washing required by Jewish traditions.

Luke 11:42–44 Jesus directs three woes against the Pharisees (see note on Matt. 23:13). The woes are a combination of criticism and sorrow. tithe . . . every herb. Such specific detail is not mentioned in the law (Lev. 27:30–33; Deut. 14:22–29; see note on Matt. 23:23). best seat. See Luke 14:7–11. unmarked graves. According to the law, contact with a grave made a person unclean (see Num. 19:16; see note on Matt. 23:27–28). But if the grave was in the ground and had no marking, people might walk over it and become unclean without knowing it. Likewise people who follow the Pharisees are deceived, for they become “unclean” before God without even knowing that the Pharisees have led them astray.

Luke 11:45 The second set of woes (vv. 46–52) is directed at lawyers (experts in the law, another expression for “scribes of the Pharisees”; see note on Matt. 2:4).

Luke 11:46 The lawyers (v. 45) load people with burdens by interpreting the law in light of their extrabiblical traditions and making it hard to bear. Worse still, they do not touch the burdens themselves, that is, they make no effort to help people keep these laws (see notes on Matt. 3:7; 11:28).

Luke 11:47–51 The unusual expression Wisdom of God probably means “God in his wisdom” or “God, speaking to express his wisdom.” from the blood of Abel (Genesis 4) to the blood of Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20–22). The murders of Abel and Zechariah encompass all of OT history (2 Chronicles is last in the Hebrew order of OT books).

Luke 11:52–54 The lawyers’ interpretations of Scripture deprive the people (and themselves) of the key of knowledge needed to understand God’s plan of salvation.