1 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. |
2 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. |
3 Give us day by day our daily bread. |
4 And 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. |
5 And 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; |
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? |
7 And 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. |
8 I 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. |
9 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. |
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. |
11 If 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? |
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? |
13 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? |
14 And 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. |
15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. |
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. |
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. |
18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. |
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. |
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. |
21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: |
22 But 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. |
23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. |
24 When 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. |
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. |
26 Then 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. |
27 And 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. |
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. |
11
11:1 Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples - The Jewish masters used to give their followers some short formof prayer, as a peculiar badge of their relation to them. This it is probable John the Baptist had done. And in this sense it seems to be that the disciples now asked Jesus, to teach them to pray. Accordingly he here repeats that form, which he had before given them in his sermon on the mount, and likewise enlarges on the same head, though still speaking the same things in substance.And this prayer uttered from the heart, and in its true and full meaning, is indeed the badge of a real Christian: for is not he such whose first and most ardent desire is the glory of God, and the happiness of man by the coming of his kingdom? Who asks for no more of this world than his daily bread, longing meantime for the bread that came down from heaven? And whose only desires for himself are forgiveness of sins, (as he heartily forgives others,) and sanctification.
11:2 When ye pray, say - And what he said to them is undoubtedly said to us also. We are therefore here directed, not only to imitate this in all our prayers, but to use this very form of prayer. Mat 6:9.
11:4 Forgive us; for we forgive them - Not once, but continually.This does not denote the meritorious cause of our pardon; but the removal of that hinderance which otherwise would render it impossible.
11:5 At midnight - The most unseasonable time: but no time is unseasonable with God, either for hearing or answering prayer.
11:9 Mat 7:7.
11:13 How much more shall your heavenly Father - How beautiful is the gradation! A friend: a father: God! Give the Holy Spirit - The best of gifts, and that which includes every good gift.
11:14 It was dumb - That is, it made the man so. Mat 12:22.
11:15 But some said, He casteth out devils by Beelzebub - These he answers, Luk 11:17. Others, to try whether it were so or no, sought a sign from heaven. These he reproves in Luk 11:29 and following verses. Beelzebub signifies the lord of flies, atitle which the heathens gave to Jupiter, whom they accounted the chief of their gods, and yet supposed him to be employed in driving away flies from their temple and sacrifices. The Philistines worshipped a deity under this name, as the god of Ekron: from hence the Jews took the name, and applied it to the chief of the devils. Mar 3:22.
11:16 Mat 12:38.
11:17 A house - That is, a family.
11:20 If I cast out devils by the finger of God - That is, by a power manifestly Divine. Perhaps the expression intimates farther, that it was done without any labour: then the kingdom of God is come upon you - Unawares, unexpected: so the Greek word implies.
11:21 The strong one armed - The devil, strong in himself, and armed with the pride, obstinacy, and security of him in whom he dwells.
11:26 The last state of that man becometh worse than the first - Whoever reads the sad account Josephus gives of the temple andconduct of the Jews, after the ascension of Christ and before their final destruction by the Romans, must acknowledge that no emblem could have been more proper to describe them. Their characters were the vilest that can be conceived, and they pressed on to their own ruin, as if they had been possessed by legions of devils, and wrought up to the last degree of madness. But this also is fulfilled in all who totally and finally apostatize from true faith.
11:27 Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked! - How natural was the thought for a woman! And how gently does our Lord reprove her!
11:28 Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it - For if even she that bare him had not done this, she would have forfeited all her blessedness.