Luke 11
-Prayer is dealt with first in this chapter as the disciples asked Him for teaching on it. He gave them the model prayer. *Application* For the Lord’s model prayer focus on the reverence and fear of the Lord (worship), the provision of God, the confession of sin, the forgiving of others, and ask not to be lead into temptation.
-Jesus goes on to teach about the goodness of God and His responses to us when we pray. The vital point here is threefold. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened unto you. It is notable that the Lord ends His instruction with the fact that it is the Holy Spirit that is the ultimate answer to our prayers as far as receiving something or someone. Jesus will usher in a new dispensation with the Holy Spirit indwelling believers upon His departure from the earth (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7).
-Jesus was then defending His ministry amidst hostile accusations as some wanted to associate His miracles to the work of Satan. Jesus makes His case on “a kingdom divided against itself (Luke 11:17-18). He also called them into accountability. If it is not Satan who is doing these miracles, which He proves was not, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. Then the Lord instructs on strength and how to overcome the enemy. *Application* He is speaking on spiritual warfare here in this section, which is important for us to note. We do not have the power to overcome these spiritual forces that come against us to try to destroy us. We may clean up our house (speaking of our being) with some temporary, feel-good antidotes, but Jesus teaches that only He has the authority for complete restoration and cleansing. Anything less will get worse in the final analysis. He ends the section by saying “blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it (Luke 11:28).”
-The wickedness of the generation in which Jesus came to minister was called out next. His condemnation on them was just because they were seeking external signs without believing in His righteous acts (i.e. the cross and resurrection). This is the sign of Jonah if we care to contemplate it. Here in this short Old Testament narrative we see that Jonah is revived after three days in the deep, the pit of death, inside a great fish (Jonah 1-4). Jesus was predicting His crucifixion and resurrection, which this unbelieving generation would cast aside. This is why we can see the Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh, who repented, standing against these faithless people in the judgment. It is interesting to note here that these are Gentile examples of faith, which shows us that the whole world was certainly on the Savior’s mind as He gave admonishment. These Jewish people were not recognizing the Greatness that was in there midst.
-After these statements, Jesus calls us to be lights and witnesses of His majesty. He focuses on the eyes. *Application* They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and we see here that Jesus concurs. There is something about a look, a glance, a gaze that tells us the story about a person to the core of their being. Be sure there is light coming out of your eyes. Light comes from the heart.
-Jesus is then invited to a home of a Pharisee for lunch, which He accepted. The Lord knew exactly what He was getting into here and took the opportunity to criticize the hypocrisy of these religious leaders, lawyers also being among them. At the heart of Jesus’ teaching was that they disregarded justice and the love of God for selfish motivations and desires. For the lawyers they had a hand in taking away the key of knowledge and hindering those who were entering into a faith relationship (Luke 11:52). This infuriated the religious leaders and they began to be very hostile to the Lord and question with motives of tripping Him up on many subjects. They once again did not recognize the visitation of their Messiah. *Application* This is tragic, but shows the pride that can be in people wise in their own thinking. Always be humble enough to hear when the Lord is speaking to you.
Verse to Memorize: Luke 11:13
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