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Luke 11:5-13

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5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

6a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’

7And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

10For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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1)       Who was Jesus talking to in the above passage of the bible?

o   Jesus was talking to the disciples.

 

2)       What is the parable Jesus told the disciples about?

o   It is a parable about persisting in prayer.

 

3)       Who are the two parties that engage in a conversation with each other in the parable?

o   One is a disciple.

o   The other is a friend of the disciple.

 

4)       Whom does the friend of the disciple represent?

o   The friend of the disciple represents God.

 

5)       According to verse 5 where does the disciple go?

o   He goes to his friend at midnight.

 

6)       What is the most likely other relationship the disciple has with his friend judging from the request he makes?

o   The disciple is also a neighbor of his friend.

 

7)       What might be the reason Jesus chose to lay aside the neighborly aspect of the relationship in the parable?

o   It could be that the pressure from the moral necessity of lending bread to a needy neighbor is intentionally eliminated.

o   Such that

o   The eventual lending of bread is entirely based on negotiation between the two parties.

 

8)       According to verse 6 what is the reason the disciple asks his friend to lend him three loaves of bread?

o   Another friend of the disciple’s on a journey has come to him.

o   And he has no food to offer his traveling friend.

 

9)       According to verse 7 what excuses does the disciple’s friend give for being unable to get up and give him what he wants?

o   The door is already locked.

o   He and his children are in bed.

 

10)   Are the excuses given by the disciple’s friend reasonable ones and why?

o   No, because the excuses are

§  Inconveniences at best.

§  And are by no means insurmountable obstacles.

 

11)   What does the reply of the disciple’s friend tell us about how he treats the request?

o   He is

§  Unwilling.

§  Rather than unable to help.

 

12)   According to verse 7 what does the disciple’s friend literally tell him concerning what he should do with his request?

o   The disciple should quit bothering him.

 

13)   According to verse 8 what did Jesus say friendship fails to accomplish?

o   Friendship fails to incline the disciple’s friend to

§  Get up.

§  And give him the bread.

 

14)   What might be the reason Jesus chose to set up the parable such that friendship fails to incline the disciple’s friend to get up and give him the bread?

o   It is such that the eventual lending of bread is entirely based on negotiation between the two parties.

 

15)   According to verse 8 what did Jesus say will compel the disciple’s friend to get up and give him as much as he needs after all?

o   It is because of the disciple’s shameless persistence in asking for bread.

 

16)   According to verse 9 how will those be rewarded who persist in asking in prayer?

o   They will be given what they ask for.

 

17)   According to verse 9 how will those be rewarded who persist in seeking in prayer?

o   They will find what they seek.

 

18)   According to verse 9 how will those be rewarded who persist in knocking in prayer?

o   They will have the door opened to them.

 

19)   Why did Jesus repeat the rewards in verse 10?

o   It is to emphasize the certainty of reward for persisting in prayer.

 

20)   According to verses 11 and 12 what are the two rhetorical questions Jesus asked?

o   Which of you fathers,

§  If your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

§  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?.

 

21)   What are the expected answers for the two rhetorical questions?

o   ‘No’.

 

22)   In the rhetorical questions what is the basis for good gifts to be given when one party asks the other?

o   It is because the giver cherishes his or her relationship with the asker.

 

23)   According to verse 13 what analogy did Jesus use to illustrate how generously our Father in heaven gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

o   Jesus

§  Used the analogy of human fathers, though evil, knowing how to give good gifts to their children

§  To illustrate how much more our Father in heaven gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

 

24)   What is Jesus’ portrayal of the nature of our Father in heaven in the analogy he made with human fathers who are by nature evil?

o   Our Father in heaven is good.

 

25)   Why do we ask for the Holy Spirit when we have already received the Holy Spirit upon repenting and believing the good news?

o   We are asking for empowerment of the Holy Spirit for doing the work of the gospel.

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Luke 11:5-13

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