In the Parable of a Friend in Need (Luke 11:5-8), Jesus teaches us to persist and be bold in prayer.
Jesus praised the neighbor in need for his shameless audacity. What does this mean in context?
Before we begin the exegesis …..
Quick definition of a parable:
Literally, the word parable (parabolē in Greek) combines para– (pronounced pah-rah) and means “alongside” and bolē (pronounced boh-lay) which means “put” or even “throw”). Therefore, a parable puts two or more images or ideas alongside each other to produce a new truth. […] The Shorter Lexicon says that the Greek word parabolē can sometimes be translated as “symbol,” “type,” “figure,” and “illustration,” the latter term being virtually synonymous with parable.
For more information on what a parable is and its purposes, click on this link:
The translation is mine. If you would like to see other translations, click here:
If you don’t read Greek, ignore the left column.
I often quote scholars in print because I learn many things from them. They form a community of teachers I respect (1 Cor. 12:28), though I don’t agree with everything they write. But they do ensure I do not go astray. There is safety in numbers (for me at least).
Now let’s begin.
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Parable of a friend in Need (Luke 11:5-8) |
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| 5 Καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἕξει φίλον καὶ πορεύσεται πρὸς αὐτὸν μεσονυκτίου καὶ εἴπῃ αὐτῷ· φίλε, χρῆσόν μοι τρεῖς ἄρτους, 6 ἐπειδὴ φίλος μου παρεγένετο ἐξ ὁδοῦ πρός με καὶ οὐκ ἔχω ὃ παραθήσω αὐτῷ· 7 κἀκεῖνος ἔσωθεν ἀποκριθεὶς εἴπῃ· μή μοι κόπους πάρεχε· ἤδη ἡ θύρα κέκλεισται καὶ τὰ παιδία μου μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἰς τὴν κοίτην εἰσίν· οὐ δύναμαι ἀναστὰς δοῦναί σοι. 8 λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ καὶ οὐ δώσει αὐτῷ ἀναστὰς διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ, διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς δώσει αὐτῷ ὅσων χρῄζει. | 5 He also said to them: “Who of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 since my friend has traveled and arrived at my place, and I don’t have anything I can lay out for him!’ 7 And the other man answered from inside and told him, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already shut and my children are in bed! I’m unable to get up and give you anything!’” 8 I tell you that if he does not get up to give him anything because he is his friend, then at least he will get up and give him as much as he needs because of his shameless audacity!” |
This parable has a larger context. Please go here for more information:
This is an illustration of opposites or contrast. The churlish neighbor is unlike your generous, heavenly Father. The Greek construction says that we should conclude that the neighbor is unreasonable and should not act the way he is described in the illustration, like this:
Churlish Neighbor ≠ Generous Heavenly Father
Further, Jesus is making the point that boldness and persistence will win in prayer. Why do we need to keep praying? That requires a long, complicated answer. Here it is, too briefly laid out:
(1) Wait for circumstances to align, which takes time;
(2) Learn the differences between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, to know how things work; you have to learn how the two realms work;
(3) Fight to bring down the heavenly kingdom on earth;
(4) Break Satanic interference;
(5) Develop our character to wait;
(6) Stop our desperation and whining and anxiety;
(7) Cultivate calm, confident faith and trust in our loving Father;
(8) Eevelop our intimacy with the Father by continuous prayer and fellowship with him; (9) have persistent, persevering faith;
(10) Enjoy community involvement;
(11) Have the deepest joy and appreciation for the Father and his answer, when the answer at long last comes. Let’s not get spoiled with instant gratification.
(12) Surrender our desires to God, to check them in at the door. Are really praying in his will or our own? Surrender yours to him.
“The hearer of the parable is not to imagine himself as the man in bed but as the visitor” (Liefeld and Pao, p. 207).
Now let’s look at Jesus’s illustration itself.
It feels like the subject in this illustration is you, but it is your friend who goes to his neighbor. But if we tweak things a little bit, you are the one who goes to the neighbor because you have an unexpected midnight visitor. You can see yourself in the illustration.
And the custom of the day demanded that your friend take care of the traveler, who was probably walking, not riding on a mount (but we don’t know for sure). But the visitor is unexpected, and your friend does not have enough food to lay out for him, so he has to go to his neighbor for help. Three loaves of bread could have easily fed one man, but apparently the unplanned visitor was going to stay a while. The verses are silent as to whether the traveler was with other friends, which happened more often than a lone traveler. But let’s not get distracted away from the main point of the story (v. 8), by details that are not provided for us.
“children are in bed”: it literally reads, “The children are in bed with me” “or my children are with me in bed.” The NET translator and commentator on Luke points out that when Jesus taught, the family slept in the same room, but in different beds. I add: in the pioneer days in America, they hung a blanket between the girls and the boys and the parents who owned a one room house.
Then your friend’s neighbor is churlish and irritated. The neighbor said that the door is locked and all the children is in bed. “So go away! I’m unable to get up to give you anything!” How would you respond if you were the seeker? You should be shameless in your asking. The implication is that you ask again. That’s why other translations in v. 8 say “persistence.”
Verse 8 is the central point to the illustration. If your churlish neighbor does not immediately lend you three loaves of bread because he is your friend, then he will lend them because of your extra-boldness or shamelessness. The reasoning goes from the minor (churlish neighbor) to the major (Generous Father).
The Generous Father ∞> Churlish neighbor
The Father is infinitely greater than / better than the churlish neighbor.
The symbol ∞ means “infinity.”
“shameless audacity”: The NIV correctly and insightfully translates the term like that. It is the noun anaideia (pronounced ahn-eye-day-ah, and the an– suffix negates the stem aide- or “shame”). It appears only here in the NT. The Shorter Lexicon says “persistence,” but the Greek noun should literally be translated as shamelessness and audacity. This part of the world was shame-and-honor based. Sometimes you have to be shameless and extra-bold and audacious when you pray. So the theological point is that God is much more generous than the stingy neighbor who has three loaves, and God likes bold prayer. He will quickly “get up” and give you as much as you need. You must break down your accustomed way of approaching God in prayer and go bold (John 14:13-14). He is not contemptuous or churlish towards your prayers for your needs. He is generous and willing to give whatever you need—much more than three loaves of bread. However, you must pray according to his will and keep within his will by obeying his commands and living in the Spirit, as opposed to your own self-centered mind (1 John 3:22-24).
To repeat the main message so far, your generous heavenly Father will answer your prayers because he is your friend. The lesson is that he wants you to pray boldly and shamelessly, not with shyness and false humility. “Oh, I don’t want to bother God with my puny needs and requests. He’s too busy running the universe.” No. God, who is your friend, is never too busy to answer your smallest need and request. A woman, unknown to me, emailed me and said her friend was being drawn into Islam, so what should the emailer do? I told her to pray that God would open her eyes to the truth in Christ. She replied, “Can I do that?” Yes! Go bold or go home!
God, who is your friend, loves “shameless,” bold, audacious, “go-for-it” prayers.
Jesus teaches more on prayer, in the same context:
9 I also tell you, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who seeks receives; and the one who seeks will find, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 10:9-10)
Garland:
The point of the parable moves from the lesser to the greater. If a friend grants your request in the middle of the night, even though he is asleep and tempted to put you off with the weakest of excuses, he will respond out of a desire to keep his name from shame if not from friendship. How much more readily, then, will a loving God respond to prayer? But the parable also ties into the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer for God to sanctify his name. God also has a name and reputation to preserve, who makes makes a name for himself by redeeming his people and doing great and awesome things for them (2 Sam 7:23). (comment on v. 8).
Bock adds a great insight:
The point of comparison is not between the neighbor and God but between the petitioner and the disciple. God’s response stands in contrast to the neighbor’s begrudging help as 11:9-13 will make clear in contrasting humans and God … Answer to prayer is not wrung out of the Father with much effort like water from a towel. He gives willingly (11:9-13). Disciples are to make their request boldly to God. They have access to God and are to make use of it. (p. 1060).
But I think it is also about the generous God contrasted with the reluctant neighbor.
Liefeld and Pao offer two interpretations. First, the parable contrasts the way God answers prayer. If so, if the host in bed is pressed hard enough and will answer reluctantly, God will answer speedily and more graciously. The second one: If the man abed answers to avoid shame in an honor-and-shame culture, then God will be consistent and honorable in his character and answer our prayers graciously (comment on v. 8).
GrowApp for Luke 11:5-8
A.. These illustrations are about opposites. Your Generous and Wise Father ≠ the Churlish Neighbor or You or Your Unwise Fathers. Study Hebrews 4:16. Why should you come to the throne of grace? How do you do this and how often?
B.. Which bold, audacious prayers have you prayed?
At this link you will find the bibliography at the very bottom.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 