Lukechapter 11
54 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · The Gospels
One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Introduction
Luke, The Gospels, Luke Overview.
Luke wrote this chapter for Theophilus and for Gentile believers who had to learn to pray far from any temple of their own. He was a careful historian who gathered his material from eyewitnesses, and here he sets teaching on prayer beside a run of public conflicts. The chapter moves from a quiet request by the disciples to a crowded argument and then to a tense meal in a Pharisee's house. Listen for the arguments that reason from the lesser to the greater. Listen also for the question of who holds real power over evil, and notice how the tone sharpens as the chapter goes on.
Context
- Who
- A Greek reader who did not know how a Jewish village handled a guest
- What
- Teaching on prayer, a dispute over the power by which Jesus casts out demons, and a series of warnings spoken at a Pharisee's table.
- Where
- On the road toward Jerusalem, at a place of prayer, among growing crowds and in a Pharisee's house; Luke names no town.
- When
- On the road to Jerusalem, about AD 29 to 30, some months before the crucifixion.
- Why
- To teach disciples to pray to God as Father with confidence, and to show why the religious leaders turned against Jesus.
Historical context
The midnight parable only works if you know village life. Bread was baked fresh each day in small quantities, so by nightfall a household might genuinely have none. Houses were often a single room where the whole family slept together on a raised platform, so answering the door woke everyone.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
More importantly, hospitality was a village obligation, not a private choice. A traveller arriving late was the community's guest, and a host who could not feed him shamed the whole village. That is why the neighbour finally gets up, the word behind the phrase carries the sense of avoiding shame. The request is not selfish; it is the man's duty.
The Beelzebul charge assumes a world where exorcism was practised. Jesus points out that Jewish exorcists were at work too, and asks by whose power they cast out, an argument that lands because his hearers accepted the practice.
The dinner woes turn on specifics. Tithing garden herbs like mint and rue was a fine point the strictest teachers answered yes to. Best seats in the synagogue meant the bench at the front facing the congregation. And unmarked graves were a real hazard: contact with a grave made a person unclean for seven days, so tombs near roads were whitewashed before festivals, walking over one unawares was exactly the accident the custom existed to prevent.
Significance
The prayer Jesus gives here is shorter than Matthew's version, and the request that follows it, ask, seek, knock, is grounded in an argument from the lesser to the greater: if you who are evil give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Luke's readers, praying in houses without a temple or a priesthood of their own, were being handed a doctrine of access. The door is not a magistrate's door where you need a patron. It is a friend's door at midnight, and it opens.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray; the Friend at Midnight
Luke sets the request where Jesus had just finished praying, so the lesson follows the sight of it. The disciple asks, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.
Luke 11:1
“These verses contain the prayer commonly called the Lord's Prayer . Few passages of Scripture perhaps are so well known as this. The most benighted Roman Catholic can tell us that there is a prayer called the "Pater Noster." The most ignorant English child has heard something about the "Our Father." The importance of the Lord's Prayer appears in the simple fact, that our Lord Jesus Christ delivered it twice with very slight variations. He who never spoke a word without good reason, has thought fit to teach us this prayer upon two distinct occasions.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Luke 11:1
“Now whereas He possesses every good in abundance, why does He pray, since He is full, and has altogether need of nothing? To this we answer, that it befits Him, according to the manner of His dispensation in the flesh, to follow human observances at the time convenient for them. For if He eats and drinks, He rightly was used to pray, that He might teach us not to be lukewarm in this duty, but to be the more diligent and earnest in our prayers.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
The prayer opens with Father, setting every petition inside sonship, and hallowed be Your name puts God’s own honor first. Luke’s form is shorter than Matthew’s in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6).
Luke 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.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:2
“See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 6:9-13. Luk 11:4 For we also forgive ... - This is somewhat different from the expression in Matthew, though the sense is the same. The idea is, that unless we forgive others, God will not forgive us; and unless we come to him “really” forgiving all others, we cannot expect pardon. It does not mean that by forgiving others we “deserve” forgiveness ourselves, or “merit it,” but that this is a disposition or state of mind without which God cannot consistently pardon us.”
Luke 11:3-4
Give us each day our daily bread: asks for enough. The plea forgive us our sins stands on the same daily footing, tied to a life that already forgives everyone who sins against us.
Luke 11:3
“Perhaps our Lord purposely left that part open: and as the grand Jewish doxologies were ever resounding, and passed immediately and naturally, in all their hallowed familiarity into the Christian Church, probably this prayer was never used in the Christian assemblies but in its present form, as we find it in Matthew, while in Luke it has been allowed to stand as originally uttered.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Luke's prayer ends at the petition on temptation, without the line on evil that Matthew 6:13 adds. Augustine held that the missing clause belongs to the petition before it and is contained in it. Luke gives the shorter form.
Luke 11:4
“And forgive us our sins,.... Beza's most ancient copy reads "debts", as in See Gill on Mat 6:12; and which best agrees with the phrase "indebted", after mentioned: for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; See Gill on Mat 6:12, Mat 6:13. The doxology there used, and the word "Amen", are here omitted. Some of the petitions in this prayer are not delivered in the very same words as they are in Matthew.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:4
“Lead us not into temptation, etc. - Dr. Lightfoot believes that this petition is intended against the visible apparitions of the devil, and his actual obsessions; he thinks that the meaning is too much softened by our translation. Deliver us from evil, is certainly a very inadequate rendering of ῥυσαι ἡμας απο του πονηρου; literally, Deliver us from the wicked one.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:4
“For He wishes, if I may so speak, to make God the imitator of the patience which men practise, that the kindness which they have shown to their fellowservants, they should in like manner seek to receive in equal balance from God, who recompenses to each man justly, and knows how to have mercy upon all men.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 11:5-7
Jesus opens with a scene every village hearer knew, for bread to feed a guest was a plain duty. The asking is reasonable and the answer withheld, setting up verse 8.
Luke 11:5
“And he said unto them ... - Jesus proceeds to show that, in order to obtain the blessing, it was necessary to “persevere” in asking for it. For this purpose he introduces the case of a friend’s asking bread of another for one who had come to him unexpectedly. His design is solely to show the necessity of being “importunate” or persevering in prayer to God. At midnight - A time when it would be most inconvenient for his friend to help him; an hour when he would naturally be in bed and his house shut.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:5
“Who is a greater friend to us, than He who delivered up His body for us? Now we have here another kind of command given us, that at all times, not only in the day, but at night, prayers should be offered up. For it follows, And shall go into him at midnight. (Ps. 119:62.) As David did when he said, At midnight I will rise and give thanks unto thee. For he had no fear of awakening them from sleep, whom he knew to be ever watching.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
The man at the door asks bread for another man's hunger. Adam Clarke reads the Greek as a friend come out of his way, belated and lost, which makes the case more urgent. The parable pictures prayer made for someone else.
Luke 11:6
“In his journey is come - Or, perhaps more literally, A friend of mine is come to me out of his way, εξ ὁδου, which renders the case more urgent - a friend of mine, benighted, belated, and who has lost his way, is come unto me. This was a strong reason why he should have prompt relief.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The sleeper gives three reasons in one breath: the shut door, the children, and the bed. The Glossa Ordinaria reads the difficulty as set there to kindle the desire of praying, by showing how hard the thing is to obtain. The asker keeps knocking.
Luke 11:7
“My children are with me in bed - Or, I and my children are in bed; this is Bishop Pearce’s translation, and seems to some preferable to the common one. See a like form of speech in 1Co 16:11, and in Eph 3:18. However, we may conceive that he had his little children, τα παιδια, in bed with him; and this heightened the difficulty of yielding to his neighbor’s request. But if he persevere knocking. (At si ille perseveraverit pulsans).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
because of the man’s persistence: The argument rests on one word, the shameless persistence of a man at the door. If persistence moves a sleepy, unwilling neighbor, asking will move the Father far more. Luke draws the lesson again in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18).
Luke 11:8
“I tell you - The Latin Vulgate here adds, “if he shall continue knocking.” Though this is not in the Greek, yet it is indispensable that it should be understood in order to the sense. Knocking “once” would not denote “importunity,” but it was because he “continued” knocking. His importunity - His troublesome perseverance; his continuing to disturb the man, and refusing to take any denial. The word “importunity” denotes perseverance in an object, without any regard to time, place, or circumstances - an improper perseverance. By this the man was influenced.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:8
“The sense is obvious: If the churlish and self-indulgent--deaf both to friendship and necessity--can after a positive refusal, be won over, by sheer persistency, to do all that is needed, how much more may the same determined perseverance in prayer be expected to prevail with Him whose very nature is "rich unto all that call upon Him" (Ro 10:12).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Luke 11:9-10
Ask, and it will be given to you: Ask, seek and knock state one promise in three verbs of rising earnestness. Each verb in the Greek is continuous, asking and going on asking, the persistence of verse 8 put into a rule.
Luke 11:9
“To seek aid in time of distress from a supernatural being is an instinct of human nature. We say not that human nature unrenewed ever offers truly spiritual prayer, or ever exercises saving faith in the living God. But still, like a child crying in the dark with painful longing for help from somewhere or other, it scarcely knows where, the soul in deep sorrow almost invariably cries to some supernatural being for succor.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:9
“See this explained in the notes at Mat 7:7-11. Luk 11:12 “A scorpion” See the notes at Luk 10:19. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. i. p. 379) says: “There is no imaginable likeness between an egg and the ordinary black scorpion of this country, neither in color nor size, nor, when the tail is extended, in shape; but old writers speak of a “white” scorpion, and such a one, with the tail folded up, as in specimens of fossil trilobites, would not look unlike a small egg.”
For everyone who asks receives: Theophylact limits the promise to asking for what God gives. A request for useless things, he wrote, cannot even be called a request before God. Bede ties the promise to the friend at midnight and to perseverance in asking.
Luke 11:10
“These things we suffer by our own fault and our own deserving, even as the divine judgment has forewarned us, saying, "If they forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they profane my statutes and keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." It is for this reason that we feel the rods and the stripes, because we neither please God with good deeds nor atone for our sins.”
Cyprian · written before 258 · Epistle VIIpatristic
Luke 11:11-12
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish: The argument moves from a reluctant neighbor to an ordinary father, whose instinct runs the other way from refusal. The questions pair each request with a lookalike counterfeit, a snake for a fish and a scorpion for an egg.
Luke 11:11
“Him, therefore, whom you call the Creator recognise also as "Father." It is even He who knows what His children require. For when they asked for bread, He gave them manna from heaven; and when they wanted flesh, He sent them abundance of quails-not a serpent for a fish, nor for an egg a scorpion. It will, however, appertain to Him not to give evil instead of good, who has both one and the other in His power.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:11
“IN this chapter there is an evident progress. It opens by the disciples asking the Lord to teach them to pray. To that He gave a full and sufficient reply. He prepared them an outline of what complete prayer should be. Brethren, we have need, some of us, to begin with asking to be taught to pray. It will be a blessed sign when it can be said of us, "Behold, he prays." And just in proportion as we are instructed how to pray shall we give evidence of a more advanced Christian life.”
Luke 11:11
“In these words our Saviour gives us a very necessary piece of instruction. For often-times we rashly, from the impulse of pleasure, give way to hurtful desires. When we ask any such thing from God, we shall not obtain it. To show this, He brings an obvious example from those things which are before our eyes, in our daily experience. For when thy son asks of thee bread, thou givest it him gladly, because he seeks a wholesome food.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 11:11
“Of those three things that the apostle commends, faith is either signified by the fish, because of the water of baptism, or because it remains unharmed by the waves of this world. The Serpent is opposed to it, because it craftily and deceitfully persuaded man not to believe in God. The egg symbolizes hope, because the chick is not yet alive but will be; it is not yet seen but is hoped. "Hope that is seen is not hope."”
Augustine of Hippo · written before 430 · LETTER 130patristic
Luke 11:11
“Consider then this, if the bread be not indeed the food of the soul in knowledge, without which it can not be saved, as, for example, the well planned rule of a just life. But the fish is the love of instruction, as to know the constitution of the world, and the effects of the elements, and whatever else besides wisdom treats of.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
will give him a scorpion?: John Gill counts three kinds of scorpion, of the land, the air and the sea, and he leaves open which one is meant. Bede reads the egg as hope, an offspring still being nurtured, set against a creature feared for its sting. The father gives the egg.
Luke 11:12
“Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion.... Of which there are three sorts; some are terrestrial, or land scorpions, scorpions of the earth, a kind of serpents, very venomous and mischievous, to whom the wicked Jews are compared, Eze 2:6 and the locusts in Rev 9:3 others are airy, or flying scorpions, a sort of fowl; and others are sea scorpions; of the fish kind: it is not easy to say which of them is here meant.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:12
“Offer him a scorpion? - Σκορπιον. The Greek etymologists derive the name from σκορπιζειν τον ιον, scattering the poison. But is there any similitude between a scorpion and an egg, that the one might be given and taken in place of the other? We know there is the utmost similitude between some fish, especially those of the eel kind, and serpents: and that there are stones exactly similar to bread in their appearance; from which we may conjecture that our Lord intended to convey the same idea of similitude between an egg and a scorpion.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
how much more will your Father in heaven: The best gift in the Father’s hand is the Holy Spirit Himself, given to those who ask Him. Where Matthew’s parallel (Matthew 7) has good things, Luke names the Holy Spirit.
Luke 11:13
“If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children,.... See Gill on Mat 7:11. How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? instead of the Holy Spirit here, the Vulgate Latin version reads, "good Spirit", and so two copies of Beza's; and the Ethiopic version, "the good gift of the Holy Spirit"; and doubtless intends the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, in distinction from, and as preferable to the good things given by earthly parents, to their children.”
Beelzebub, the Strong Man, and the Swept House
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute: The demon is named by its effect, mute, and the healing is proved by the same measure: the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed before any hostile explanation was offered.
Luke 11:14
“The connection between these verses and those which immediately precede them, is striking and instructive. In the preceding verses, our Lord Jesus Christ had been showing the power and importance of prayer. In the verses before us, he delivers a man from a 'mute' devil. The miracle is evidently intended to throw fresh light on the lesson. The same Savior who encourages us to pray — is the Savior who destroys Satan's power over our members, and restores our tongues to their proper use.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:14
“In like manner, it is He who will give the Holy Spirit, at whose command is also the unholy spirit. When He cast out the "demon which was dumb" (and by a cure of this sort verified Isaiah), and having been charged with casting out demons by Beelzebub, He said, "If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? " By such a question what does He otherwise mean, than that He ejects the spirits by the same power by which their sons also did-that is, by the power of the Creator?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic
Luke 11:14
“And he was casting out a devil,.... At a certain time, either the same that is recorded in Mat 9:32 or in Mat 12:22 for both of them were attended with the same effect upon the people, and with the same calumny of the Pharisees, mentioned here: and it was dumb.”
Luke 11:15-16
The charge It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons concedes the miracle and disputes only its source. Others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven, something grander than an exorcism.
Luke 11:15
“But some of them said,.... The Pharisees, Mat 9:34 Mat 12:24 who could not bear that he should be thought to be the Messiah, and therefore put an ill construction on the miracle: he casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of devils; in several copies he is called Beelzebul, and in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; which last adds these words, "and he answered and said, how can Satan cast out Satan?" See Gill on Mat 12:20.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:15
“Beelzebub signifies the Lord of flies, a title 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.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 11:15
“Now they would have it thought, or said at least, that there was a correspondence settled between Christ and the devil, that the devil should have the advantage in the main and be victorious at last, but that in order hereto, in particular instances, he should yield Christ the advantage and retire by consent.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
demanding a sign from heaven: Cyril of Alexandria says the crowd had seen a demon cast out and wanted a wonder like the sea parted under Moses. Bede adds fire from above as in Elijah's day. Jesus answers the demand at verse 29.
Luke 11:16
But others by similar darts of envy sought of him a sign from heaven. As it follows, And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. As if they said, "Although thou hast cast out a devil from the man, this is no proof however of Divine power. For we have not yet seen any thing like to the miracles of former times. Moses led the people through the midst of the sea, (Exod. 14) and Joshua his successor stayed the sun in Gibeon. (Josh. 10:13.) But thou hast shown us none of these things."
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:16
“And others tempting him,.... Others of the Scribes and Pharisees, or Sadducees: sought of him a sign from heaven; See Gill on Mat 12:38, Mat 16:1.”
Luke 11:17-18
Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste states a principle of ordinary politics. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand shows the charge defeating itself. Casting out a demon works against Satan’s own interest.
Luke 11:17
“And what said Christ to these things? First, indeed, He proves Himself to be God, by knowing even that which was secretly whispered among them: for He knew their thoughts. And it is an act that altogether belongs to God, to be able to know what is in the mind and heart, and even what is spoken anywhere by men secretly. ...”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 80patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:17
“Now, if Satan should thus be divided against himself, he would hasten his own overthrow, which you cannot suppose an enemy to do that acts so subtlely for his own establishment, and is so solicitous to have his kingdom stand." 2.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Luke 11:17
“He answered not their words but their thoughts, that so at least they might be compelled to believe in His power, who saw into the secrets of the heart. The kingdom also of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is not divided, because it is sealed with an eternal stability. Let then the Arians cease to say that the Son is inferior to the Father, but the Holy Spirit inferior to the Son, since whose kingdom is one, their power is one also.”
Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul: Jesus repeats the charge in the accusers' own words. Chrysostom observes that He argued from everyday life, a house and a city divided, and left aside the Scriptures they explained away. Bede reads the argument as turning their own confession against them.
Luke 11:18
“And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?.... This is the accommodation of the above parables, or proverbial sentences; suggesting, that Satan must be against himself, if what the Pharisees said was true; and consequently, his kingdom and government, could not long subsist: because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub; which is all one as to say, that Satan is divided against himself, which is not reasonable to suppose; See Gill on Mat 12:26 and See Gill on Mar 3:26.”
Luke 11:19-20
by whom do your sons drive them out?: Jesus turns the charge on His accusers, since Jewish exorcists worked in this period and the Pharisees did not call it demonic. The finger of God echoes Exodus 8:19, where Pharaoh’s magicians named a power greater than their own.
by the finger of God: Matthew 12:28 has the Spirit of God where Luke has the finger of God. Augustine took the difference as a lesson, so that the finger of God in Scripture is read as the Holy Spirit. The two Gospels agree in sense.
Luke 11:20
“But if I with the, finger of God,.... The power of God, referring to Exo 8:19 and so the Cabalistic Jews (r) explain it, "the finger is one of the five in the hand, and is that finger which works by the power of Elohim;'' it is the same with the Spirit of God; See Gill on Mat 12:28 which is often called the hand of the Lord, Eze 1:3. (r) R. Mosch in Sepher Hashem, apud Cabal. Denudata. T. I. par. l. p. 146.”
Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house: pictures Satan’s hold as a fortified security, undisturbed because unchallenged. The parable states in image what the exorcism has just done in fact.
Luke 11:21
“Before Christ appeared, all was quiet, because all went one way; but the preaching of the gospel disturbed the peace of the devil's palace. (2.) The wonderful change that is made in conversion, which is Christ's victory over this usurper. Satan is a strong man armed; but our Lord Jesus is stronger than he, as God, as Mediator.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:21
“THE Lord Jesus is ever in direct and open antagonism to Satan. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed," has been most emphatically fulfilled. Christ has never tolerated any truce or parley with the Evil One and never will. Whenever Christ strikes a blow at Satan, it is a real blow and not a feint and is meant to destroy, not to amend. He never asks Satan's help to subdue Satan—never fights evil by evil—He uses the weapons which are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.”
he takes away the armor in which the man trusted: The stronger one is Christ. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear in his attack the promise of Genesis 3:15, the Seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head. The armor goes first, so he cannot win back his power.
Luke 11:22
“For as soon as the Word of the Most High God, the Giver of all strength, and the Lord of Hosts, was made man, He attacked him, and took away his arms. For the Jews who had been a long time entrapped by him into ignorance of God and sin, have been called out by the holy Apostles to the knowledge of the truth, and presented to God the Father, through faith in the Son.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
He who is not with Me is against Me: leaves no neutral ground before the authority Jesus has just claimed over the demonic. Mark 9:40 gives the reverse saying to a disciple wary of an outside worker, while here Jesus answers open enemies.
Luke 11:23
“Would you like to hear and learn another convincing argument besides these? "He that is not with Me," He says, "is against Me: and he that gathers not with Me, scatters for Me." For I, He says, have come to save every man from the hands of the devil; to deliver from his guile those whom he had ensnared; to set the prisoners free; to give light to those in darkness; to raise up them that had fallen; to heal the broken-spirited: and to gather together the children of God who were scattered abroad.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon LXXXIpatristic
Luke 11:24-26
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man: The spirit finds the house swept clean and put in order, tidied but empty, and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself. Deliverance with no new occupant leaves a vacancy more dangerous than the first affliction.
Luke 11:24
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,.... That is, the devil, who is in, and works in the children of disobedience, whether under a profession of religion or not; whose hearts are unclean like himself, wherefore there he delights to dwell; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "the evil demon": who may be said to go out of a man in appearance, when he outwardly reforms and takes up a profession of religion.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:24
“The house is swept, but it is not washed; and Christ hath said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me; the house must be washed, or it is none of his. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner, the beloved sin, is untouched.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the house swept clean and put in order: Bede reads the swept house as a soul cleansed by the grace of baptism and left without the labour of good works. Matthew 12:44 adds that the spirit finds the house empty. The emptiness invites the return.
Luke 11:25
“And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. In Matthew it is also said to be "empty"; and so it is read here in the Arabic version; and in the Ethiopic version, "empty of men": but rather the sense is, that he found it empty of all goodness, notwithstanding all the sweeping and garnish of an outward reformation.”
seven other spirits more wicked than itself: Bede reads the seven as every vice together, made worse by a hypocrisy that pretends to the virtues themselves. He finds the worse final state in Judas, who knew the way of truth and turned back. Second Peter 2:21 makes the same judgment.
Luke 11:26
“But it does not turn away those who are full of faith, nor does it act on them, for the power of the Lord is with them. It is the thoughtless and doubting that it turns away. ... Then, when he withdraws from the man in whom he dwelt, the man is emptied of the righteous Spirit; and being henceforward filled with evil spirits, he is in a state of anarchy in every action, being dragged hither and thither by the evil spirits, and there is a complete darkness in his mind as to everything good.”
Shepherd of Hermas · written before 160 · Shepherd of Hermas, Commandment 5patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:26
“Where secret haunts of sin are kept up, under the cloak of a visible profession, conscience is debauched, God is provoked to withdraw his restraining grace, and the close hypocrite commonly proves an open apostate, [2.] The last state of such is worse than the first, in respect both of sin and punishment.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Luke 11:27-28
a woman in the crowd raised her voice: Jesus redirects a woman's praise of His mother to those who hear the word of God and obey it. The Magnificat had already called Mary blessed on those terms, so obedient hearing becomes the higher honor open to every hearer.
Luke 11:27
“A certain woman - One of the crowd. Blessed is the womb ... - She thought that the “mother” of such a person must be especially happy in having such a son. Yea, rather blessed ... - Jesus admits that she was happy - that it was an honor to be his mother, but he says that the chief happiness, the highest honor, was to obey the word of God. Compared with this, all earthly distinctions and honors are as nothing. Man’s greatest dignity is in keeping the holy commandments of God, and in being prepared for heaven.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:27
“Now, as Marcion was apprehensive that a belief of the fleshly body would also involve a belief of birth, undoubtedly He who seemed to be man was believed to be verily and indeed born. For a certain woman had exclaimed, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked!" And how else could they have said that His mother and His brethren were standing without? But we shall see more of this in the proper place.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IIIpatristic
Theophylact reads the reply as setting Mary's blessedness on the ground every believer stands on. Even she would have gained nothing from bearing Him without keeping the word. Luke 8:21 gave the same answer when His mother and brothers stood outside.
The Sign of Jonah; the Lamp of the Body
Luke 11:29-30
The sign of Jonah answers the demand of verse 16, and the sign named is a man. In Luke the prophet himself is the sign, a bare word moving a pagan city. Matthew 12 adds the three days in the fish.
Luke 11:29
“And when the people were gathered thick together,.... Upon this woman's lifting up her voice, and saying the things she did; or rather to see what sign he would give, which some had desired Luk 11:16 he began to say, this is an evil generation.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:29
“A promise that yet there should be one sign more given them, different from any that had yet been given them, even the sign of Jonas the prophet, which in Matthew is explained as meaning the resurrection of Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation: The verb looks ahead: the Son of Man will be the sign. Basil read Jonah's sign as the descent into death and the resurrection. The generation asking for a sign would receive that one.
Luke 11:31-32
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment: The Queen of the South recalls the Queen of Sheba, a Gentile who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The men of Nineveh, Gentiles who repented at the preaching of Jonah, stand as a second witness against a generation given more.
Luke 11:31
“In this also is clearly expressed the mystery of the Church, which is gathered from the ends of the earth, in the penance of the Ninevites, and in the seeking of wisdom by the Queen of the South: so that she may know the peaceful words of Solomon, the Queen, indeed, whose kingdom is indivisible, arising from diverse and distant peoples into one body.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.96patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:31
“The queen of the south, etc. - Perhaps it would be better to translate, A queen of the south, and the men of this race, shall rise up in judgment, etc. See the note on Luk 11:7. The 32d verse may be read in the same way.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:31
“OUR FIRST thought is that no mere man would have said this concerning himself unless he had been altogether eaten up with vanity; for Solomon was among the Jews the very ideal of greatness and wisdom. It would be an instance of the utmost self-conceit if any mere man were to say of himself’’A greater than Solomon is here.’ Any person who was really greater and wiser than Solomon would be the last man to claim such preeminence. A wise man would never think of it; a prudent man would never say it.”
now One greater than Jonah is here: Chrysostom sets the two audiences side by side: the Ninevites had never received the divine word, and the hearers were Jews taught by the prophets. Jonah was a servant, and here the Master had come.
No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar: The saying returns the figure of 8:16 in a new setting, right after the sign of Jonah. Jesus speaks of His own ministry, a light meant to be seen, which unbelief obscures by demanding another sign.
Luke 11:33
“IN this parable, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Light. Some saw His brightness, and were even dazzled by it, as was that woman who cried, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the paps which You have sucked." The malicious saw not His light but even dared to impute His miracles to the Prince of Darkness. Others professed to see so little light in Him that they demanded a sign from Heaven. Our Lord's constant answer was to go shining on. He was meant to be observed, even as a lamp is intended to be seen.”
3 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:33
“Therefore, because in previous passages he preferred the Church to the Synagogue, he exhorts us to rather transfer our faith to the Church; for faith is a lamp, according to what is written: Your word, Lord, is a lamp to my feet; for our faith is the word of God, the word of God is light, and faith is a lamp. There was the true light, which enlightens every person coming into this world. However, a lamp cannot shine unless it receives light from elsewhere.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.98-99patristic
Luke 11:33
“No man when he hath lighted a candle,.... These words are often repeated by Christ on different occasions; see Gill on Mat 5:15 and See Gill on Luk 8:16 and here seem to design the free, open, and clear ministry of Christ, who excelled Solomon in wisdom, and Jonas in powerful preaching.”
Luke 11:33
“No man, when he hath lighted, etc. - See on Mat 5:15 (note). Our Lord intimates, that if he worked a miracle among such an obstinate people, who were determined to disbelieve every evidence of his Messiahship, he should act as a man who lighted a candle and then covered it with a bushel, which must prevent the accomplishment of the end for which it was lighted. See also on Mar 4:21 (note), etc.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Your eye is the lamp of your body: Good renders a Greek word meaning sound, clear and undivided in aim. Bad carries the sense of grudging or covetous, so a grasping disposition darkens the whole life.
Luke 11:34
“The light of the body is the eye - Or, the eye is the lamp of the body. See on Mat 6:22 (note), etc. The 35th and 36th verses are wanting in some MSS., and are variously read in others.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:35-36
Be careful, then, that the light within you: The organ meant to admit light can itself go dark. The closing words return to the lamp of verse 33, moving from a sign demanded outwardly to a light made right within.
Luke 11:35
“That is, If thy material body, when the light of a candle shines upon it, is made full of light, so that not one of thy members is any longer in darkness; much more when thou sinnest not, shall thy whole spiritual body be so full of light, that its brightness may be compared to the shining of a candle, while the light which was in the body, and which used to be darkness, is directed whithersoever the understanding may command.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Adam Clarke compares the sound eye to a lamp that lights every part of the house. The light of Christ in the heart, he says, reaches every thought, word and action.
Luke 11:36
“The whole shall be full of light - Or, altogether enlightened; i.e. when the eye is perfect, it enlightens the whole body. Every object within the reach of the eye is as completely seen as if there was an eye in every part. So the eye is to every part of the body what the lamp is to every part of the house. When the light of Christ dwells fully in the heart, it extends its influence to every thought, word, and action; and directs its possessor how he is to act in all places and circumstances.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Woes Against Pharisees and Lawyers
Luke 11:37-38
a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him: Jesus accepts the invitation of a Pharisee, the readiness to sit with a critic shown at Simon’s house in chapter 7. The host was surprised that He did not first wash before the meal, a ceremonial washing of Pharisaic tradition.
Luke 11:37
“Let us notice in this passage — our Lord Jesus Christ's readiness, when needful, to go into the company of the unconverted. We read that a certain Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him. The man was evidently not one of our Lord's disciples. Yet we are told that "Jesus went in and reclined at the table." The conduct of our Lord on this occasion, as on others — is meant to be an example to all Christians. Christ is our pattern — as well as our atoning sacrifice .”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:37
“The Pharisee invites him to an entertainment for his own purpose. The Savior of all submits to this for providence's sake. He made the matter an opportunity of giving instruction, not consuming the time of their meeting in the enjoyment of food and delicacies but in the task of making those who were assembled there more virtuous.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Homily 83patristic
Luke 11:37
“And as he spake - While he was addressing the people, and particularly while he was reproving that generation and declaring its crimes. A certain Pharisee - The Pharisees had been particularly referred to in the discourse of the Saviour recorded in the previous verses. This one, perhaps, having felt particularly the force of the remarks of Jesus, and being desirous of being alone with him, invited him to go home with him.”
did not first wash before the meal: Bede notes that the surprise stayed unspoken. He gives the custom from Mark 7:3, where the Pharisees and all the Jews wash their hands before eating. Jesus answers the thought in verse 39.
Luke 11:38
“Saw it - Saw that he sat immediately down without washing. Marvelled - Wondered. Was amazed. It was so unusual, and in his view so improper. Had not first washed - He wondered particularly, as he had been among a mixed multitude, and they esteemed the “touch” of such persons polluting. They never ate, therefore, without such washing. The origin of the custom of washing with so much formality “before” they partook of their meals was that they did not use, as we do, knives and forks, but used their hands only.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:38
“The dull Pharisee himself supplied an occasion for his speech, "because he wondered," it says, "that he did not wash before dinner." Did he wonder at him as having done something of which he approved, as being especially worthy of the saints? This was not his view. How could it be? On the contrary, he was offended because although he had the reputation of a righteous man and a prophet, he did not conform himself to their unreasonable customs.…Our argument is this. "O foolish Pharisee, you boast much of your knowledge of the sacred Scriptures.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Homily 83patristic
Luke 11:38
“And when the Pharisee saw it,.... That Christ laid himself down on one of the couches and began to eat: he marvelled; that so great a prophet as he was, and a man of so much religion and holiness, should show no regard to a common custom with them, and which was one of the traditions of their elders, and which they put upon a level with the commands of God.”
Luke 11:39-41
The charge you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish makes the washing a picture of a dirty heart. The remedy is to give as alms the things that are within you, so mercy meets the disease where it lies.
Luke 11:39
“You see that our bodies, which are earthly and fragile, are marked by their outward appearance and easily broken by a brief fall. And easily the thoughts and actions of the mind are revealed through the senses and the movements of the body, just as the contents of a cup shine outwardly. Hence, in the latter, there is no doubt that the passion of the body is indicated by the word "cup," when the Lord says: The cup which the Father has given me, do you not want me to drink it?”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.100-101patristic
make the inside as well?: Jesus uses the word fools at a Pharisee's own table. Bonaventure found in the question a condemnation of the Manichees, who gave the spirit and the body two different authors. Theophylact draws from it the duty to cleanse the soul.
Luke 11:40
“Did not he that made that which is without - Did not the maker of the dish form it so, both outwardly and inwardly, as to answer the purpose for which it was made? And can it answer this purpose without being clean in the inside as well as on the outside?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
give as alms the things that are within you: John Wesley reads the alms as acts directly opposed to the greed and wickedness inside. They show a clean heart and make the outward washings needless. Mercy does the cleansing.
Luke 11:41
“Do you see what great remedies there are? Mercy cleanses us, the Word of God cleanses us, as it is written: Now you are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken to you. Not only in this place, but also in others, you understand how great the grace is expressed: For almsgiving delivers from death: and, Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for thee against all evil.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.100-101patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:41
“But rather give alms of such things as ye have,.... The phrase τα ενοντα, is variously rendered, and so furnishes out various senses: the Syriac version renders it, "give that which is", which is yours; or "which is given to you", as the Persic version, and agrees with ours, "such things as ye have"; and which carries in it but a very odd sense; for none can give of that which they have not.”
You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb: names an obedience extended to the smallest garden produce, which the law never specifically named. The woe falls on tithing herbs in place of justice, with precision in small things left standing.
Luke 11:42
“However, he briefly exposes their many sins who devote all their effort to contributing the tithes of cheaper fruits: they have no fear of the future judgment or any love for God, since their works are worthless without faith; for they disregard the judgment and love of God: the judgment, because they do not bring everything they do under judgment; the love, because they do not love God out of devotion.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.103-104patristic
You love the chief seats in the synagogues: The second woe names a love of recognition, of the chief seats and the greetings that marked rank. The fault lies in the loving of them, the heart attached to the honor over the service it was meant to mark.
Luke 11:43
“By means of those things for which He blames us He makes us better. For He would have us be free from ambition, and not desire after vain show rather than the reality, which the Pharisees were then doing. For the greetings of men, and the rule over them, do not move us to be really useful, for these things fall to men though they be not good men. Therefore he adds, Woe unto you, who are as graves which appear not.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
For you are like unmarked graves: The third woe says you are like unmarked graves, a danger every hearer knew, since contact with a grave conveyed ceremonial defilement. The teachers so careful about washing in verse 39 are themselves an unseen source of the defilement they claimed to guard against.
Luke 11:44
“And like graves which appear not, they deceive by their outside beauty, and by their look impose upon the passers by; as it follows, And the men that walk over them are not aware of them; so much that in truth, though they give outward promise of what is beautiful, inwardly they enclose all manner of pollution.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:44
“Ye are as graves which appear not - In Mat 23:27, our Lord tells them that they exactly resembled white-washed tombs: they had no fairness but on the outside: (see the note there) but here he says they are like hidden tombs, graves which were not distinguished by any outward decorations, and were not elevated above the ground, so that those who walked over them did not consider what corruption was within; so they, under the veil of hypocrisy, covered their iniquities, so that those who had any intercourse or connection with them did not perceive what accomplished knaves they…”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:44
“Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,.... As they are all along called by Matthew; though only here by Luke.”
Luke 11:45-46
An expert in the law protests that the woes on the Pharisees insult the law’s own interpreters too. Jesus widens the charge to the heavy burdens of accumulated oral rulings, which the teachers load without lifting a finger.
Luke 11:45
“Lawyers - Men learned in the law; but it is not known in what way the lawyers differed from the “scribes,” or whether they were Pharisees or Sadducees. Thus saying, thou ... - He felt that the remarks of Jesus about loving the chief seats, etc., applied to them as well as to the Pharisees. His conscience told him that if “they” were to blame, “he” was also, and he therefore applied the discourse to himself. Reproachest - Accusest. Dost calumniate or blame us, for we do the same things.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:45
“Then answered one of the lawyers,.... Or Scribes, as the Syriac and Persic versions read: and so the Ethiopic version calls him, "a Scribe of the city": the Scribes and lawyers were the same sort of persons who were interpreters of the law, and equally tenacious of the traditions of the elders Christ had referred to, as the Pharisees, and in general were Pharisees; though some of them might be of the sect of the Sadducees.”
Luke 11:45
“The passage before us is an example of our Lord Jesus Christ's faithful dealing with the souls of men. We see Him without fear or favor rebuking the sins of the Jewish expounders of God's law. That false charity which calls it "unkind" to say that any one is in error, finds no encouragement in the language used by our Lord. He calls things by their right names. He knew that acute diseases need severe remedies.”
you yourselves will not lift a finger: Gregory of Nyssa saw the same fault in teachers of his own day, stern judges of sinners and weak bearers of burdens. Theophylact adds that a teacher who does what he teaches lightens the load by his example. The lawyers gave no example.
Luke 11:46
“But Christ brings a severe charge against the Lawyers, and subdues their foolish pride, as it follows, And he said, Woe unto you also, ye Lawyers, for ye lade men, &c. He brings forward an obvious example for their direction. The Law was burdensome to the Jews as the disciples of Christ confess, but these Lawyers binding together legal burdens which could not be borne, placed them upon those under them, taking care themselves to have no toil whatever.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:46
“Ye lade men with burdens - By insisting on the observance of the traditions of the elders, to which it appears, by the way, they paid no great attention themselves. See on Mat 23:4 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:47-48
You build tombs for the prophets: exposes an honor that is complicity, monuments raised to men the builders’ ancestors murdered. Honoring dead prophets is cheaper than heeding living ones, and this generation is about to repeat the pattern.
Luke 11:47
“Also a good argument against the most foolish superstition of the Jews, who condemned the building of tombs for the prophets and their fathers; but by emulating their fathers' crimes, they turned the judgment upon themselves. Indeed, by constructing the tombs of the prophets, they were accusing those who had killed them of wrongdoing; and by imitating similar actions, they were also revealing themselves as heirs of their fathers' wickedness. Therefore, it is not the act of building, but the act of emulation that is considered a crime.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.106patristic
you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: Bede says the lawyers built the tombs to win the crowd, as though they condemned what their fathers did. Their treatment of the Lord the prophets foretold showed them one with those fathers. The tombs became evidence against the builders.
Luke 11:48
“Truly ye bear witness - Ye acknowledge that those of old who killed the prophets were your fathers, and ye are about to show, by your conduct towards me and my apostles, that ye are not degenerated, that ye are as capable of murdering a prophet now, as they were of old.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:48
“Whom they killed, ye build their sepulchres - Just like them pretending great reverence for the ancient prophets, while ye destroy those whom God sends to yourselves. Ye therefore bear witness by this deep hypocrisy that ye are of the very same spirit with them.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 11:49-51
the wisdom of God said: The blood of all the prophets is charged to this generation, all persecution gathered into one reckoning. The span from Abel to Zechariah runs through the Hebrew canon in its own order, Genesis to Chronicles, the first martyr and the last named.
Luke 11:49
“The wisdom of God, agreeably to this, hath said - In many places of Scripture, though not in these very words, I will send them prophets - Chiefly under the Old Testament: and apostles - Under the New. The blood of all shall be required of this generation - That is, shall be visibly and terribly punished upon it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:49
“Therefore Wisdom sends apostles and prophets to them. Who is Wisdom if not Christ? Finally, in Matthew you have: Behold, I send you prophets and wise men.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.107patristic
Luke 11:49
“The wisdom of God - These seem to be Luke’s words, and to mean that Jesus, the wisdom of God, (as he is called, 1Co 1:24), added the words which follow here, on that occasion: and this interpretation of the words is agreeable to that of Matthew, who makes Jesus speak in his own person: Wherefore behold, I send you prophets, etc., Mat 23:34. See the note there, and see Bishop Pearce.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:49
“Therefore also said the wisdom of God,..... The Syriac version only reads "wisdom"; by which seems to be meant not the perfection of God's wisdom: though it is usual with the Jews to represent the divine perfections as speaking, as the justice and mercy of God.”
will be charged with the blood of all the prophets: Irenaeus traces the charge to Genesis 4:10, where the voice of Abel's blood cries to God. He adds Genesis 9:5, where God says He will require man's blood. The charge falls on one generation.
Luke 11:50
“That the blood - That the particle ινα may be translated so that, pointing out the event only, not the design or intention, Bishop Pearce has well shown in his note on this place, where he refers to a like use of the word in Luk 9:45; Luk 14:10; Joh 10:17; Rom 5:20; Rom 11:11; 1Co 1:15, 1Co 1:31, etc.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown identify this Zechariah with the priest stoned in the temple court at 2 Chronicles 24:20 to 22. His last words asked the LORD to require his blood, and Jesus says it will be charged to this generation. Wesley saw it fall within forty years.
Luke 11:51
“From the blood of Abel,.... "Righteous Abel", as in Mat 23:35 and so read the Arabic version here, and two manuscripts in the Bodleian library, and three of Stephens's copies; the Persic version renders it, "innocent Abel": he is mentioned because he was the first man that was slain, and he was slain because of his righteousness.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:51
“From the blood of Abel - See this subject explained at large on Mat 23:34 (note). Required - Εκζητηθησεται may be translated either by the word visited or revenged, and the latter word evidently conveys the meaning of our Lord. They are here represented as having this blood among them; and it is intimated that God will come by and by to require it, and to inquire how it was shed, and to punish those who shed it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 11:51
“And so it was within forty years, in a most astonishing manner, by the dreadful destruction of the temple, the city, and the whole nation. Between the temple and the altar - In the court of the temple.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
you have taken away the key to knowledge: The charge you have taken away the key to knowledge names the gravest woe, since their calling was to open the Scriptures to the people. The failure is double: they refused the truth and barred others from it.
Luke 11:52
“Ye have taken away the key of knowledge - By your traditions ye have taken away the true method of interpreting the prophecies: ye have given a wrong meaning to those scriptures which speak of the kingdom of the Messiah, and the people are thereby hindered from entering into it. See on Mat 23:13 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 11:52
“Ye have taken away the key of knowledge - Ye have obscured and destroyed the knowledge of the Messiah, which is the key of both the present and the future kingdom of heaven; the kingdom of grace and glory.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 11:52
“John says in the book of Revelation, "He who has the key of David, he who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens." The scribes and Pharisees held this key in the law. The Lord warns them in the Gospel, "Woe to you lawyers, who hold the key of the kingdom of heaven." O you Pharisees, who hold the keys of the kingdom and do not believe in Christ who is the gate of the kingdom and the door. The promise is made to you, but it is granted to us.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Homily on Psalm 88 (89)patristic
Luke 11:53-54
the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly: The meal turns into open hostility, the scribes and Pharisees hunting now for a formal charge. The chapter that opened with a disciple asking to be taught to pray closes with teachers of the law plotting a trap.
Luke 11:53
“To urge him vehemently - To press upon him “violently.” They were enraged against him. They therefore pressed upon him; asked him many questions; sought to entrap him, that they might accuse him. Provoke him ... - This means that they put many questions to him about various matters, without giving him proper time to answer. They proposed questions as fast as possible, and about as many things as possible, that they might get him, in the hurry, to say something that would be wrong, that they might thus accuse him.”
waiting to catch Him in something He might say: Albert Barnes takes the word catch from bird catching, where men lay snares and take their prey unawares. The scribes and Pharisees wanted a word from His mouth to accuse Him before the Sanhedrin and have Him killed. Luke 20:20 shows the same method in Jerusalem.
Luke 11:54
“Laying wait for him,.... To ensnare and entangle him, watching his words, observing what he said, and laying hold thereon: and seeking to catch something out of his mouth; like beasts of prey, or hunters, that were watching for their prey; or lay ambush, diligently looking out, and greedily catching at every thing they thought for their purpose: that they might accuse him; either of heresy or sedition, to the Jewish sanhedrim, or the Roman governor.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 11:54
“Laying wait for him - Or, rather, laying “snares” for him It means that they endeavored to entangle him in his talk; that they did as men do who catch birds - who lay snares, and deceive them, and take them unawares. That they might accuse him - Before the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation, and thus secure his being put to death. From this we may learn: 1. That faithful reproofs must be expected to excite opposition and hatred.”
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
E. B. Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Luke; Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Basil of Caesarea, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11; Cyril of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Gregory of Nyssa, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Irenaeus, Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 5; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Luke; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid.