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| .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. |
1 -
When
he ceased The disciples were watching if not also listening.
His prayer habits are seen at mr0135.
1 - One of his disciples The others were glad to listen to the explanation. They may not have been among the twelve. 1 - Lord teach us to pray Being used to impersonal, ritualistic prayers, observing Jesus in personal communion with the Father would have prompted their request. Compare jn1323, ps131. The more commonly recited prayer begins at mt0609. 2 - When ye pray It's quite possible that more was explained than is recorded. 2 - Our father The disciples could communicate in a personal relationship with the the Father in heaven although this was new to them. The term is used in the OT is6316. 2 - Father The NIV makes this verse suitable for addressing human priests. It reads "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name....'" Such an attribution of holiness addressed to someone not "in heaven" (ro0323) may be considered blasphemy. See mt2309. 4 - Lead us not Would he lead us to sin? No ja0113. David explains the concept ps02803. |
 .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. 5 - Which ...shall have a friend This parable helps build the concept of true prayer. 6 - I have nothing Jesus is the source of all that we can give to others, especially spiritually. Compare mt1416. 7 - Trouble me not The Lord would never respond to us this way, but He is sometimes silent. We need to persist in prayer not because God is reluctant to help us but in order that we feel our need. lu1805. 8 - Importunity Means "shamelessness." God may withhold what He wants to give us ep0320 when we are not ready for it to be a spiritual blessing. As we pray again and again, we develop depth of character. Compare Jacob's persistence ge3226. Image from
Christ's
Object Lessons, 1900
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| .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? |
9 - Ask It's really that simple. Prayer isn't to change God's mind but to bring us into harmony with Him so that He can bless us. Of course He knows our needs but He often withholds gifts not requested because they would not ultimately be a blessing. At other times He grants our wishes when they are not for our best good so that we can learn to know Him and His way. 1sa08. |
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| .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. |
14
- As he was casting out Apparently this event is the one
also recorded by Matthew although Luke has not arranged his stories chronologically.
15 - Through Beelzebub See on mt1224. Those who venture to cast out evil spirits risk being controlled by the one they think they are opposing. We may certainly pray for those possessed but we need to remember that only Jesus has conquered Satan. Our power is only from Him. |
| 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. |
17
- Kingdom divided First Jesus explains that their logic is
faulty. Greek culture and philosophy was popular and the Pharisees may
have studied logic among other things. Verse 19 probably surprised them.
Demon power over demons is the trick Satan plays on would-be exorcists.
See on v15.
20 - If I with the finger of God Then they should not reject Him as the Messiah. On "the finger of God," see also ex0819, ex3118, de0910. This is the only alternative to casting out devils by Satan's power. |
| 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. |
Strong man Satan has power as in the occult which we have been looking at, but Christ with the finger of God has conquered him. |
| .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. |
24 - Unclean spirit See on Matt. 12:43-45. |
| .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. |
27
- Blessed is the womb The Christian world has, over the ages,
strayed from the biblical concept of the role of Mary. See lu0126.
As
is often the case, you will want to read more than the one verse indicated
in the link code.
28 - Rather The idea of thinking of Mary as some great woman was contrary to the plan of honoring God. |
| .29
¶
And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This
is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given
it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. .31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. |
See on Matt. 12:38-42. |
| .33
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither
under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the
light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. |
36 - No part dark Many want to enjoy the pleasures of sin he1124 (which bring no happiness) and still claim the assurance of eternal life. It doesn't work that way. mt0624. |
| .37
¶ And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him:
and he went in, and sat down to meat.
38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? 41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. .42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. .44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. |
42
- Woe See beginning at mt2313.
42 - Tithe Some Christians believe that returning a tenth to God was an expectation only of those of the Old Testament. Here we see that this is not the case. He told the Pharisees that paying tithe on small things was important, but that it was much more important to have the love of God and to be prepared for judgment. That is first! See God's wonderful promise at mal0310. 44 - Graves ... walk over Such an act would make them ceremonially unclean but, over the centuries, many died and were buried. Their graves were not detectable. The Pharisees were like the graves condemning people for no good reason. |
| .45
Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying
thou reproachest us also.
.46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. |
46 - Woe ... lawyers They were scribes whose interpretation of the law made the life of works a great burden. See mt1128 in relation to this. |
| 49 Therefore also said
the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of
them they shall slay and persecute:
.50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. |
49
- Wisdom of God Or "Christ." 1co0124.
50 - Blood ... required of this generation The corrupt system of worship of the OT climaxed in the religious leaders of Jesus' time. See its counterpart for the NT re1824. 52 - Key of knowledge The understanding of the way of salvation. mt2313. |
| 53 And as he said these
things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently,
and to provoke him to speak of many things:
.54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. |
54 - That they might accuse They had been watching Him for a long time and had found nothing to use as a charge against Him. Are your words and mine beyond reproach? mt1237. |
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