Lk. 11:1 And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.”
The Shemoneh Esreh Prayer is the central element in the three daily services: Shaharith, Minhah, and Ma’ariv. It is spoken of in the Talmud as Tefilla, the prayer par excellence, on account of its importance and antiquity. According to tradition, it was composed by the members of the Great Assembly who flourished at the early period of the Second Temple. There are two recorded origins of this early liturgy of Jewish prayer. The first is given in the Gemara (BT:Berachoth 26b), where the patriarchs composed the three daily prayer times. Abraham is attributed with starting the Shaharith, or morning prayer. Isaac is believed to have originated the Minhah, or afternoon prayer. Jacob is said to be responsible for the Ma’ariv, or evening prayer. As far back as Daniel, we see references of saints praying three times facing Jerusalem (Daniel 6:18). Daniel even makes a reference that he was obeying a custom set afore time.
Sources: Daniel 6:18; BT:Berachoth 26b
Originally the Shemoneh Esreh, denoting eighteen, consisted of eighteen benedictions. In its present form, however, there are nineteen. The addition of the paragraph concerning the slanderers and enemies of the people was made towards the end of the first century by Rabban Gamaliel II, head of the Sanhedrin at Yavneh.
In this verse, Jesus’ disciples ask Him to teach them to pray. This might seem strange until we remember that in Judaism all prayers were prescribed. In the second part of their request they ask Him to teach them as John had taught his disciples. Evidently Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist) taught a different way that caught their attention. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t reveal this to us. Yeshua teaches them an extemporaneous, though not unorganized prayer. He teaches them a model prayer, which has some, but not many, similarities with the prayer of the Shemoneh Esreh Prayer.
Lk. 11:2 So He said to them, When you pray, say: our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
Lk. 11:3 “Give us this day our daily bread.”
“Our Father who is in Heaven” is a common address in Rabbinic prayers. It appears three times in the Shemoneh Esreh. In the Shemoneh Esreh you have “Thou art holy,” and “Holy is Thy name.” The sages prayed like this daily: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Holy God.” The emphasis here being that only God is holy. Man becomes holy only through his relationship with God.
Then Yeshua said, “Your Kingdom come.” In the Shemoneh Esreh it says, “Restore our judges as of afore time and our judges as of the beginning. Remove from us unsighing. O Lord, reign alone over us in judgment. Bless us, O Lord, thou King who loves justice and righteousness.” A second quote, “O, be merciful to return to Jerusalem, thy city, and dwell there as thou has promised. Rebuild it shortly, even in our days, a structure of everlasting fame. And speedily establish the throne of David thereon and cause the offspring of David to speedily flourish and let His Horn be exalted in Thy salvation. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who caused the horn of salvation to bud.” Yeshua is a master teacher, no doubt. But, it was a common practice for Rabbis to use something familiar to the disciples to teach them the lessons they were to learn.
Lk. 11:4 “And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Lk. 11:5 And He said to them, “which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘lend me three loaves.’”
The story in the parable of the “Contemptible Friend” describes the actions of two friends. The cultural setting in first-century Jewish village life is the background. In the Middle East the obligation of hospitality was highly valued as an essential requirement. At midnight the contemptible friend hears his neighbor’s voice outside the house. The neighbor does not knock because this would cause unnecessary alarm. He is recognized by his voice.
Lk. 11:6 “‘For a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’”
He explains that an unexpected guest has arrived. By all custom and etiquette the neighbor must offer his guest traditional hospitality. In many ways, according to the culture, the visitor is not only the neighbor’s guest, but the guest of the entire village. A dinner, including bread, the essential part of every meal, must be prepared for the visitor. Everyone who hears the story understands the situation. The time of night emphasizes the urgency of the situation. The listener anticipates the answer of the friend from inside the house.
Lk. 11:7 “And he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are now with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you.’”
When they hear the story, they expect the friend to open the door for his neighbor. He recognizes his neighbor’s voice. In his kitchen he has what his neighbor needs. Probably he will not only give him the bread, but load him down with other food items to host the unexpected guest. But, instead of providing the anticipated result, and without even opening the door, the contemptible friend answers with feeble excuses. The outrage of the audience will be directed toward the unacceptable behavior of this friend. The only acceptable excuse might be that he doesn’t have any bread, in which case he would open the door and give him other foods. Instead, he refuses.
Lk. 11:8 “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”
Lk. 11:9 “And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Lk. 11:10 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Lk. 11:11 “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”
Lk. 11:12 “Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”
Lk. 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
The gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) is the greatest gift of all, and yet, so many churches refuse to accept it. And unfortunately, so many that do accept it do not really allow the free operation of the Spirit within their congregation. When is the church going to wake up?
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