Parable of the Persistent Friend

Samuel Farag

Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Luke 11:5–13

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Transcript

Opening Illustration

Television interviewer and journalist Larry King describes three farmers who gather daily in a field during a horrible drought.

The men are down on their knees, looking upward, and praying the skies will open and pour forth a much-needed rain.

Unfortunately, the heavens are silent, and the petitioners become discouraged, but they continue to meet every morning to lift up their request to God.

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One morning an uninvited stranger approaches and asks the men what they are doing.

They respond,

“We’re praying for rain.”

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The newcomer looks at each of them and shakes his head,

“No, I don’t think so.”

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The first farmer says,

“Of course we’re praying.

We are down on our knees pleading for rain.

Look around; see the drought.

We haven’t had rain in more than a year!”

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The outsider continues to nod his head and advises them their efforts will never work.

The second farmer jumps in and says,

“We need the rain;

We aren’t asking only for ourselves, but for our families and livestock.”

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The man listens, nods, and says he still isn’t impressed.

“You’re wasting your time,” he says.

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The third farmer can’t take any more, and in anger he says,

“Okay, what would you do if you were in our shoes?”

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The visitor asks,

“You really want to know?”

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The three landowners answer,

“We really want to know!

The future of our farmlands is at stake.”

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The guest announces,

“I would have brought an umbrella!”

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Beloved, we need to be bold in our prayers...

We need to have assurance in God’s goodness and care for His children...

And that will be the theme of today’s sermon.

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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.

We will conduct our study in Chapter 11 and focus on verses 5 through 13.

Our message this morning is titled, “Parable of the Persistent Friend”

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As you are turning to our passage...

Keep this in mind...

The message today will focus on how God is approachable...

And how God should be approached often and with confidence!

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So, this morning we will cover three main points:

1) The Parable

2) The Lesson

And...

3) The Holy Spirit

Opening Prayer

Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...

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Heavenly Father...

You are such a good and loving Father...

You allow us to approach You in boldness...

And You care about our every need.

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We pray for Your will to be done...

Your will Father over our wills.

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Give us our daily needs...

And give us the items we need to better serve You.

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Help us in out time of need...

And protect us from the broken world that we live in.

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Thank you for giving us the ultimate gifts...

Your Word which us our light and guide...

The Holy Spirit who is the helper...

And Your Son who died in our place!

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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...

Amen.

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Let’s turn to our text for today:

Reading of the Text

Luke 11:5–13 ESV

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I 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 asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

So, let’s look at our first point...

1) The Parable

Verses 5-8: And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

Beloved, let’s start by considering the historical context of this passage...

In Israel, as throughout the ancient world, people were dependent on their neighbors to a far greater degree than how we live today.

You see, there were no grocery stores...

There were no convenience stores...

There were no restaurants...

And on top of all that most people did not have large stockpiles of food.

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Additionally, we need to remind ourselves that in that day no one was up at late hours of the night since there was no TV, radio, or internet.

In fact, most people went to bed shortly after nightfall...

That in large part was due to the fact that most people were ready and awake and working shortly after sunrise.

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Now, to understand the sheer panic of the persistent friend in this parable...

We also have to consider the views of hospitality in 1st century Isreal...

We have talked about this before in our study in the Gospel of Luke but it is worth reminding...

In Jesus’ day it was competently unthinkable for a host to have nothing to set before a guest...

And as Volume 8 of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary says:

“The midnight arrival of the hungry friend has usually been thought normal because ‘journeys were often undertaken by night to avoid the heat of the day.’…

On the contrary, while this is true in desert areas, the elevation of central Palestine and Lebanon and the sea breeze along the coast made travel during the day customary.

The night arrival would therefore be unusual.

In either case, a host in that first-century society would be expected to provide a welcome.

Rather than insult his guest with too little bread (or with a broken loaf, if it was of the large variety of that area), the host would seek out a person with a good supply, knowing who in his small town had recently done baking.

The visitor would have been the guest, not only of the individual and his family, but of the whole community.

This placed a great responsibility both on the traveler’s host and on the friend he approached at midnight.”

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Now, notice that the neighbor starts off his reply by saying, “Do not bother me.”

Beloved, do you see how the neighbor did not return the salutation “Friend” in his reply?

This indicates his understandable aggravation at this situation...

Can you imagine being disturbed in the middle of the night by your neighbor?

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Yet, this was not just one man being disturbed in his sleep...

This was a whole family being disturbed...

Just look with at the phrase “my children are with me in bed” which is meant to point out that fact that since this neighbor probably had a one-room house...

As was common in Israel at that time...

His household had a common sleeping area that was shared by the whole family...

The whole family actually slept on mats that where on a raised platform...

Therefore, if one person arose and lit a lamp to get bread, all would be awakened...

Especially, since the door of the house would have had a wooden or iron bar placed through rings in the door panels, and removing it would be very noisy.

So, any adult, especially those with children, can identify with the tension in this parable...

Imagine after a long and exhausting day...

You finally got the whole family in bed...

Maybe you struggled to get the kids to calm down...

But they are finally peacefully asleep...

But only of a short time...

For our of the blue...

A peaceful night turns into chaos!

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Now, the word “impudence” in our passage is rendered like this in other translations:

“Shameless persistence,” “shameless boldness,” and “shameless audacity.”

So, this is the persistent asking of a desperate beggar...

And this parable that Jesus shares is very similar to another parable we will study in greater detail in a future date...

But it is worth it to read through now...

So, look with me at Luke 18:1–8 which says:

Luke 18:1–8 ESV

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

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So, we as the followers of Christ are to emulate in prayer the both the petitioner’s boldness from our passage and the widow’s boldness from the passage we just covered.

This should bring to mind commandants in Scripture to pray and pray regularly...

For example look at what it says in Romans 12:12:

Romans 12:12 ESV

12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Beloved, we are to be constant in prayer...

If this persistent friend could boldly approach his annoyed neighbor...

And if the widow could boldly approach a judge that neither feared God or respected man...

How much more are we to approach God boldly...

For our God is a loving God who cares about our needs!

That is why we need to keep in our heart 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says simply:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV

17 pray without ceasing,

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Prayer is not just something you do when you are in trouble...

Prayer is not just something you do once in a while...

But prayer need to be part of our daily life...

And not just daily...

Constantly through out the day we need to be in communication with our Lord!

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God want to hear from you...

He want to hear your praise for Him...

And He wants to hear your cries to Him.

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Yes, He knows what you need before you ask but He still wants you to ask Him...

That is why we have a responsibility to ask...

We have a responsibility to seek...

We have a responsibility to knock...

And that takes us to our next point.

2) The Lesson

Verses 9-10: And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

So, this is the major point that Jesus is communicating through His parable...

The neighbor's initial unwillingness to help his own friend is in stark contrast to God’s great desire to help His children...

As the ESV Study Bible puts it:

“Jesus’ point is that if even a human being will respond to his neighbor in that way, then Christians should go boldly before God with any need they face, for God is more gracious and caring than any human neighbor.”

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Now take a look at the three main verbs in our passage that are repeated twice...

“Ask,” “seek,” and “knock”...

These verbs are all present imperatives...

So, that means that in this context we find a teaching of a general principle for believers that is ongoing...

As the Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament on Luke says:

“In asking, there is an invitation to pray.

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In seeking, there is an invitation to pursue God and his will.

The seeking of kingdom goals is especially to be first in the disciple’s heart.

The disciple is to seek the things that bring righteousness and advance God’s plan.

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In knocking, there is the picture of coming into God’s presence and blessing.

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To each action, there is a corresponding response:

It will be given, the disciple will find, and the door will be opened.”

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So, we are encourage to pray all the time as a continual habit of life...

We are to ask, to seek, and to knock knowing that God will not answer our prayers with harmful gifts but with good gifts.

As John 16:24 says:

John 16:24 ESV

24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Beloved, are you struggling in your life?

Is there a major obstacle in the way?

Are you in a place where you are not sure how to proceed?

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I must ask...

Did you take it to God?

Did you ask Him?

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On your own it may feel like you are drowning...

But He desires to help...

All you need to do is ask in his name!

That is why Scripture says in Philippians 4:6:

Philippians 4:6 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

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We also need to be mindful to make sure that we are praying in faith with no doubt of God’s ability to provide us with what is best for us...

Just look at what Jesus says in Matthew 21:21–22:

Matthew 21:21–22 ESV

21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

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Now, it should be understood that the phrase from our passage “everyone who asks receives” does not mean that believers always receive what they ask for...

The reality is that God is wiser than us and He has better plans for His children than we could imagine...

That is why all our requests need to be “according to His will!”

As 1 John 5:14–15 says:

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Likewise, we need to evaluate ourselves and make sure our requests are coming from a pure motivation...

Some of us are not receiving what we are asking for because we are asking for our own desires and seeking to accomplish our will...

And Beloved, that won’t due!

As James 4:3 says:

James 4:3 ESV

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

So, those who pray with a proper, God-centered focus will receive what they desire...

But the selfish requests of the greedy will not be granted.

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Now, if we saturate our prayers to be in God’s will and to match God’s desires...

We will find that our prayers and requests are answered...

And Jesus shares with us that it is a wonderful thing to depend on God...

For His desires for us is to receive amazing gifts...

The greatest of these being the Holy Spirit...

And this takes us to our next and final point.

3) The Holy Spirit

Verses 11-13: What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus shares a very vivid illustration...

And in order to fully grasp the depths of this teaching we need to understand two items...

First, we as humans are sinful and wicked in our very nature due to The Fall of Man...

And second, God the Father is the very definition of good!

Therefore, if we who are “evil” give good gifts to our own children...

How much more will God give good gifts to His children!

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Now, the phrase “you then, who are evil” shows that Jesus presupposes the doctrine of Human Depravity.

So, the universal sinfulness of all humans is understood here...

As Romans 3:10-25 says:

Romans 3:10–25 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

This truth was understood in the Old Testament too...

In fact, Paul is quoting Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 when he is talking about Human Depravity in the passage we just read...

And that is why...

Please pay attention here...

That is why the doctrine of human sinfulness would be readily acknowledged by Jesus’ audience...

This truth actually seems to be far more shocking in our day due to the unfaithfulness of not teaching the whole counsel of the Word of God in many churches today...

Too many people are trying not to offend people...

When in reality they are leading them to Hell...

But is Jesus’ day they did understand this doctrine and that is why Jesus does not hold back and call all of humanity evil...

Truly without God’s grace there would be no hope for us!

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I like how pastor Burk Parsons said it:

“If you're afraid of ever offending anyone, don't become a preacher.

If you love offending people, don't become a preacher.”

That truth is not just for preachers...

We as believers need to be far more concerned with God’s truth than if we are going to offend anyone...

Beloved, trust me on this...

If you proclaim God’s truth you can’t help it but offend people...

But those transformed by Christ do not enjoy offending others...

It is just a necessary requirement to be faithful.

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Finally, Jesus says,“How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Human parents will generally give “good gifts” to their children...

And in asking for essential items, no parent would generally supply dangerous items instead.

To do so not only denies the request, it reverses it.

However, God the Father’s kindness is greater than any human’s compassion.

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As a note in one the commentaries I read this week said (MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke):

“Though they are redeemed and forgiven, sin remains a powerful operative principle in believers.

Yet despite being evil, human fathers still know how to give good gifts to their children.

It is natural for even unbelievers to love their children, be kind to them, and provide for their needs.

The image of God in that sense in people, though warped and scarred by the fall, is nonetheless still present.

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The contrasting phrase how much more is the key to the Lord’s point.

Reasoning from the lesser to the greater, if human fathers who are sinners, who love imperfectly, and often lack the wisdom to know what is best for their children lovingly provide for them, how much more will God, who is absolutely holy, loves perfectly, and has infinite wisdom give what is best to His children.”

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So, God to a far greater degree will give His children what He has determined to be the best gift of all...

And that Beloved, is the Holy Spirit!

For He is a far more important gift than any material blessings...

The gift of the Holy Spirit is the ultimate powerful anointing and guidance in a believer’s life...

As Jesus Himself said in John 14:26:

John 14:26 ESV

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

It is impossible to understand the Word of God without the guidance of the Holy Spirit...

But the good news is that every born-again believer has the Holy Spirit living in them...

Guiding them and comforting them...

But not only that...

The Holy Spirit even intercedes for us when we pray knowing better than us what we really need...

As Romans 8:26 puts it:

Romans 8:26 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And that is still not all...

The Holy Spirit is the one who enables us to bear the fruit of the Spirit...

In the life of a believer...

We can only give the Holy Spirit credit for all the good we experience or perform.

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The love you show others...