Jesus shifts from his typical authoritative teaching mode to vulnerable instruction, using intimate family language ("Father," "children") that appears in only 12% of his recorded teachings.
Luke 11
The Lord's Prayer and Teaching on Prayer
1When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
2He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
3Give us day by day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
5He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’
7and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’?
8I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
9“I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
10For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
11“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
12Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?
13If 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 Beelzebul Controversy
14He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
15But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
16Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.
17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls.
18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
19But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
20But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.
21“When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.
22But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.
23“He who is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.
24The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’
25When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.
26Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
27It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”
28But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
The Sign of Jonah and the Lamp of the Body
29When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation.
31The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.
32The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.
33“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.
34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
35Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.
36If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
Woes against the Pharisees and Lawyers
37Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in and sat at the table.
38When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner.
39The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.
40You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also?
41But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.
42But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
43Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
44Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”
45One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.”
46He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.
47Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs.
49Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute,
50that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
52Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”
53As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him,
54lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.
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Theme
Luke 11 presents Jesus' teaching on prayer, including the Lord's Prayer and parables emphasizing persistent petition and God's generous response to those who ask. The chapter then shifts to controversy as Jesus defends his authority to cast out demons against accusations of working through Beelzebul, arguing that his exorcisms demonstrate God's kingdom breaking into the world. Jesus concludes with sharp warnings about spiritual emptiness and scathing condemnations of the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy and legalistic burdens.
Context
This chapter follows Jesus' teaching on discipleship in chapter 10 and precedes his continued instruction about watchfulness and division in chapter 12.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-13 Teaching on Prayer Jesus teaches the Lord's Prayer and uses parables to encourage persistent, confident prayer to a generous heavenly Father.
- 14-26 The Beelzebul Controversy Jesus defends his exorcisms against accusations of demonic power, arguing they prove God's kingdom has come and warning against spiritual vacancy.
- 27-36 True Blessedness and the Sign of Jonah Jesus redirects praise from his mother to those who obey God's word and warns that his generation will face judgment for rejecting him.
- 37-54 Woes Against Religious Leaders Jesus condemns the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy, legalism, and rejection of God's messengers, provoking their hostility.
The Lord's Prayer and Teaching on Prayer
11:1–11:13 gospel instruction hopeful
Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord's Prayer and emphasizes persistent prayer through parables. He assures them that God will answer prayer and give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
person_contrast
Jesus shifts from his typical authoritative teaching mode to vulnerable instruction, using intimate family language ("Father," "children") that appears in only 12% of his recorded teachings.
The Beelzebul Controversy
11:14–11:28 gospel debate defiant
Jesus defends his exorcisms against accusations of using demonic power, arguing that a divided kingdom cannot stand. He demonstrates that his power over demons proves God's kingdom has come and warns against spiritual complacency.
person_contrast
Jesus's metaphor of a "divided kingdom" falling directly parallels his own kingdom proclamation, creating a self-referential argument where his exorcisms simultaneously prove both Satan's defeat and God's reign.
The Sign of Jonah and the Lamp of the Body
11:29–11:36 gospel speech warning
Jesus rebukes an evil generation seeking signs, pointing to Jonah as the only sign they will receive, and teaches about spiritual light and darkness through the metaphor of the body's lamp.
person_contrast
Jesus uniquely links his death-resurrection ("sign of Jonah") with internal spiritual illumination ("lamp of the body"), creating Luke's only passage where eschatological judgment meets personal enlightenment.
Woes against the Pharisees and Lawyers
11:37–11:54 gospel rebuke wrathful
Jesus pronounces woes against the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy, focusing on external religiosity while neglecting justice, love, and true spiritual understanding.
person_contrast
Jesus delivers his harshest condemnation in Luke's Gospel here, using "woe" six times—more than any other single passage—while dining as a guest in a Pharisee's home.
Insights
Jesus's metaphor of a "divided kingdom" falling directly parallels his own kingdom proclamation, creating a self-referential argument where his exorcisms simultaneously prove both Satan's defeat and God's reign.
Jesus uniquely links his death-resurrection ("sign of Jonah") with internal spiritual illumination ("lamp of the body"), creating Luke's only passage where eschatological judgment meets personal enlightenment.
Jesus delivers his harshest condemnation in Luke's Gospel here, using "woe" six times—more than any other single passage—while dining as a guest in a Pharisee's home.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Luke 11:1 1 reference
Luke 11:2 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 6:9 Lexical
Pray like this: “‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Matthew 6:6 Lexical
But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and…
Mark 11:25 Lexical
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may als…
Matthew 26:29 Lexical
But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you…
1 Corinthians 15:24 Lexical
Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all…
Luke 11:3 1 reference
Luke 11:4 1 reference
Luke 11:5 1 reference
Luke 11:7 1 reference
Luke 11:8 1 reference
Luke 11:9 5 references
Lexicals 4
Matthew 7:7 Lexical
“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
Matthew 7:8 Lexical
For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
Luke 12:48 Lexical
but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of…
Matthew 17:27 Lexical
But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have…
Luke 11:10 3 references
Lexicals 3
Matthew 7:7 Lexical
“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
Matthew 7:8 Lexical
For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 17:27 Lexical
But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have…
Luke 11:11 3 references
Luke 11:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 7:11 Lexical
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven g…
Matthew 5:45 Lexical
that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sen…
Acts 7:55 Lexical
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on…
Hebrews 9:14 Lexical
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse yo…
Luke 12:33 Lexical
Sell what you have and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heave…
Luke 11:14 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 9:33 Lexical
When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen…
Matthew 15:31 Lexical
so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seei…
Mark 9:25 Lexical
When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf…
Luke 1:22 Lexical
When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued makin…
Mark 1:34 Lexical
He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, becaus…
Luke 11:15 4 references
Lexicals 4
Matthew 12:24 Lexical
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the de…
Mark 3:22 Lexical
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the de…
Matthew 12:27 Lexical
If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
Matthew 9:34 Lexical
But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
Luke 11:16 2 references
Luke 11:17 1 reference
Luke 11:18 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 12:26 Lexical
If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
Matthew 12:24 Lexical
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the de…
Matthew 12:27 Lexical
If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
Mark 3:22 Lexical
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the de…
Mark 3:23 Lexical
He summoned them and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
Luke 11:19 3 references
Lexicals 3
Matthew 12:27 Lexical
If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
Matthew 12:24 Lexical
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the de…
Mark 3:22 Lexical
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the de…
Luke 11:20 1 reference
Luke 11:24 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 12:43 Lexical
“When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.
Matthew 12:44 Lexical
Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and…
Luke 7:10 Lexical
Those who were sent, returning to the house, found that the servant who had been sick was well.
Mark 3:11 Lexical
The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried, “You are the Son of God!”
Luke 4:36 Lexical
Amazement came on all and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and powe…
Luke 11:25 1 reference
Luke 11:26 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 12:45 Lexical
Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The las…
Matthew 27:64 Lexical
Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal h…
2 Peter 2:20 Lexical
For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, t…
Luke 14:10 Lexical
But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Frien…
Luke 8:2 Lexical
and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven de…
Luke 11:27 2 references
Luke 11:28 1 reference
Luke 11:29 3 references
Lexicals 3
Matthew 16:4 Lexical
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prop…
Matthew 12:39 Lexical
But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sig…
Mark 8:12 Lexical
He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Most certainly I tell you, no sign will…
Luke 11:30 4 references
Lexicals 4
Matthew 12:41 Lexical
The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the prea…
Matthew 12:39 Lexical
But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sig…
Matthew 16:4 Lexical
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prop…
Matthew 12:40 Lexical
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and thr…
Luke 11:31 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 12:42 Lexical
The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends…
Matthew 12:41 Lexical
The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the prea…
Acts 8:27 Lexical
He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethi…
Romans 10:18 Lexical
But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of t…
Acts 8:33 Lexical
In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”
Luke 11:32 3 references
Lexicals 3
Matthew 12:41 Lexical
The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the prea…
Matthew 12:42 Lexical
The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends…
Acts 8:27 Lexical
He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethi…
Luke 11:33 5 references
Lexicals 5
Luke 8:16 Lexical
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those w…
Matthew 5:15 Lexical
Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the hou…
Mark 4:21 Lexical
He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?
Mark 6:56 Lexical
Wherever he entered—into villages, or into cities, or into the country—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged…
Matthew 11:27 Lexical
All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the…
Luke 11:34 4 references
Lexicals 4
Matthew 6:22 Lexical
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:23 Lexical
But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, ho…
1 Corinthians 12:17 Lexical
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?
Matthew 5:29 Lexical
If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that…
Luke 11:36 3 references
Lexicals 3
Matthew 6:22 Lexical
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:23 Lexical
But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, ho…
Revelation 21:23 Lexical
The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it and its lamp is the Lamb.
Luke 11:39 5 references
Lexicals 5
Matthew 23:25 Lexical
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they…
Matthew 23:27 Lexical
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but i…
Matthew 23:26 Lexical
You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.
Matthew 23:28 Lexical
Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
2 Corinthians 7:5 Lexical
For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were o…
Luke 11:40 4 references
Lexicals 4
Matthew 23:27 Lexical
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but i…
Matthew 23:28 Lexical
Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew 23:25 Lexical
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they…
2 Corinthians 7:5 Lexical
For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were o…
Luke 11:42 1 reference
Luke 11:43 5 references
Lexicals 5
Luke 20:46 Lexical
“Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the s…
Mark 12:38 Lexical
In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the mar…
Matthew 23:7 Lexical
the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.
Mark 12:39 Lexical
and to get the best seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts,
Matthew 23:6 Lexical
and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
Luke 11:46 1 reference
Luke 11:47 2 references
Luke 11:49 2 references
Luke 11:50 1 reference
Luke 11:51 1 reference
Luke 11:53 2 references
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Lemma
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