The Turning Word
Reflective Reading: Luke 11
To get the most out of this article, it would be best to read Luke chapter 11 and the book of Jonah first.
In Luke chapter 11 the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. Note that they don’t ask him to teach them “how” to pray. Several unusual illustrations are given after this request. First he gives them a shortened version of the traditional Lord’s Prayer. Some theologians believe that this was the second time that Jesus taught them to pray.
He begins teaching them through a story of a friend who needed bread at midnight for unexpected company. Knocking on the door of a friend who is already in bed with his children and doors locked, he tells his friend in need that he can’t help him. But because of his friend’s persistence, he gets up and meets the needs of his bothersome friend. Obviously, the grumpy friend is not a picture of God.
Next, Jesus gives them an illustration of contrast showing how lavish are his Father’s answers to prayer. He says to them:
“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. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 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? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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” (Luke 11:9-13)?
In the ancient near east, the size of bread and shape of stones were similar. Regarding the fish-snake illustration, there are some fish that can be poisonous and some fish that look like snakes. Regarding the scorpion and the egg, children would often go egg picking near the rocks where birds nested but could easily mistake a white scorpion that had curled, looking like an egg. After giving this illustration, Jesus says,
“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?”
The greatest of all gifts is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was teaching them “how” to pray in Matthew, he taught them to pray “Thy will be done,” and to “lead us not into temptation,” but to “deliver us from evil.” For this to be accomplished, we will need the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For the Holy Spirit’s power to be active in our lives, we need to “forgive those who have trespassed against us.”
What does all this mean? Again, this chapter starts with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. After this story about the friend needing bread and these three illustrations of the bread, fish, and egg, the text moves quickly to the people asking for a sign and then Jesus being accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. Jesus silences their accusations by stating that he casts out demons by the Finger of God! In the book of Matthew, it is written that Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit of God! Are you seeing the connection? Jesus is teaching that the greatest gift God can give us in answer to our prayers is the empowering Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit’s help, we can do nothing.
Jesus then gives the following illustration:
“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. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 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” (Luke 11:24-26).
Do you see the connection? If a person is not filled and empowered by the Spirit of God, they are then open to unclean spirits, resulting in a worse state than the beginning. Spiritual transformation cannot happen without the genuineness of the Holy Spirit’s redemptive work.
Inserted next in the text is a woman calling out that Jesus’ mother is blessed. Jesus responds by saying, “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep/do it.” Keep in mind that everything that is written is a theological treatise to convey God’s intended meaning, for them and us.
Jesus next deals with their desire to see a sign from him. He rebukes them and says:
“This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. 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. The men of Nineveh 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” (Luke 11:29-32).
This brings us to the book of Jonah. There are three words that guide the theological meaning of the book of Jonah, besides the words LORD and God, which are repeated 41 times! The three words are prayer, word, turn. Remember again that all of this connects back with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Remember also, the center of Luke 11—“Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep/do it.” Here’s a look at the book of Jonah from a structural perspective:
1:1 Word of the LORD to Jonah – Arise go – Jonah arose & fled from the LORD.
3:1 Word of the LORD to Jonah – Arise go – Jonah arose and went.
3:3 He went according to the Word of the LORD.
3:6 Word comes to the king of Nineveh – He arose, turned and repented.
In chapter 3 we have the turning point. Here the King of Nineveh proclaims a fast for man and the animals. They are to cry mightily out to God, that perhaps God may “turn” away from the destruction that Jonah had been preaching about. Here’s the structure:
3:8 let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from their violence (man)
3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, (God)
3:9 and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (God)
3:10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; (man)
In Jonah chapter 2 Jonah prays earnestly for God’s deliverance. In the belly of the great fish, Jonah prays:
“But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”
In chapter 4 Jonah prays again:
“And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:2-3).
Jonah’s prayer life took a drastic turn from chapter 2 to chapter 4. The fact that God was forgiving a people who would one day come and destroy Israel was just too much for Jonah. He did not want this people to be forgiven or saved. He wanted them to be judged and destroyed. Do you see the connection between Jonah and the teaching of Jesus regarding answers to prayer? Jonah was unable to forgive those who would trespass against him, and as a result, he would become like those who grumble, complain, and accuse.
Not surprisingly, the book of Jonah ends with Jonah complaining and accusing God! After his complaint, God speaks to him with these closing words:
“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
I’ve shared this before, but it’s worth sharing again. The text ends with “and also much cattle?” This is a perfect ending to the book of Jonah. While Jonah was in the great fish, he was praying right in line with what Jesus was teaching the disciples. While the animals and people are crying out to God, Jonah is complaining and accusing God, thus the reason God ends the book with the word “cattle.” God is drawing our attention to what the cows are doing–they are crying out to God! This is what it means to pray.
When we pray, we must obey the Word, turn, and repent. This is what Jonah was teaching the people of Nineveh. They listened, prayed, obeyed, turned, and repented. As a result, God’s mercy was poured out. Apparently, the people who were accusing Jesus, like Jonah, believed themselves to be above this required obedience and humility. This prevented them from seeing God’s work among men, claiming that Jesus’ work was of the Devil.
All of Luke chapter 11, with its many illustrations, is teaching us about prayer. Prayer requires crying out to God, obeying God’s Word, turning away from our sin, and repentance.
In Psalm 66:18 we read,
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me.”
The Apostle John wrote in John 15:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min
Recommended Reading:
The Case of the Missing Stamp (Ages 9+)
The Brave Heart (Ages 9+)
Cyril Ashley: Judgment to Generosity (Ages 12+)
