A Man Seeking His Daily Bread Is Provided For. How Much More Should We Seek The Holy Spirit (11:5-13).
In the chiasmus of the whole Section the first part of this passage parallels Martha's provision of daily bread to Jesus (Luke 10:38-42), the second part parallels the free unrestricted giving of the Good Samaritan, and the third the rejoicing in the Spirit and the revealing of Father and Son through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21-22).
Having given His prayer to His disciples Jesus now illustrates and explains how God provides for His people through prayer. Physical bread is used as an illustration (Luke 11:4-8), but it points forward towards receiving the Holy Spirit through prayer (Luke 11:9-13). We want to be given bread, that is, we want to receive the Holy Spirit. We have, however, already noted that in the Lord's prayer there is only one thing that we ask to be ‘given, and that is ‘Tomorrow's bread'. Thus what follows must surely have that in mind, so that in the end what is given as ‘Tomorrow's bread' is the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).
The story that follows contrasts the unwillingness and reluctance of man to give when circumstances are against him, (even though he does in the end when pressed hard enough), with the bountiful willingness to give of our Father, Who delights to give, and especially to give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. It is stressing confidence in God. The idea is that while earthly bread is under the control of man on earth, and may be hard to come by, spiritual bread is abundantly and freely available because of the generosity and love of our heavenly Father. This is the one gift above all that we should desire. This is the food of God which will feed the soul continually, which we should long for above all else (as Mary did the words of the Lord). And it is a gift that God wants to give us in abundance.
The point here is not of God's unwillingness to give, or the need to keep badgering God to get what we want. It is rather of not accepting present conditions as they are, but praying in confident faith until God's provision is enjoyed in full with the sending of His Holy Spirit, and maintenance of His holy power continually within us.
Analysis.
a And he said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.” '
b “And he from within shall answer and say, Do not disturb me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give you what you want.”
c “I say to you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his unwillingness to take no for an answer he will arise and give him as many as he needs.”
d I say to you, “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
c “Every one who asks does receive, and he who seeks does find, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
b “And of which of you who is a father will his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?”
a “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 them that ask him?”
Note that in ‘a' a man wishes to receive gifts and the request is made for three loaves, and in the parallel man knows how to give good gifts and the request is made for the Holy Spirit. In ‘b' the neighbour refuses to give what is wanted because he is in bed with his children, and in the parallel we are asked whether a father will give the wrong things to his children. In ‘c' he responds to the asking, seeking and knocking by giving what is asked and in the parallel the same is promised by God. Central is ‘d' which lays out the basic principle of prayer.