Luke 11

Jesus Teaches About Prayer

1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2Jesus said to them, “When you pray, this is what you should say:

“ ‘Father,

may your name be honored.

May your kingdom come.

3Give us each day our daily bread.

4Forgive us our sins,

as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

Don’t let us fall into temptation.’ ”

5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend and you go to his house in the middle of the night and say, ‘Friend, please lend me three loaves of bread.’ 6You explain, ‘A friend of mine is on a journey and has just stopped at my house, but I don’t have any food to serve him.’ 7And suppose the one you ask says, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8Even though that person won’t get up and give you the bread because you’re his friend, if you’re bold enough to keep on asking, I guarantee he’ll get up and give you everything you need.

9“So here’s what I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks will receive, the one who searches will find, and the door will be opened to the one who knocks.

11“You fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake instead? 12Or suppose he asks for an egg. Which of you will give him a scorpion? 13Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

14Jesus was driving out a demon that had kept a man from speaking. When the demon left, the man was able to speak, and the crowd was amazed. 15But some of them said, “Jesus is driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” 16Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. A family that is divided against itself will break up. 18If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you’re claiming that I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebul. 19Suppose I do drive out demons with Beelzebul’s help. Then with whose help do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then God’s kingdom has come upon you.

21“When a strong man is fully armed and guards his house, everything he owns is safe. 22But if someone who’s even stronger attacks him and overpowers him, then the attacker can take away even the armor that the man trusted in. He will steal everything and then go off and sort through it.

23“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

24“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But when it doesn’t find any, it says, ‘Why don’t I go back to the house I just left?’ 25When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26Then the evil spirit goes and gets seven other spirits that are more evil than itself. They all go live there, and the person is worse off than before.”

27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

28He replied, “Blessed instead are those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

The Sign of Jonah

29As the crowds were growing larger, Jesus told them, “The people of this generation are evil. They ask for a sign from God, but none will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. 30Just as he was a sign from God to the people of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be a sign from God to the people of today. 31The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the people now living and prove that they are guilty, because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and something more important than Solomon is now here. 32The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people of today and prove that these people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them, and something more important than Jonah is now here.

The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body

33“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand, so that those who come in can see its light. 34Your eye is like a lamp for your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when your eyes aren’t healthy, your body is full of darkness. 35So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. 36If your whole body is full of light and no part of it is dark, then your body will be full of light, just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Six Warnings

37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. 38But the Pharisee was surprised that Jesus did not wash before the meal.

39Then the Lord told him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. 40You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside? 41But if you show that you’re generous on the inside by giving freely to the poor, then everything will be clean for you.

42“Woe to you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of everything, right down to the plants in your garden, such as mint and rue. But you have neglected justice and the love of God. You should have pursued those things even as you gave your ten percent.

43“Woe to you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues, and you love having people greet you with respect in the marketplace.

44“Woe to you! You are like graves with no gravestones, so that people walk over them without knowing it.”

45An expert in the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you’re insulting us too.”

46Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them, but you yourselves won’t lift one finger to help them.

47“Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, even though it was your own people of long ago who killed them. 48So you show that you agree with what they did: They killed the prophets, and now you build their tombs. 49But God said in his wisdom, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them; they will kill some and they will try to hurt others.’ 50-51People have been spilling the blood of prophets since the world began, but this generation will be held responsible for all of it—from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be held responsible for all of it.

52“Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You have not entered yourselves, but you have stood in the way of those who wanted to enter.”

53When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law opposed him fiercely. 54They threw many questions at him, trying to catch him in something he might say.

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