Chapter

Luke 11:5

ESV 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,
NIV Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
NASB And He said to them, 'Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,
CSB He also said to them: "Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
NLT Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: 'Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
KJV And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
NKJV And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;

What does Luke 11:5 mean?

In Luke 11:1–13, Jesus talks to His disciples about prayer. Here, He presents a question in the form of a parable. The gist is, "If you were desperate, wouldn't you seek help from a friend, even if it would annoy him? If an annoyed friend will provide help, why think God the Father wouldn't?"

The setting is highly culturally specific. Cultures of the Middle East have taken the concept of hospitality very seriously for many thousands of years. A man is surprised in the middle of the night by a friend who has been traveling. For some reason, the man has no bread baked. He goes to his neighbor, knowing he will irritate the neighbor, but feeling even more obliged to feed his friend. The neighbor is also torn; the same expectations of hospitality apply to him, but if he rises to give the bread, he may wake his children. And even though the neighbor is only borrowing the bread and will replace it, he may not do so by the time the children need to eat.

The man and his neighbor are caught in the intersection of cultural expectations, pragmatism, and friendship. Yet they have the power to do what is right. God has no such limitations, and far more power, though no such obligation. He answers our needs because He loves us (Luke 11:13).
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