The law-gospel distinction is the most important aspect of understanding Scripture, according to Martin Luther. If we fail to get this part correct, it is likely that we will do great damage to our understanding of Scripture. Akin to this law-gospel distinction is the distinction between imperative and indicative. This reformed notion of identification based upon the grammar of the text dovetails nicely with the law-gospel distinction of Martin Luther. Without burying my dear reader in intellectualizations on this topic, let us look at some practical examples.
In the past, we have examined Matthew 5 in some detail. We have discussed the issue of the several subplots of metanarrative occurring in that text, the difference between indicative and imperative, and the law-gospel distinction. In particular, once again, let us draw attention to the conclusion of Jesus in this passage: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 ESV) That is our starting point for looking at today’s passage from Luke 11.
The first half of Luke 11 concerns prayer, and it is the place where Luke includes the Lord’s Prayer. This is followed by a parable and then three imperatives followed by encouragement. Let us begin this section by first connecting the framework of this passage with the rest of redemptive history.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.” (Genesis 8:21)
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)
If you then, who are evil…. (Luke 11:13 ESV)
You know that we can keep going and going with this theme, but this is enough for our purposes today. If we examine the three imperatives of verse 9, ask, seek and knock, the question that strikes us most immediately is what are the indicatives? It does not seem likely that the evil nature of man is the proper indicative for these imperatives. Therefore, where do we find the indicatives?
Chapter 10, while containing several rather famous tidbits and stories, also contains the context and the indicative of Chapter 11. Let’s examine the parameters. Luke talks about the 72, who he sends out in pairs to do great wonders, leaving and then returning.
“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20 ESV)
The power over demons is not the amazing thing in the mind of Jesus. The amazing thing is that some lot of this evil brood known as mankind might be heirs of heaven, and for that amazing event, this group should rejoice. The ultimate power is in Salvation, not in power on earth, even over demons and spirits.
Finally, in Luke 11:1 we find:
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 ESV)
Jesus is with his disciples, of whom there are at least 72, and they are all (with one notable exception) men and women who will receive Salvation. And yet the exception proves the rule. The indicative of the imperatives of 11:9 are those who have been chosen for Salvation. Who will pray earnestly to God in the name of Jesus? Only those for whom Salvation is sure will pray in this way. Ask, seek, knock. Will we receive the answers that we seek? Will we be given the path to the place we desire to go? Judas was not of the elect, and the doors did not open for him. Judas asked questions, and even when he was given answers, he did not understand them. Judas was seeking something, and yet what was most to be desired was sitting right next to him, and he could not see it. These imperatives are for the elect.
But the issue runs deeper than just for whom are these imperatives meant. The issue is also for what do we seek and where do we wish to go. The answer for this question has also been given by Jesus just above. Our target is Salvation, not power over the things of this world. Do not be blinded by the power and miss the source. These signs and wonders were given so that we might know that Jesus is exactly who He said that He is. Ultimately, the gift is Salvation.
Look at the Lord’s Prayer, again. Hallowed be your name. The irony of this line should not be lost. Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray to Him. Notice that the familiar phrase “who art in heaven” is missing in the Luke text. Who is speak to them and standing right before them? He was not, at that moment, actually in heaven! He was standing right before them. There are buckets full of references to the name of God in the Old Testament. But now, we know that there is no name above Jesus in heaven and on earth. How can that be? Only because He who IS, has condescended to be among us, one of us, fully God and fully human. Hallowed be His name.
Your kingdom come. How many people say these words with no thought to their meaning. This is eschatology 101, and we are taught to proclaim it in prayer. Your kingdom come. The Age to Come is that time when Jesus Christ will return (the Advent) and all will be bodily raised. What is also inextricable from this time is Judgment. Salvation is revealed not by what occurs in this world, but what befalls at Judgment. Your kingdom come is a phrase thick with promise for the elect for whom this prayer is intended, and equally thick with foreboding for those who do not believe in the promise. This phrase, uniquely Christian, professes a belief that Christ will come again and usher in the Age to Come.
Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins…. Jesus actually tells us for what we should pray! Pay attention to His words. Jesus is quoting scripture.
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, (Proverbs 30:8 ESV)
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. (Job 23:12 ESV)
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103 ESV)
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:32, 34 ESV)
So often, I have heard this passage likened to manna in Exodus 16, the bread from heaven. Types and shadows, once again, these words reveal to us. In that day, during the Exodus, Israel needed real food. But Jesus likens our needs not only to worldly food, but also to the Word of God. As John 1 says, Jesus is the Word. So, when in communion, we hear the words “the Body of Christ, the bread of heaven,” the analogy has come full circle. We feast on the body of Christ that is the bread of heaven that is the Word of God. So, this bread we crave is the Gospel.
But the passage means more than this still. The whole Exodus story is teaching us to understand that each day is a gift, and that the end of the Age could come at any moment. This is an idea that, when paired with Your Kingdom Come, reinforces the eschatological aspect of the prayer. We are praying for Salvation, for the Gospel, for the Age to Come. These are not the everyday sort of mundane desires of the flesh that we frequently associate with supplication.
Moving on to the next portion, the forgiveness of sins is asked of God. This is an interesting grammatical nuance at this point. Notice that Jesus does not ask for the forgiveness of sin. This is not a prayer for initial Salvation, because the persons who say this prayer are the elect, already declared righteous on Judgment day by virtue of the gift of faith in the promise. This is asking forgiveness for the sins that we commit because we are still in this present evil age, under the curse of Adam, and fail through our inherent wickedness to fulfill the Law. The difference is that we now can recognize this fault and ask for forgiveness and receive absolution. Finally, it is during this period that Jesus forgives sins Himself, thereby claiming the authority of God. Check out Luke 5:17- 26. This is the real issue that got Him in hot water with the Pharisees. Jesus claims very publicly to be God.
…for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Really? Do we, now? Look at the story in Luke 7:41-50. The question asked is in response to a question by a Pharisee, who had invited Jesus over to his house for a meal. He chastises Jesus for allowing a sinner to touch him. Jesus turns the question on an issue of debt and debtors. He who is forgiven little, loves little. Therefore, we who have been forgiven eternally and immeasurably, how much shall we forgive? How much shall we love our neighbor?
And lead us not into temptation. Clearly, God does not truly lead us into temptation. But we might find ourselves in situations that will test us. We are instructed to count it as joy when these situations arise, for we are strengthened by them. But that is a far cry from seeking out these situations and asking to be lead to them. We are in essence beseeching God to spare us from these trials. And yet, we will be joyful in our hardships and be strengthened by them.
Now, look at Matthew 6 and see the same prayer. Notice the differences between this Luke version and the fuller version in Matthew. This fuller version in Matthew brings more of the context of our present evil age and our lives and responsibilities while we are still on this earth. In each step of the prayer, there is a slightly wider context. But we are in Luke, currently. And we have come to the imperatives.
The parable offered is interesting and may just turn on one word: impudence. This is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament. The Greek is anaideia, and it is possibly translated as persistence as well. But let’s run through both meanings. His friend rises and gives him what he asks because of his impudence and/or his persistence. The lesson is that we must be bold, fearless, immodest, persistent. But there is the other connotation of the word impudent: disrespectful, improper, impertinent. Are we being disrespectful, improper and impertinent with our supplications? Let us continue.
Does this passage say or imply that we who pray earnestly, who ask, seek and knock, will actually receive exactly that for which we pray? We have an interesting comparison here. God would not give us a serpent or a scorpion in lieu of a fish or an egg. But here we have very specifically the gift we receive from prayer: the Holy Spirit. This is interesting on so many levels. First, Jesus is implying rather directly that the object of our supplication should be related to the works of the Holy Spirit. We have seen in the Matthew version a more worldly presentation of this prayer. Yet, here in Luke, the theme has been a more eschatological one, and this response from Jesus is in line with that theme. Once again, we should be praying for knowledge and wisdom concerning the Gospel. Second, concerning this line of questioning, we should be bold with our prayer. Fearlessly and with impudence, we pray for understanding of the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is completely consistent with the John 14 and 16 passages concerning the work of the Holy Spirit. Third, and most importantly, there is no direct connection between our supplication and the gift. In other words, we may not receive that for which we ask, for which we seek. But how much more than that is our gift? How much more than the mundane and worldly things of our prayer is our actual gift?
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—(1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV)
Paul is quoting Isaiah 64, an intense passage for bedtime reading, and links the idea that we cannot see the mind of God with the revelation of what God has prepared.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34 ESV)
Once again, the gift is eschatological in nature. We are talking about the Kingdom, the Age to Come. This is not a worldly kingdom in this present evil age, this is the Kingdom of God in the Age to Come.
The richness of the context of the passage is once again vastly more impressive than the mundane desires of our evil hearts. The context of this Luke passage is slightly different than the same story in Matthew. Luke focuses on a wider view by paring down the verbiage. In Luke, we hear Jesus discuss prayer and supplication in a grander context than mere earthly needs. We learn that the gift of prayer is not always that which we seek, but much more than what we think we need, and much more wonderful and amazing.
What the true proverb (26:11) says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22 ESV)
We have heard the Gospel, and because our hearts are evil, the temptation is to run back to the Law. The Law can only demonstrate our sin. The Law has no power to save. Salvation is in the Gospel. The Gospel is the true gift, and a much better object for prayer.
--Ogre--
