Rev. Crystal Newby-Reynolds Minister of Liturgical Dance & Youth Bible Study Notes June 18, 2019
PARABLES “A Friend At Midnight”
How Far Would You Go to Help a Friend When It’s Inconvenient?
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Luke 11:5-13https://www.littlezebrabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Copy-of-Friend-at-Night-scene-03-lowres.jpg
Bible Study Notes June 18, 2019Rev. Crystal Newby-Reynolds Minister of Liturgical Dance & Youth
Outline I . Review of Parables/Purpose II. ScriptureIII. Parable ResearchIV. Scholarly Criticism- A New ImageV. Discussion Quetions
I. Review of ParablesWhat are parables? A short instructive story that contains an analogy . In the Synoptic Gospels Jesus frequently teaches in parables; some of the best known biblical passages are parables.(DeMoss, Matthew S.. Zondervan Dictionary of Bible and Theology Words . Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)
From our Pastor we learned… A. A parable is “an earthly story or a common illustration with aspiritual truth.” The word means “comparison, illustration, analogy.”B. The parables form approximately 1/3 of Jesus’ teachings.C. Located in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). John?D. There are different types of parables
1. Didactic2. Illustrative3. Prophetic/JudicialE. How many are there?
How Should We Interpret Jesus’ Parables? 1. The Gospel of Luke contains both the largest total number of parables (24)and eighteen unique parables.2. The Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables of which eleven are unique.3. The Gospel of Mark contains eight parables of which two are unique.F. Each of them have some sort of “kingdom” teaching/lesson.
Why should Christians focus on parable? 1. We become nearer to Jesus.2. Jesus made an art form through parables.3. They are a direct route to Jesus.
Studying the parables gives us the chance to get to know Jesus as person, but more than that, they help us to know his distinct teachings on various subjects/issues which affect our daily lives. You will note that some parables appear in more than one gospel. Please read all the versions of the parable from each gospel and note any similarities or differences. Most importantly, we want to highlight the points in the parable that are important to our everyday walk with God. Can we practically apply these teachings?” Let see!
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Bible Study Notes June 18, 2019Rev. Crystal Newby-Reynolds Minister of Liturgical Dance & Youth
II. Scripture. (Translation/Paraphrase)
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Luke 11:5-13 King James Version (KJV) 5 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; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 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. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. serpent? 12 Or if he s 11 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 hall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 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 11:5-10 New International Version (NIV) 5 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; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘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.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the 9one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[b] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:5-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Perseverance in Prayer 5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for[a] a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[b] to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:5-13 The Message (MSG) 5-6 Then he said, “Imaginewhat would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don’t have a thing on hand.’ 7 “The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 “But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need. 9 “Here’s what I’m saying: Ask and you’ll get; Seek and you’ll find; Knock and the door will open. 10-13 “Don’t bargain withGod. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing—you’re at least decent to your own children. And don’t you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?”
“Remember to pray to God, thanking
Him for his many blessings. Ask for
favors from God, according to His will”.
Bible Study Notes June 18, 2019Rev. Crystal Newby-Reynolds Minister of Liturgical Dance & Youth
III. Parable Research
This parable is found on in Luke. There are similar saying of regarding seeking, knocking, and finding in the Matthew 7:7 and also in Luke 12:36. This parable is surrounded by prayer You’ll find that Chapter 11 begins with “The Lords’s prayer in chapter 11, then ends with a description of how prayers are answered. Many bible scholars conclude that this parable is about persistent prayer.
Passage: 11:5-13 Audience: The disciples Context: One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. After teaching them the Lord’s Prayer, He gives them this parable. KeyVerse: “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need” (Luke 11:8).
Jesus wants His followers to have the courage to make bold requests and pray until God moves. He gives a parable about a man whose friend shows up in the middle of the night, but he doesn’t have any food to offer him. So, this man goes to another friend and wakes him up to borrow some bread. It’s incredibly inconvenient to help, but the friend ends up responding because of the tenacity of the request. Jesus isn’t comparing God and the sleeping friend. He’s actually contrasting them. If a friend is moved enough by your audacity to act on your behalf, how much more is God who loves you? (jesusfilm.org)
IV. Scholarly Criticism -A New ImageA number of scholars have questioned if Jesus actually meant for this parable to recommend persistence in prayer. 1. Professor of Homiletics, writer and theologian, David Buttrick, “seeks to correct the impressionthat we must pray all the time urgently or God will not respond.” God’s not a sleepy friend who doesn’t want to get up.
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Rev. Crystal Newby-Reynolds Minister of Liturgical Dance & Youth Bible Study Notes June 18, 2019
He views this parable as probably about hospitality-a non debatable obligation in the context of Jesus Day. 2. Theologian and professor Barbara Reid agrees by adding that Luke advocates for badgering Goduntil you get your wish. She preaches on extravagant hospitality.
What Do You think????
V. Discussion Questions.1. Why would some scholars doubt Lukes interpretation of persistent prayer?2. What’s the difference between persistence and badgering?3. How often should we ask God for things?4. Explain how the parable might be about hospitality and survival.5. Rate the relative importance of attitudes, words and deeds.6. How do we use food and meals to order our social worlds and commitments?
Bibliography
Buttrick, David. Speaking Parables A Homiletic Guide. Louisville. Westminster/John Know Press, 2000
McCollough, Charles. The Art of Parables. BC, Canada. CopperHouse, 2008
Reid, Barbara. The Gospel of Luke , Year C.,Collegeville, MN. The Liturgical Press 2000
Websites https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/parables-of-jesus.html
http://www.stmatthewame.org/pdf/TuesBS-051419.pdf
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