Luke 11:5-13
“Notice what you notice.” In yesterday’s reading about building a firm foundation I noted that Matthew, with his “rain, wind, floodwaters ” trio was somewhat more comprehensive than Luke who only mentioned floodwaters. Today we have another clear difference between the two writers in telling the same “story”. Luke closes today’s reading with 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 to those who ask Him! (v. 13) Matthew writes that the Father will “give what is good” or “give good things” (Mt. 7:11). I’ve often wondered about Luke’s “Holy Spirit” wording, seemingly out of context with the bread (in some translations), fish and egg requests. Luke clearly has a substantial focus on the Holy Spirit. Online I found the following quote: “<Luke> mentions the Holy Spirit fifteen times in his gospel and a full fifty-five times in Acts. Compared to the meager six mentions in Mark and the twelve in Matthew, it is clear that this is one of Luke’s key themes.” (https://markmoore.org/index_htm_files/Holy%20Spirit%20in%20Luke.pdf) It could be that Matthew’s “good things” are spiritual gifts, but that would also be out of context. So Luke’s mention of the Holy Spirit here puzzles me.
We’ve seen a lot of duplication in the Synoptic Gospels, especially between Matthew and Luke in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. At times, each writer will also have an item unique to his Gospel. That occurs in the first half of today’s reading. No other writer has a friend showing up at midnight with the house devoid of food, necessitating a call on a neighbor for three loaves of bread. Luke’s focus here is not on friendship, but persistence. Later on Luke offers a parable about the widow and the unrighteous judge, with persistence again as the main focus (Luke 18:1-5). Again, Luke is the only writer covering this parable.
So much to learn…!
Slava Bohu!