Day 26: Jesus’s Stories Highlighted the Heart of the Father

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, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“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. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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?” LUKE 11:5–13

OVER TWO THOUSAND RABBINIC parables exist,15 and they’re scattered throughout a wide variety of both ancient and modern writings. During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught around forty (there’s some theological dispute about whether the form of a few of His stories can be formally classified as a parable, but the consensus is that He taught somewhere between thirty-six and forty-two of them in Matthew, Mark, and Luke; note that the Gospel of John doesn’t contain any parabolic material).16 In fact, if you were to go through the Gospels and count all the red-letter words, you’ll find that parables make up the bulk of Jesus’s preaching material! This drowsy-daddy/rude-neighbor story in Luke 11 has long been one of my favorites, but it became even more so after an experience Missy and I had in Montana a few years ago.

We got to visit Montana in the summer of 2020 because I had the undeserved privilege of speaking at a church in the city of Kalispell. It was the first time Missy and I had flown since the COVID quarantines began in March of 2020, and in light of our super-early departure out of Nashville and a flight delay in Chicago, we were both dragging a bit by the time we got to Big Sky Country. Since my work itinerary didn’t start until the next morning, I suggested we go for a short hike to get some fresh air and stretch our legs, which Missy wasn’t excited about. She also pooh-poohed my suggestions about walking down to the lake, exploring the quaint downtown area, or even going for a swim in the hotel’s heated indoor pool. After a few minutes of silence, I asked, “Honey, am I getting on your nerves?” To which Missy replied yes and then added, “Does that hurt your feelings, Mom?”

I assured her that my feelings weren’t hurt and that it was totally normal to be bugged by your mama, especially when you’re tired, jet-lagged, and let’s not forget trying to navigate the turbulent waters of puberty. Then I said, “How about we make an imaginary line down the middle of the room—that can be your side, and this will be my side—and I’ll just stay on my side and study for the next few hours and you can stay on that side and read or do homework on your iPad and we don’t have to talk unless you want to?” She agreed and we stayed in that pleasant-but-separate arrangement until both of us got ready for bed and turned out the light. But after a few minutes of silence in that dark hotel room, Missy whispered, “Mama, will you please cross the line and cuddle me, because I don’t think I can fall asleep if you don’t rub my back first.” She didn’t have to bang on the door to get my attention . . . all my precious daughter had to do was whisper!

The two main characters in this story Jesus tells are the sleeping father and the impudent friend trying to rouse him for a midnight snack. The father, of course, symbolizes God the Father—which is almost always the case when Jesus includes a father figure in a parable—and while there’s no theological consensus regarding who the persistent neighbor represents, one of my professors at Denver Seminary, Dr. Craig Blomberg (who’s considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on the parables!), teaches that he symbolizes unbelievers. Those who live outside of the household of God.

But then there’s an oft-overlooked tertiary character: the children. And because this parable takes place in the context of first-century Semitic culture, it’s safe to assume they would’ve been snuggled up in bed right next to their dad because most homes in that era only had one room for sleeping, and children typically slept with their parents. With that in mind, let’s take another look at the tail end of this tale:

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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 11:11–13 niv)

Our omniscient Messiah brilliantly uses a fortiori logic—a fancy Latin phrase that means “from the lesser to the greater”—to reveal how much more our loving heavenly Father generously gives to His children than a daddy with skin on. If the people outside of God’s household could bank on His generosity when they were persistent to communicate their needs, those precious peanuts inside the household didn’t have to bang on the door and twist their Father’s arm when they needed another bedtime story, or a glass of water, or a back rub to break the ice; all they had to do was whisper because He was right there next to them the whole time, smiling with twinkly-eyed affection. This parable is most often used to underscore the importance of persistent prayer, but my favorite takeaway is the how-close-our-God-is-to-us part!

• READ MARK 4:11–12. Why do you think Jesus used parables to both conceal and reveal?
• WHAT IS YOUR favorite parable and why?
• IS THERE ANYTHING you need to ask God for in this season of life? Take some time to do it right now!