Devotion on Luke 11:1-13 | Proper 12–Year C

This Gospel comes from Luke 11, where Jesus introduces the Lord’s Prayer to His disciples. Our devotional reading comes from Luke 9:51–24:53, Concordia Commentary.

Scripture Readings

Genesis 18:20–33

Psalm 138

Colossians 2:6–15

Luke 11:1–13

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Devotional Reading

Jesus first petitions the Father regarding who God is—his name—and what God does—his reigning as King. God’s holy name and God’s gracious rule in his (present) kingdom form the basis for the disciples to approach the Father confidently with their own petitions.

By beginning with God-centered petitions, Jesus instructs the disciples that when they petition the Father, the gifts they receive come from the one who is holy and whose kingdom is coming. Jesus instructs his disciples to treat God’s name as holy by calling on God as Father, trusting that he will respond graciously for the sake of his Son.

The Lukan petition for daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer is the first of three petitions that focus on the needs of the petitioners. … The earthly and physical necessities of life surely are included in this petition and should not be minimized, but they do not exhaust the significance of “bread” in the gospel.

Before offering further support from Luke for this position, it may be helpful to note that it is consistent with the views of many fathers of the early church and Luther. The reformer saw “daily bread” as encompassing all of God’s gifts—spiritual and eschatological, as well as physical and temporal. …

The forgiveness of sins, next in the Lord’s Prayer, balances the petition for bread. Just as bread is the essential staple of physical life, and the Supper provides bread that is both earthly and heavenly, so forgiveness is the essential sustenance of spiritual life, and the need of forgiveness is constant and ongoing, hence Jesus’ provision of the Supper as the regular Meal that provides forgiveness. …

Both bread and the forgiveness of sins shed light on the final petition: “and do not bring us into temptation” (11:4). The Father who gives all good gifts allows even his Son to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and that temptation included the suggestion to put (physical, earthly) bread ahead of the Word of God and to seek worldly glory instead of properly worshiping God alone.

Hymn

Hymn is "In Holy Conversation" from Three Preludes on Swedish Hymns by Christopher M. Wicks, © 2017 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Devotional reading is adapted from Luke 9:51–24:53, Concordia Commentary by Arthur Just, pages 465, 466, 469–70, © 1997 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.