Parable of the Three Loaves of Bread

“Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, -Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.-Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything. I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:5-9, NIV).

The parable of the three loaves is given only in Luke’s gospel, but the important teaching on prayer—ask, seek, knock—(better translated “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking”) that follows this parable is given also in Matthew 7:7. Luke sets this parable immediately after Jesus was praying “in a certain place” and the disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). There followed, in Luke’s account, what we have come to know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” We might well call it “the disciple’s prayer,” because it is how Jesus taught them (and us) to pray. Then Jesus gave the parable of the man who, when an unexpected guest came at midnight, had no bread to feed him. He asked his friend, already in bed for the night, if he might borrow three loaves. At first the friend is reluctant to answer the request. But because of persistence in asking, and also because he is his friend, the man arises and gives his neighbor the bread he needs. Within this parable is the implication that things often happen unexpectedly with which we need immediate help. Like the man turned to his neighbor for help, so we can turn immediately to God. He is available at all times.

What is the major lesson in this parable for us? Taken in context in Luke, the Lord had just given them a pattern for prayer. He follows it by an everyday example of persistence in asking. The man who needed bread to feed his unexpected guest was bold, unashamed to ask, and continued to ask until he had received what he needed. I think another thing to notice is that the man who needed bread intended to share it with someone who was tired and hungry—in need of sustenance. Rev. J. R. Dummelow in his A Commentary on the Holy Bible (NY: Macmillan, 1958, p. 752) stated: “If a churlish man can be forced by importunity to give against his will, how much more can persevering prayer bring down from the bountiful Father in heaven all good things.” The major difference in our Heavenly Father and His provision through prayers of His children and the man who gave the bread is that our Father’s supply is never depleted and He knows what we have need of before we ask (Matthew 6:8; Luke 12:30). Nevertheless, trust and dependence on God are necessary on our part. Our continual asking, seeking and knocking are indicative of our faith that God will answer. Recall how Jacob wrestled with the angel of God? Jacob said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). The lesson in the parable of the three loaves is reiterated for us in Luke 18:1: “that they should always pray and not give up.” The lesson is: Pray persistently until an answer comes. It might be “yes” (as with the three loaves being provided); it may be “no” (if your request is not best for you and is not God’s will for you); or it may be “wait awhile” (during which time your faith grows).

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, September 6, 2010

Blind Bartimaeus Receives Sight

“And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ The blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”—Mark 10:51-52

Imagine the scene. Jesus has his face steadfastly set toward Jerusalem. He already knows that His trial and death await Him there. There is no deterring Jesus in His purpose to go. But there are interruptions along the way.

This one occurred in Jericho, thought by many scholars to be the oldest city in the world, and the first in the land promised to the Israelites that Joshua conquered.

It is an oasis, for in its midst flows Ain-es-Sultan, a perennial spring that produces some 30,000 cubit feet of water daily. Even though the name Jericho itself means “moon,” it is a productive area because of the abundant water, the palm trees grow gracefully, and balm is gathered there from aromatic trees and used for many medicinal purposes. Herod the Great had his winter palace there. Jericho was an important town, both in ancient times and in the day of Jesus. It was a pass-through city on ancient trade routes still important during the Roman occupation of Palestine and in Jesus. Much Hebrew history was and is in the layers of centuries covering the town.

Blind Bartimaeus arrived at his place to beg early in the morning. Maybe a family member or a friend led him to the spot where he set up shop (to beg) for the day. Then he heard that Jesus of Nazareth would pass by the road. No doubt Bartimaeus geared up his courage. He called out, interrupting Jesus, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Have you ever considered how many of Jesus’ miracles were interruptions, His working to meet needs on His way to somewhere else? What can this teach us? We are to be aware, always, of those who need a ministering touch and a deed of mercy. We are now Christ’s eyes to see needs, His hands to minister deeds, His voice to lend encouragement. A friend of mine says she prays that she might “radiate for Jesus.” Healed eyes radiate forth His light!

Jesus did not hesitate to hear and answer Blind Bartimaeus’ plea for help. “Go your way. Your faith has made you well!” Can’t you hear Bartimaeus now: “Oh, I see, I see! What beauty surrounds me. I once heard about it by word of mouth; now I see with my own eyes!” In Matthew’s account, there were two blind men begging.

Both were healed at the same time. What does it matter? One blind man, or two or many? Jesus has the power to restore sight, and those blind who asked Him received their sight, whether instantaneously or after performing whatever Jesus commanded them to do. Those blinded to God’s truth can likewise come to Jesus in faith. He will grant sight to the spiritually blind. Mark and Luke, in their accounts, tell us the healed blind man “followed Jesus on the road.” He went with Jesus!

The writer of this Christian hymn had the right ideas: “Open mine eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me!” And in yet another one: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!”

Sight restored to blind Bartimaeus meant that he could see not only the way to go but how to follow Jesus! Would he so soon see Jesus from the foot of the cross? We do not know that the blind man restored was there observing. We do know that he “followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” –Luke 18:43.

John Newton had the right idea in “Amazing Grace”: “I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see!” Today, thank God for the gift of physical sight and of spiritual insight! Both, as with Blind Bartimaeus, are gifts to us from God.