Luke 11:11
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus uses striking, almost absurd contrasts to show God's heart: would any loving father swap a nourishing fish for a deadly serpent when their child asks for food? This highlights that God, unlike flawed human parents, is always good and incapable of giving anything harmful when we genuinely seek Him.
Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer, building on the Lord's Prayer he just gave them. He's using parables about persistence in asking, seeking, and knocking, and now shifts to a comparison about a father's loving nature to show how much more willing God is to give good things to those who ask.
Imagine a child asking for something essential, like food. What parent would offer something harmful or worthless in its place?
Jesus uses a powerful rhetorical question here to highlight the absurdity of God withholding good from those who ask. He says, "What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?"
This isn't just about a parent's basic duty; it's about the very nature of parental love. A father's instinct is to nurture and protect. To offer a stone instead of bread, or a serpent instead of a fish, would be unthinkable – a betrayal of the most fundamental bond. It’s a stark image designed to make us realize that such a cruel exchange is beneath even human parents, let alone our perfect Heavenly Father.
Even flawed human parents demonstrate a capacity for giving. What does this tell us about God's perfect giving?
Jesus continues this line of questioning by implying that if even imperfect human parents (who are described as 'evil' in comparison to God) know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him!
The point isn't that human parents are truly good in an absolute sense, but that their capacity to give what is beneficial, and their reluctance to harm, reflects a sliver of God's perfect goodness. This contrast is designed to elevate our understanding of God's generosity. Human love is a faint echo; God's love is the boundless ocean.
Understand the original words
patēr · Greek Noun
A male parent; in Scripture, it often conveys authority, provision, protection, and the initiating source of a family lineage or spiritual relationship. God is revealed as the ultimate Father, characterized by perfect love, care, and wisdom.
ophis · Greek Noun
A creature often associated with the fall of man, deception, evil, and the demonic realm. In biblical symbolism, it represents an enemy of God and humanity.
This passage is the parallel account in Matthew, directly linking the idea that earthly fathers would not give harmful things to their children, emphasizing God's greater willingness to give good gifts.
Luke 11:13This verse immediately follows, drawing the conclusion from the father-child analogy: if sinful humans know how to give good gifts, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the best gift, the Holy Spirit, to those who ask.
Romans 8:32This verse echoes the sentiment that if God did not withhold His own Son, He will certainly give us all things, reinforcing the trustworthiness of God's provision when we ask Him.
1 John 4:10This passage highlights that God's love is demonstrated not in our love for Him, but in His sending His Son as a propitiation for our sins, showing His proactive and generous nature towards us.
vincentLuke 11:11: "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 serpent?"
Of any of you (τίνα)The A. V. renders as though the pronoun were indefinite; but it is interrogative and commences the sentence. Rev., therefore, rightly, of which of you that is a father, etc.
calvinLuke 11:5-13: "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;"
- Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. 8. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9. Is there any man among you, who, if his son shall ask bread, will give him a ston? 10. Or if he shall ask a fish, does he offer…
Jesus uses striking, almost absurd contrasts to show God's heart: would any loving father swap a nourishing fish for a deadly serpent when their child asks for food? This highlights that God, unlike flawed human parents, is always good and incapable of giving anything harmful when we genuinely seek Him.
Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer, building on the Lord's Prayer he just gave them. He's using parables about persistence in asking, seeking, and knocking, and now shifts to a comparison about a father's loving nature to show how much more willing God is to give good things to those who ask.
Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer, building on the Lord's Prayer he just gave them. He's using parables about persistence in asking, seeking, and knocking, and now shifts to a comparison about a father's loving nature to show how much more willing God is to give good things to those who ask.
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"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;" — Jesus uses striking, almost absurd contrasts to show God's heart: would any loving father swap a nourishing fish for a deadly serpent when their child asks for food? This highlights that God, unlike…
