Luke 11:11

11 `And of which of you -- the father -- if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him?

Luke 11:11 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:11

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
&c.] Our Lord illustrates and confirms what he had said before by an instance common among men: the relation between a father and a son is natural, and it is very near; and it is usual for a son, when hungry, and at the proper times of meals, to ask bread of his father: and when he does,

will he give him a stone?
should he do so, he would show that his heart was as hard, or harder than the stone he gives:

or if he ask a fish, will he, for a fish, give him a serpent?
And endeavour to deceive him by the likeness of the one to the other, especially some sort of fish, which would poison or sting him, but not refresh and nourish him: such inhuman brutish parents are not surely to be found; (See Gill on Matthew 7:9), (See Gill on Matthew 7:10).

Luke 11:11 In-Context

9 and I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you;

10 for every one who is asking doth receive; and he who is seeking doth find; and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.

11 `And of which of you -- the father -- if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him?

12 and if he may ask an egg, will he present to him a scorpion?

13 If, then, ye, being evil, have known good gifts to be giving to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!'