The Parable of the Friend at Night (also known as the Parable of the Friend at Midnight or of the Importunate Neighbour) is a

parable of Jesus A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

which appears in . In it, a

friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

eventually agrees to help his neighbor due to his persistent demands rather than because they are friends, despite the late hour and the inconvenience of it. This parable demonstrates the need to

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...

without giving up. It is similar to the

Parable of the Unjust Judge The Parable of the Unjust Judge (also known as the Parable of the Importunate Widow or the Parable of the Persistent Woman, is one of the parables of Jesus which appears in the Gospel of Luke (). In it, a judge who lacks compassion is repeatedly a ...

and is depicted by several artists, including

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism. ...

Narrative

The parable is as follows: The scene described in this parable suggests a single-roomed peasant house, where the whole family sleeps together on a mat on the floor, and a man travelling by night to avoid the heat of the day. The reason for the friend's request is hospitality, a sacred duty throughout the Mediterranean world in antiquity.Hultgren, Arland J., ''The Parables of Jesus''
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2002

Interpretation

This parable appears in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...

immediately after Jesus teaches the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

, and can therefore be viewed as a continuation of Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray,

Joel B. Green Joel B. Green (born May 7, 1956) is an American New Testament scholar, theologian, author, Associate Dean of the Center for Advanced Theological Study, and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, ...

,
The Gospel of Luke
', Eerdmans, 1997, , pp. 445–450. while the verses which follow help to explain the meaning of the parable:

suggests that the question that opens the parable ("Which of you who has a friend...?" also expressible as "Can you imagine...?") is intended to be answered as an emphatic "No!", since no friend would refuse to help under such circumstances (the opening words in Greek occur elsewhere in Luke, but have no contemporary parallels, and

I. Howard Marshall Ian Howard Marshall (12 January 1934 – 12 December 2015) was a Scotland, Scottish New Testament scholar. He was Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He was formerly the chair of the Tyndale Fell ...

regards them as probably characteristic of Jesus himself). However, Jesus goes on to point out that even if friendship wasn't a big enough motivation, help would still be forthcoming. As with verses , the parable is therefore an incentive to pray.

,
The Gospel of Luke: A commentary on the Greek text
', Eerdmans, 1978, , pp. 462–465. The

parable of the Unjust Judge The Parable of the Unjust Judge (also known as the Parable of the Importunate Widow or the Parable of the Persistent Woman, is one of the parables of Jesus which appears in the Gospel of Luke (). In it, a judge who lacks compassion is repeatedly a ...

has a similar meaning.Craig L. Blomberg,
Interpreting the Parables
', InterVarsity Press, 1990, , p. 275.

John McEvilly John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an Irish Roman Catholic Church clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Tuam from 1881 to 1902. He was born on 15 April 1818 in Louisburgh, a small town near Westport, County Mayo, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Succ ...

comments on this parable, writing, "Our Lord illustrates by the following parable—which St. Luke alone records—or familiar comparison, founded on what might occur in daily life to any of themselves, the necessity of fervour and perseverance in prayer. All the circumstances are of a very pressing character—the hour of the night so inconvenient, the urgent necessity of the case, not even the simplest means of meeting the wants of the stranger, fatigued and hungry from his journey. Hence, the petition for “three loaves,” one for the host himself, one for the hungry, fatigued guest, and a third in case the two did not suffice. In the East the home-made cakes were small."

Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 18 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of scripture. Life He was born at Bocholt, in Belgian Limburg. He studi ...

gives a similar interpretation, writing, "God wills that we should continue instant in prayer, and is pleased with our “importunity,” for persistent prayer is “violence pleasing to God.”

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

Depictions

There are a number of depictions of this parable, the most famous being ''The Importunate Neighbour'' (1895) by

, held in the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

, Australia.

References

{{Authority control Friend at Night, Parable of the Gospel of Luke Prayer

Narrative

Interpretation

Depictions

See also

References