Luke 11:12 Meaning and Explanation
“Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →No decent father hands his hungry child something that would harm them, and our Father in heaven is better still.
The Context of Luke 11:12
Jesus is teaching on prayer, just after giving the disciples the Lord's Prayer and the parable of the persistent friend at midnight. He is building an argument from the lesser to the greater: if flawed human fathers give good gifts, how much more will God.
What Does Luke 11:12 Mean?
Jesus paints a small, almost comic picture. A child asks for an egg, the plainest of breakfasts, and the father slips him a scorpion instead. A pale, curled-up scorpion at rest can look unsettlingly like an egg, which sharpens the image: even a thing that might pass for food, a father would never trade for something that stings. The whole point is how unthinkable it is. No ordinary parent, however tired or imperfect, answers a child's simple hunger with harm. Jesus is appealing to something we already know in our bones.
Then He turns it upward: if we who are flawed still know how to give good gifts to our children, 'how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him' (verse 13). The argument runs from the lesser to the greater. God's goodness is the very source and perfection of the shaky goodness we see in human parents. When we bring our hunger to Him, we are asking the best Father there is, the One Jesus came to reveal, a Father who can be trusted completely.
Luke 11:12 in the Original Language
skorpios (σκορπίος), 'scorpion' -- the stinging desert creature; at rest its pale form could be mistaken for an egg.
How to Apply Luke 11:12 Today
When we pray, we can lay aside the fear that God is waiting to disappoint us. Jesus invites us to reason from the love we have known to the greater love we have not yet fully seen. The Father who hears us gives good gifts, and the best of them is His own Spirit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Luke 11:12
What does Luke 11:12 mean?
No decent father hands his hungry child something that would harm them, and our Father in heaven is better still.
What is the context of Luke 11:12?
Jesus is teaching on prayer, just after giving the disciples the Lord's Prayer and the parable of the persistent friend at midnight. He is building an argument from the lesser to the greater: if flawed human fathers give good gifts, how much more will God.
How can I apply Luke 11:12 today?
When we pray, we can lay aside the fear that God is waiting to disappoint us. Jesus invites us to reason from the love we have known to the greater love we have not yet fully seen. The Father who hears us gives good gifts, and the best of them is His own Spirit.