5. Then Jesus went on to say:Suppose one of you goes to a friend in the middle of the night and says, “Let me borrow three loaves of bread.
6. A friend of mine has dropped in, and I don't have a thing for him to eat.”
7. And suppose your friend answers, “Don't bother me! The door is bolted, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you something.”
8. He may not get up and give you the bread, just because you are his friend. But he will get up and give you as much as you need, simply because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.
9. So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.
10. Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.
11. Which one of you fathers would give your hungry child a snake if the child asked for a fish?
12. Which one of you would give your child a scorpion if the child asked for an egg?
13. As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.
14. Jesus forced a demon out of a man who could not talk. And after the demon had gone out, the man started speaking, and the crowds were amazed.
15. But some people said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”
16. Others wanted to put Jesus to the test. So they asked him to show them a sign from God.
17. Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said:A kingdom where people fight each other will end up in ruin. And a family that fights will break up.
18. If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I force out demons by the power of Beelzebul.
19. If I use his power to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? They are the ones who will judge you.
20. But if I use God's power to force out demons, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you.
21. When a strong man arms himself and guards his home, everything he owns is safe.
22. But if a stronger man comes and defeats him, he will carry off the weapons in which the strong man trusted. Then he will divide with others what he has taken.
23. If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the crop with me, you scatter it.
24. When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when it doesn't find a place, it says, “I will go back to the home I left.”