Matthew 7:7-12

Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Jordan, thank you for leading us in that song.

! If you've ever requested a song to be learned and sung here on a Sunday morning,

I want you to know how much time it takes to get that accomplished.

I asked Jordan to do that song back at Easter.

I want to think I carry a little bit of extra request weight, maybe.

So be patient.

It takes those guys a lot of work to put stuff together,

and I do appreciate you taking the work to do it, Jordan.

Yeah, it blessed me this morning.

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture teaches us that the Bible contains everything in it

that we need for life and godliness.

And we believe that the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture

applies to how we meet together as a church.

And so across the years, as we have considered what was necessary for us in our growing,

so as we started to add particular mics and sound equipment and things of that nature,

Wes and I worked very carefully together to say,

what would happen if we suddenly didn't have those things?

Like if the power went out.

If the power went out, could we still meet the way that we meet as a church?

And I want you to know that when the power went out this morning,

a little bit of me was excited because I said,

yes, we get to prove that it's possible to do it in this way.

And then quite a bit of me was excited when it came back on

because my voice is hurting this morning,

and I'm glad I don't have to yell in this room.

I can speak in my normal speaking tone.

So, a blessing on both sides.

Our text for today is Matthew 7, verses 7-12.

Matthew 7:7–12

And before I read it, beloved, this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good,

and we would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Jesus says,

Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and it will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds,

and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Or which one of you, if the Son asks him for bread,

will give him a stone.

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent.

If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven

give good things to those who ask Him?

So whatever you wish that others would do to you,

do also to them.

For this is the law and the prophets.

At first look at this morning's text,

you may be wondering

why it is that I jumped across

the uninspired subheading

that is likely found in your copy of God's Word.

There between verse 11 and verse 12,

your text probably says

the golden rule.

An uninspired addition to our printings of the Bible.

Why did I read from verse 7 through verse 12?

Why did I include verse 12 in today's text,

which seems to be some further teaching about prayer?

You may also be wondering,

why is there further teaching about prayer

in verses 7 through 11?

Doesn't this teaching about prayer belong

back with Jesus' prayer instruction

in chapter 6, verses 7 through 13?

Let me assure you that our Lord did not here

have an afterthought about prayer.

As we would tend to do,

I find myself quite forgetful

and want to go back and tack something on

to something I said previously.

Jesus, I'm confident,

even in His humanity,

was not nearly as scatterbrained as myself.

He's not just going back

and tapping on random instructions

at the conclusion of His sermon on the mount.

And many commentators treat it this way.

He's been working thematically.

Now He has some final things to say,

and so He's dropping in

these related but random instructions

here at the end of the sermon.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Jesus is bringing His sermon to a close

and He is finishing His teaching

on kingdom ethics in verse 12.

He is wrapping up that portion,

the major portion of His sermon

on kingdom ethics.

What does it look like for citizens

of the kingdom of God

to live in this world?

The summary of all that He has said

is found in verse 12.

And it begins with this important word,

so.

So.

In light of everything that I've said so far,

so whatever you wish that others would do to you,

do also to them.

This teaching is often referred to

as the golden rule.

That would be to say the rule

that rules other rules.

And we can know that it is a summary statement

because in Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:17–19

verse 17-19,

Jesus says this,

Do not think that I have come

to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them,

but to fulfill them.

For truly I say to you,

until heaven and earth pass away,

not an iota,

not a dot,

will pass from the law

until all is accomplished.

Therefore,

whoever relaxes one of the least

of these commandments

and teaches others through the same

will be called least

in the kingdom of God.

But whoever does them

and teaches them

will be called great

in the kingdom of God.

And we spent quite a bit of time

establishing the difference

in the Old Testament law,

the civil,

the ceremonial,

and the moral law.

And we have put forth

that the moral law

is still meant to be obeyed.

It is still the kingdom ethic

by which we live

empowered by the Spirit

and having been redeemed by Christ.

We spent quite a bit of time

in Exodus 20

walking through each of

the Ten Commandments

and considering all of the commandments

that flow out of those commandments.

So we have been there

and then we find ourselves here

where Jesus declares

in chapter 7, verse 12,

for this is the law

and the prophets.

This is very similar in form

to what Jesus says

in Mark chapter 12,

Mark 12:29–31

verse 29 through 31

when He is asked,

which commandment

is the most important of all?

Jesus answered,

the most important is,

hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God,

the Lord is one,

and you shall love

the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

The second is this,

you shall love your neighbor

as yourself.

There is no other commandment

greater than these.

Love toward others

is a volition of the will,

it's a decision being made

aimed at another's good

at our expense.

Which means that we cannot

love others well

unless we first love God.

So in loving others

as ourselves,

we are keeping the law

and the prophets.

Last week we saw

in chapter 7, verses 1 through 6,

that to love others

the way God would have us

first of all requires

that we do not

self-righteously,

carelessly criticize

and condemn others,

but rather lovingly,

carefully aid others

in the pursuit of holiness.

We looked last week

at Galatians chapter 6

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

and verse 1,

which reads,

Brothers,

if anyone is caught

in any transgression,

you who are spiritual

shall restore him

in a spirit of gentleness.

This is a loving act

of those who are called together

as a family of God.

Paul continues to say

in Galatians 6, verse 2,

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens

and so fulfill the law of Christ.

So I hope that you are seeing

the connection

between Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5:17–19

verse 17 through 19,

and chapter 7, verse 12.

They're kind of bookends

in that way.

Citizens of the kingdom of heaven

will be characterized

by their love.

Specifically, their love

for one another.

In John chapter 13,

John 13:34

verse 34 and 35,

as Jesus is eating

the last supper

with his disciples,

he says,

A new commandment

I give to you,

that you love

one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also are to love

one another.

By this,

all people will know

that you are my disciples

if you have love

for one another.

We are not meant

to be known

by anything else

but love

for one another.

We may prove ourselves

to be disciples

of someone

or something else

by the dressings

that we put on.

But the way

we're to be known

as disciples

of Jesus Christ

is because of the way

we love

one another.

Now,

this ethic

of reciprocity,

track me for a second,

this ethic

of reciprocity

was not new

to Jesus'

day.

but it was

always stated

in the negative.

Let me show you

what I mean.

The Jewish

Rabbi Hillel,

all of these

predate the teaching

of Jesus here

in Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

The Jewish

Rabbi Hillel

quoted a saying,

What is hateful

to yourself,

do not

to someone

else.

The book of

Tobit,

which is included

in the Apocrypha,

says,

What thou

thyself

hatest

to no man

do.

Confucius

taught,

and I quote,

What you do not

want done to yourself,

do not do

to others.

An ancient

Greek king

named

Nicocles

wrote,

Do not do

to others

the things

which make you

angry when you

experience them

at the hands

of other people.

And the Greek

philosopher

Epictetus

once wrote,

What you avoid

suffering yourself,

do not

afflict

on others.

You see,

the ethic

of reciprocity

had been taught

for a long,

long time,

but not

in the way

that Jesus

taught it.

The hearers

of Jesus' day

would have been

very familiar

with this form

of teaching,

but what Jesus

does with it

is astounding.

He flips

the teaching

on its head.

He makes it

rather than

a negative

exhortation,

he makes it

a positive

exhortation.

He makes it

from a

avoid harm

done to you

into a

do good

for others

ethic

of reciprocity.

It's significant

that he's even

using this

form of

language

because the

people in his

day would have

gone,

Wait,

what?

being a

citizen of

the kingdom

of heaven

is not

about me

and getting

mine.

It's about

what I

can do

for others.

And Jesus

would say

to that,

yes,

this is

exactly what

it looks

like to

be a

citizen

of the

kingdom

of heaven.

And so

in our

text,

Jesus gives

us three

reasons to

obey the

command to

love others

as ourselves.

three reasons

to obey the

command to

love others

as ourselves.

First reason

is God's

promise to

his people.

And we see

this in

verse 7

and verse

8.

Now,

I don't

believe,

some do,

I don't

believe that

we're given

here some

kind of

code by

which to

get response

from God.

This

asking,

seeking,

knocking.

These are

three different

steps in

some process

by which.

I think

that Jesus

is just

elaborating

on the

point.

If you

go to

God for

something that

God is

willing to

give,

he will

in fact

give it

to you.

Ask and

it will

be given

to you.

Seek and

you will

find.

Knock and

it will

be opened

to you.

For

everyone who

asks,

receives,

and the

one who

seeks,

finds,

and the

one who

knocks,

it will

be opened.

And so

for us,

this is

most readily

a teaching

about prayer.

It is,

in fact,

some teaching

about prayer.

And I

want to

look first

at its

general

application,

and then

we'll look

a little bit

at its

specific

application,

and try

to understand

why we

find it

in the

flow of

text here

in Jesus'

sermon on

the mount.

So there

is certainly

a general

application

for our

praying,

right?

God

promises

to

answer

prayer.

God

answers

prayer,

and this

should

move

us

to

pray.

God

wants

us

to

ask

and

seek

and

knock.

This

text,

however,

is not

meant for

us to

think

that God

has

written

us

a

blank

check

that

we

can

fill

in

any

way

we

want.

Many

have

used

these

verses

in

this

way.

It's

a

plain

teaching

of

Jesus

here.

Ask

seek

knock.

It

will

be

given

to

you.

These

people

will

also

use

texts

like

John

John 14:13

chapter

14

verse

13

and

14

in

the

same

way

where

Jesus

says

whatever

you

ask

in

my

name

this

I

will

do

that

the

Father

may

be

glorified

and

the

Son

if

you

ask

me

anything

in

my

name

I

is

the

nature

of

what

Jesus

is

saying

about

his

name

right

they

merely

tack

in

Jesus

name

onto

the

end

of

a

prayer

and

that's

not

why

we

say

that

at

the

end

of

a

prayer

we

don't

say

in

Jesus

name

as

an

incantation

to

get

what

we

want

but

rather

in

Jesus

day

a

name

carried

much

more

weight

than

it

typically

does

in

our

day

the

name

represented

all

that

a

person

was

in

Jesus

case

his

name

represents

all

that

he

is

to

ask

for

something

in

someone's

name

is

to

ask

for

something

consistent

with

who

that

person

is

and

so

at

the

end

of

my

praying

and

almost

every

time

I

pray

possibly

every

time

you've

heard

me

pray

publicly

I

will

say

something

to

the

effect

of

in

Jesus

name

and

for

his

sake

we

pray

and

what

I'm

saying

is

I

believe

that

what

I've

prayed

is

consistent

with

who

Jesus

is

consistent

with

his

character

it's

consistent

with

the

way

he's

working

in

the

world

and

then

we

utter

our

amen

God

let

it

be

believing

it's

consistent

with

who

Jesus

is

and

how

it

is

he's

working

in

the

world

his

mission

and

what

he

intends

to

accomplish

please

let

these

things

be

so

when

Jesus

makes

this

promise

if

you

ask

anything

in

my

name

he's

saying

if

you

ask

me

to

do

anything

that

I

would

do

I

will

do

it

some

other

texts

first

John

chapter

three

verse

twenty

one

and

twenty

two

John

writes

beloved

if

our

heart

does

not

condemn

us

we

have

confidence

before

God

so

if

we

are

not

finding

ourselves

in

sin

and

whatever

we

ask

we

receive

from

him

because

we

keep

his

commandments

and

do

what

pleases

him

so

as

we're

obediently

following

the

commands

of

God

or

asking

!

things

consistent

with

his

name

he

we

ask

and

later

in

first

John

chapter

five

and

verse

fourteen

and

this

is

the

confidence

that

we

have

toward

him

that

if

we

ask

anything

according

to

his

will

he

hears

us

so

if

you

want

to

pray

effective

prayers

and I

hope

that

you

do

if

you

want

to

take

hold

of

the

promise

of

God

found

in

this

test

that

for

the

one

who

asks

and

seeks

and

knocks

right

that

they

will

receive

then

we

need

to

know

our

God

we

need

to

know

who

this

Jesus

is

who

says

if

you

pray

anything

in

my

name

I

will

give

it

to

you

and

how

do

we

know

this

Jesus

we

meet

with

him

in

the

Bible

we

meet

with

him

in

the

scripture

we

go

to

it

regularly

and

often

and

we

dive

deeply

into

it

we

know

the

text

we

begin

pray

his

will

so

this

is

a

massively

encouraging

general

application

of the

text

is it

not

we

should

love

and

obey

God

which

will

find

our

desires

coming

into

line

with

his

so

that

as

we

pray

he

will

hear

and

answer

our

prayers

this

is a

promise

of our

text

today

but

there

is

a

more

specific

application

so

if

you

understand

the

text

in

that

way

in

other

applications

I

think

you're

correct

in

doing

so

there

is

general

application

for

your

praying

but

there's

specific

application

for

our

text

today

why

does

it

come

here

in

chapter

7

again

our

Lord

did

not

have

an

afterthought

about

prayer

and

begin

to

tack

on

random

instructions

!

confidence

in

your

praying

he

is

instructing

us

to

pray

as

we

are

about

the

work

of

lovingly

carefully

aiding

others

in

the

pursuit

of

holiness

we've

seen

that

at

the

beginning

of

chapter

7

he's

saying

to

us

as

you're

doing

this

great

work

of

helping

each

other

pursue

Christ

likeness

pray

the

father

deeply

cares

about

this

thing

and

he

will

answer

your

prayers

so we're

about

supposed to

be doing

that

and

as

we

are

going

about

the

work

praying

for

strength

to

obey

the

command

to

love

others

as

ourselves

his

teaching

concerning

prayer

is

bridging

these

two

ideas

of

love

to

others

together

it's

bridging

it

together

right

verse

12

begins

so

so

what

so

because

you're

praying

in

this

way

it's

bridging

these

two

ideas

together

which

ought

to

make

it

so

clear

how

very

much

we

need

his

help

if

we

are

to

love

others

well

we

desperately

need

him

to

work

in

our

working

as

we're

loving

one

another

oh

may

we

be a

people

who

obey

the

command

to

love

others

as

ourselves

because

of

God's

promise

to

his

people

to

answer

their

prayers

may

we

also

be

a

people

who

obey

the

command

to

love

others

as

ourselves

because

secondly

God's

pattern

for

his

people

we've

got

God's

promise

to

his

people

secondly

God's

pattern

for

his

people

verse

9

10

and

11

Jesus

asks

here

three

rhetorical

questions

everyone

knows

the

answers

to

these

questions

if

any

one

of

my

sons

asked

me

for

bread

of

course

I

would

not

give

them

a

stone

too

many

of

us

are

familiar

with

loaves

of

bread

bread

then

looked

like

a

stone

it

was

brown

and

it

was

roundish

I

wouldn't

give

them

a

replacement

item

for

the

thing

that

they

asked

for

I

would

gladly

provide

for

them

in

our

family

gluten

free

bread

I

love

my

sons

and

their

sustenance

is

of

great

importance

to

me

when

my

boys

are

hungry

I

want

them

to

be

fed

if

any

one

of

my

sons

asked

me

for

a

fish

which

none

of

them

would

but

again

this

was

a

common

item

of

sustenance

right

this

would

have

been

a

common

thing

to

ask

for

if

one

were

hungry

of

course

I

would

give

them

the

good

nourishing

thing

for

them

and

not

a

thing

that

could

injure

them

not

a

thing

that

could

be

injurious

to

them

the

good

thing

that

they

need

to

sustain

them

Jesus

then

says

if

then

you

who

are

evil

know

how

to

give

good

gifts

to

your

children

he's

not

speaking

of

any

specific

fathers

but

of

all

fathers

in

general

he

is

saying

that

all

human

fathers

are

imperfect

the

fathers

in the

room

know

this

very

well

probably

because

you

all

have

fathers

you're

very

aware

of

this

none

of

us

have

had

perfect

fathers

none

of

us

will

be

perfect

fathers

all

human

fathers

are

imperfect

but

we

can

manage

the

giving

of

good

gifts

to

our

children

we

can

manage

when

they

ask

for

food

to

give

them

food

and

not

something

else

right

he

then

asks

his

third

rhetorical

question

Jesus

says

how

much

more

will

your

father

who

is

in

heaven

give

good

things

to

those

who

ask

him

the

answer

here

is

meant

to

be

obvious

our

heavenly

father

will

give

to

us

the

good

things

we

ask

for

specifically

the

ability

to

love

one

another

and

to

provide

for

all

that

is

necessary

for

us

to

love

one

another

not

only

is

our

heavenly

father

willing

to

give

us

good

gifts

he

is

also

able

he

does

not

lack

the

power

to

give

us

exactly

what

is

good

and

necessary

for

us

he

can

do

all

that

his

will

purposes

and

we

know

that

he

will

provide

for

all

that

he

commands

!

that

if

he

has

given

you

a

command

in

the

scripture

that

he

will

provide

for

you

the

grace

necessary

to

keep

the

command

right

it

is

never

an

excuse

for

to

say

oh

I

can't

do

that

it

is

too

hard

right

then

you're

not

asking

ask

seek

knock

right

God

provides

for

all

that

he

commands

so

if

we

are

being

told

to

love

others

as

ourselves

he

will

provide

all

that

is

necessary

to

do

so

he

will

provide

the

ability

to

forgive

the

ability

to

be

patient

the

ability

to

see

past

each

other's

differences

the

ability

to

love

each

other

even

when

we

don't

like

each