Healthy Disciples: A LIFE OF TRUST—Matthew 7:7-12
In this series on the last part of the Sermon on the Mount, we have considered what Jesus said about a healthy Christian life.
Previously in his teaching on the hillside that day, Jesus talked about prayer. He warned his disciples about making a show of public prayer. He gave them a model for prayer, which we call The Lord’s Prayer. Then, after talking about treasure, worry and judging (which we have considered the past 3 weeks, he again brought up prayer:
Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Some people have latched onto these words as a guarantee that they can have whatever their heart might desire. They make it sort of like a cosmic vending machine: Insert the right words, and God will deliver the product as promised.
Is that what Jesus meant?
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
If we take these words out of context, we might think that someone who ASKS for wealth or possessions will always receive them, someone who SEEKS happiness or the love of their dreams will find what they seek, and someone who KNOCKS on the door of opportunity, for an ideal job and a life worldly success, will find doors opening.
That was not what Jesus meant.
When we KNOCK, we are knocking on heaven’s door, seeking an audience with the Father. Jesus promises that the door will be opened to us, so that we can talk to God.
If we are Jesus’ disciples, what do we SEEK? Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, and one of them was, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” A little later, he said, “SEEK first the Father’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” If we SEEK righteousness in God’s kingdom, Jesus promises that we will find it.
When we ASK, we ask the Father to give us what is best for us and all whom he loves. James 4:3 explains, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” If we are selfish, or not seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness, the promise does not apply.
Yet sometimes we ask, with the best motives and the most faith we can muster, and we do not receive. We don’t get the healing we ask for, we don’t see the change we seek, or we don’t feel the intimate fellowship with God that we desire. What went wrong? Were we not seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness? Did we not pray hard enough? Did we not have enough faith? Did God let us down?
God’s answer to those questions is found in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 5:7-9 says it this way: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Jesus prayed, with perfect motives and perfect faith, and his prayers were often answered in marvelous ways. Yet the answer to Jesus’ prayer about his own suffering and death did not remove the suffering and death. His reward, the righteousness he sought for all of us and his eternal glory with the Father, was not given to him immediately, or in the manner that he asked! Yet his prayers were answered beyond what any of us could imagine!
Do we think we are better than Jesus? If Jesus had to say, “Father, not my will, but yours be done,” shouldn’t we also say that?
The answer to our prayers may be deeper than we can imagine, as it was for Jesus himself.
Jesus tells us to ask…seek…knock… We are not praying to the ceiling, or a cosmic vending machine, or a mysterious Power; we are praying to our Father in heaven, who loves us.
Jesus goes on to say, Matthew 7:9-11 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Let’s be honest: God doesn’t always give us what we ask for. Why might that be?
Sometimes we don’t know what is best for us.
***When I was a child, the Sears catalog always came to our house before Christmas. I eagerly spent hours paging through the catalog, picking out the toys and gifts I wanted. I went to my mother or father, pointing out exactly what I would like them to get me for Christmas. Rarely did I get what I asked for! Some of my gifts were clothes I needed but wouldn’t think to ask for. Almost every year, there was a gift under the tree that was not in the catalog—something unlike anything my friends would receive. Gifts my parents found for me developed creativity and skills, and I played with them for hours and hours. My parents knew what was best for me, better than I did.**
Sometimes God has deeper goals for our growth. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “To keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Paul learned to rely on God when his passionate prayers were not answered as he hoped.
Sometimes what we seek from God is tempered by God’s grace for others. We ask for rain for the garden, while others pray for no rain so they can play the baseball game. Or at a deeper level, our struggles might help others. In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul talks about his prison experience: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” I am sure that Paul prayed to be released from prison, but God had bigger plans for his impact on other people.
Some answers to prayer are not revealed until much later—even the end of the age.
***One of the earliest missionaries to China, Robert Morrison, could count only 25 converts in 27 years. He must have prayed for many more! Yet the impact of his work continues into the present, and will not be fully seen until Christ returns and all things are revealed.**
Jesus says, “…how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” We can trust our Father’s goodness.
Trusting our Father’s goodness is not just sitting back and waiting for his good gifts to fall from the sky; it is depending on his goodness as we live our lives with other people.
We have one more verse in our text. Jesus said, Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
The Golden Rule. How does that connect with what Jesus has been talking about?
Some scholars suggest that the statement was inserted by Matthew, exercising editorial license. Jesus probably recited his “Golden Rule” dozens of times as he traveled for three years and spoke to numerous groups of people, and Matthew would want to fit it in somewhere. If we look closer, however, we will see that the Golden Rule is based on trust in the Father’s goodness, as described in the previous verses.
The Golden Rule is not found in any writings before Jesus, but a negative variation was taught by others: “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” That is common sense! “What goes around comes around,” or “What you dish out will land in your lap.”
***Confucius, the wise Chinese philosopher who lived about 500 years before Jesus, was asked for a one-word rule of life. He replied, “Is not reciprocity such a word? ‘What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.’” (Michael Green, Matthew for Today)**
It is true that if we are kind to others, they might reciprocate in kindness—or they might not! If reciprocity is our only goal, our motives will be suspect, and we might easily be disappointed.
Jesus doesn’t mention reciprocity at all! The reason Jesus gives for The Golden Rule is, “...this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
The “Law and the Prophets” was the entire Old Testament, telling the story of God’s gracious covenant with his people, and expressing God’s will for his people.
The Law laid out God’s guidelines for righteousness and justice, and the Prophets reminded the people how they should live. Sometimes it got a little complicated, because human relationships can be complicated, and the social dimensions of living together as God’s people can be complicated. Yet underlying all the laws and prophetic messages was trust in God, who desires the best for his people.
Life today can be complicated. The rules for interactions between men and women, companies and workers, rich and poor, aren’t always obvious or effective. Political and economic issues are sometimes murky, with no easy solutions.
Yet Jesus gives us a simple guide: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets [God’s will for his people].”
Not everyone is motivated to live by The Golden Rule! Some are guided by, “Do to others before they do to you.” Others prefer, “Do to others if you trust them to do the same to you.”
Jesus says, “Do to others…” because you trust GOD’s goodness.
You love your neighbor, even your enemy, because God loves you unconditionally.
You seek righteousness and justice, even when it costs you, because you believe God’s way is good for all.
You devote your efforts and resources to the needs of people who cannot reciprocate or give back, trusting in God to reward you.
You seek to build a community that is a foretaste of the kingdom of God, because in Christ, the kingdom is already among his disciples.
You do all this, not because you trust people to do the same for you, but because you trust God’s goodness, and you want to experience more of the kingdom of God.
A healthy Christian life is a life of trust in the goodness of our Father-God, and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. It changes how we pray, and it changes how we treat people around us.
