Klarey Collins
9/18/07
BL 425
Exegetical Paper #2
The Father’s Good Gifts
(Matthew 7:9-11 / Parallel - Luke 11:11-13)
Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV):
9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will
give him a snake? 11 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!”
Luke 11:11-13 (NIV):
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks
for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him!"
Setting:
The parable of The Father’s Good Gift’s is presented by Jesus to the “crowds”
during His Sermon on the Mount near the beginning of His ministry. Jesus has just
finished telling the listeners, to “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; hoe who
seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 [NIV]).
After reading the verses prior to the parable itself, it is simple to conclude that the verses
before indicate that if we do as it says, we will receive, find, and doors will be opened.
Hultgren points out that, “The sayings of Jesus appear to promise more than one can
expect. By means of this parable Jesus seeks to show that such is not the case” (Hultgren
237). After Jesus gives the parable of The Father’s Good Gifts, He continues on teaching
with more parables in the Sermon on the Mount until He moves down from the mountain
side and cures the man with leprosy.
Exegetical Analysis:
The parables presented in Matthew and Luke are essentially very similar in
concept. However, “We actually have twin sayings in each Gospel, and only one is
common to both - the illustration concerning the son asking for a fish (Matt 7:10//Luke
11:11)” (Hultgren 235) which brings out a point of disagreement between the exact
similarity of the parables themselves. In Matthew 7:9-10 there are the bread/stone and
fish/snake questions. Where as in Luke 11:11-12 the parable uses a fish and snake, and an
egg and scorpion to ask the question. The World Biblical Commentary brings to attention
two ideas that could have possibly been reasons why the parables where different. “If
Matthew and Luke are using the same form of Q, the bread/stone question could have
been added by Matthew, bread being a staple food, and the egg/scorpion question omitted
because of difficulty in seeing a connection between these last two items. On the other
hand, the two forms could represent two independent oral traditions…” (Hagner 173).
A newer reader may become confused with the verse Matthew 7:11, “If you, then,
though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children…” (NIV). The idea of
knowing how to give good gifts but still being called evil does not go well together. The
term “evil” needs clarification. Hultgren explains, “The phrase ‘being evil’ is used in
reference to human beings. It need not have a moral connotation, as though Jesus’ hearers
are wicked. It can be regarded, rather, as a comparative term in which a contrast is made
between God, who is absolutely good, and human beings, who are not. ‘There is only one
who is good,’ namely, God (Matt 19:17)” (Hultgren 239). Romans 3:23 “..for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, is another area in scripture that goes to show a
reader, that we are all considered “evil” and by that, in no way comparable to the
goodness of God and that there are no exceptions. No one is good as God is good.
Matthew 7:11 and Luke 11:13 are very similar with the exception of the “good
gifts” in Matthew and the “[gift of the] Holy Spirit” in Luke. “Probably Luke wants here
to make more of a contrast between what God gives and what humans give, and so he
avoids repeating ‘good things’, heightening it and making it more specific by substituting
‘Holy Spirit’” (Hagner 173). We can understand that “good gifts” can be given even by
humans who are evil to other humans, but Luke advances the idea that God who is the
only one that is good, can give the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Message:
The initial message behind the parable of The Father’s Good Gifts is that “God’s
Fatherly care is our assurance that He will answer” (Keener 161) and that the way He will
answer us will come when we as His children, ask, seek, and knock, desiring what is
right. “Our Father will give appropriate consideration to each request his children make,
watching out for their true needs” (Keener 161) when our hearts are genuinely desiring
Him. It may sometimes not be what we were expecting or wanting, but as it says in
Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). And He does.
Application:
This parable can be applied to our lives after we can understand that we are not
good, but evil, and that only God is good. How much more His gifts must be! Even
though God does work for the good of those who love Him, sometimes those situations
that He puts us in may not be as we expected or wanted. However, understanding that
that is the truth, and He loves us more that we could imagine, should give us hope in the
situations that do not seem as appealing at the time to our benefit. As long as we
remember that His gifts are good, we should be able to make it through more difficult
situations smoother, understanding that He is with us always and has a plan for us to
grow in Him through that experience.
WORKS CITED
Hagner, Donald A. “The Answering Father.” The World Biblical Commentary:
Matthew 1-13. Ed. David A. Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker, and Ralph P.
Martin. Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1993: 173.
Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
Hultgren, Arland J. The Parables of Jesus, A Commentary. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Keener, Craig S. “Matthew 7:7-12.” Matthew: The IVP New Testament
Commentary Series. Ed. Grant R. Osborne, D. Stuart Briscoe, and Haddon
Robinson. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997: 161.