An Expositional Study Of The Sermon On The Mount
THE KEYS OF THE VAULTS
Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:7-12 (KJV)
ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU; SEEK, AND YE SHALL FIND; KNOCK, AND IT SHALL BE OPENED UNTO YOU: FOR EVERY ONE THAT ASKETH RECEIVETH; AND HE THAT SEEKETH FINDETH; AND TO HIM THAT KNOCKETH IT SHALL BE OPENED. OR WHAT MAN IS THERE OF YOU, WHOM IF HIS SON ASK BREAD, WILL HE GIVE HIM A STONE? OR IF HE ASK A FISH, WILL HE GIVE HIM A SERPENT? IF YE THEN, BEING EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS UNTO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THEM THAT ASK HIM? THEREFORE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM: FOR THIS IS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.
Introduction
The Lord has already dealt with the matter of prayer, giving us a pattern whereon we may frame our prayers. Now, as He draws His Sermon to a close, He returns to prayer. This is the only subject discussed twice in the Sermon on the Mount. Surely, we can infer from this the supreme importance it holds in the Lord's mind. But, there are other things in this passage that we now consider as perhaps an introduction to the main theme. First,
The burden of privilege
For the most part, the Lord is addressing His children – those who, as He explained to Nicodemus, have entered into a relationship with Him (John 3:3, 5). What high privileges; but privileges carry responsibilities. In such a high station of life, children of God must exhibit a high quality of living. Consider now what kind of life and behavior is entailed:
Consider the whole Sermon on the Mount
We need to consider the whole Sermon. In outline, the Beatitudes gave us the portrait of what a citizen’s character should be. “Blessed” indeed is such a person. But, it is an exalted picture. The salt, the light, the city, were given as illustrations of the influence Christians are to exercise on the world around: staying the corruption; radiating the light; being responsible – a most difficult undertaking. A Christian’s righteousness is to “exceed” that of the Pharisees. Their religious duties went further than the strict requirements of the Law, and were to be performed with the most meticulous care and fidelity. We are to go further. How can this be? The inwardness of the Law’s demands
has been unfolded to us, showing that we are expected to observe not merely the letter but the spirit that is far more difficult. A series of warnings has been addressed to us, bidding us beware of: ostentation, worldliness, anxiety, and divided service. A life that corresponds with all this will truly be a holy life. The point is this: the onus of it is laid on each and every one who possesses the high privilege of being a Christian. We need much grace from God if it is ever to be accomplished.
The immediate context
Consider the immediate context. The Lord may have intended this text as a follow-up to that part of the Sermon on the Mount He has just enunciated, not of the whole. From the beginning of Matthew 7, we have been taught how delicate the Christian life is to be lived. It is a world of motes and beams, infested with dogs and swine. The Christian has to steer a course between censoriousness on one hand and exercising discrimination on the other. This is no easy task and we need much wisdom to accomplish it.
The closing verse
Consider the closing verse. In Matthew 5:17, the Lord said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets.” Since that statement, the Lord has in succession taken up a number of representative enactments of the Law, laying them on us in all their spiritual meaning and requirement. Now, in verse 12 of our text, as if summing up all that He has previously spoken on the matter, the Lord says, “this is the law and the prophets.” What is this summary; this “conclusion of the whole matter,” as Ecclesiastes 12:13 would say? “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matt. 7:12). We call this the “golden rule.” Some have said there is nothing original about it, pointing out that in slightly different phrases it was said by teachers before Christ, such as Hillel the Jewish Rabbi, Socrates, Aristotle, Confucius, and others. Yes, in a way, but there is a great difference. Those before the Lord said, “Do not.” With them it was merely negative and passive. Refrain from doing others harm. Do not do anything to others that you would not like others to do to you. But the Lord said, “Do.” With Jesus it is positive and active – do good to others. Do everything to them that you would like them to do to you. Treat others as you want to be treated. What a difference. How wonderful to contemplate and dream of a world accepting as its slogan the Lord’s teaching on “doing” unto others. Is it too much to hope that the church of our Lord will one day be sweetened by the elimination of: jealousy, backbiting, slander, jockeying for position, and criticism of others? Would that not be a grand day? In another place, quoting from the Old Testament, the Lord gave a different summing up of duty toward our neighbor when He said, “Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” In the New Testament there are two chief words translated “love.” One is “natural” – to be fond of. The other is “supernatural” – to have deep love for. It is the latter word that is used when the Bible speaks of God’s love for us. It is interesting that this is also the same word used in Holy Scripture referring to the love we should have for our neighbor. When a child of God considers all this, it is understandable why there is often a feeling of aghast; that we must do this or that. The very idea of it all can make one feel like a weakling and pauper. Can it all be done? What grace, wisdom, and love it will need. Our personal slender resources could never be equal to such exacting demands. But, consider
The vaults of provision
Our Heavenly Father’s “good gifts” (v. 11) constitute a veritable Storehouse, a great repository, more than sufficient for our requirements. Included in that Storehouse are all ordinary things: “bread,” a necessity for maintaining life; and “fish,” to provide a tasty addition. In Luke 11:12, the Lord adds an “egg.” “Bread” and “fish” would have been familiar to the Galilean peasantry who formed the larger population of the Lord’s hearers and disciples. Consider the loaves and fishes in John 6:9, and the fish and bread in John 21:9. God is well able to supply this from His Storehouse, and has encouraged us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). Whether we regard this as referring to the necessities of physical life or of spiritual life, still it is true that God can certainly look after His children.
All good things
All good things are in His Storehouse. God has only good things in stock; and He gives only good things to His children. Sometimes, we may ask for a “stone,” imagining in our ignorance that it would be good for us; or we plan, work, and scheme for it, until we finally get it. But, God never gives us stones, though He may allow us to obtain it so we may learn by our foolishness. We can be sure that when we ask for “bread,” He will not give us a stone. Everything God does by way of answering our prayers is good; and His giving is good.
His withholding and substituting is also good. In appearance, the loaves of the period were like the small flat, rounded stones of the place. Satan drew the Lord’s attention to that in the wilderness, “command that these stones be made bread” (Matt. 4:3). They looked like bread, so he tempted the Lord to make them bread. As for the serpents, the fishermen among His disciples would often find a water-snake amid the catch in their nets; but no earthly father would, on a superficial resemblance, palm off a serpent on his son when he wanted fish. If fish is not good for us, God might substitute something else, but it will not be a harmful serpent. There are occasions when we think: bad gifts are not bad; and “good gifts” are not good. A mother thinks a dose of medicine is good for her child; but the child thinks otherwise. Mother knows best. So, from or through God’s hand things may come into our lives that do not seem good; yet, God never makes a mistake, and “we know all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28). From this point of view it is interesting to note that there are two words in the Greek rendered “good” in the A.V.: The first means intrinsically good, whether it seems so or not; the second means obviously good. The latter word is in Matthew 5:16, “that they may see your good works,” evidently good; no room for argument. The former word is in our present text. God’s “good gifts” may not always appear such, but they always are. He may not always give us what we ask for, but He always gives us something. He may know that we find “bread” indigestible. He will not, instead, give us a stone – which we would find more indigestible – but He will provide something good.
Things of the Spirit
All Spirit things are there. In Luke 11:13, the Lord treats this same theme in a different connection and way when He says, “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Do Christians have to ask for the Holy Spirit? Do not all Christians have the Holy Spirit? Yes, in fact, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9). Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “the Holy Ghost which is in you.”
What does our text mean?
What then, does our present text mean? First of all, we should note that the word, “the,” is not in the original. It should read, “give Holy Spirit.” This form occurs in the Greek Testament fifty-four times; where the definite article is attached in thirty-four instances. There is nothing accidental in Bible terminology and phraseology: there will always be a reason and meaning. “When the article is present, it refers to the Person Himself. When the article is absent, it refers to His gifts, or operations on our behalf” (Dr. James E. Priest). In our present text, the promise is that He will give a particular gift of the Holy Spirit as we ask. What a supremely “good gift” this is. Earlier in our study, we considered our need for “love.” Well, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5).
God will supply all our needs
We stand before God’s vast emporium of “good gifts.” When we consider this truth, our “burden” should dwindle by comparison. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). “Your need” may be great; yet, see it in relation to the other great words of Philippians 4:19, “my God . . . your need . . . His riches.” Notice how the need shrinks, not in itself, but in comparison. The “burden” of the Good Life laid on the Christian by virtue of a privileged position as a child of God, can never in itself be anything other than great. But, whereas at one time it looked impossible to achieve, it now seems to be within the realm of accomplishment alongside the Valuts of Provision, like Joseph’s granaries packed with their abundance. The Vaults of Heaven’s Bank contain immeasurable wealth. How can a child of God get to it? How are the mighty doors opened? How are the colossal chambers entered? Can a Christian bring forth from these resources sufficient to see him through this business of living? Thanks to God there is a way. It is by the use of
The key of prayer
“Give good gifts,” “give Holy Spirit gifts,” “to them that ask Him,” says the Lord. This is the key to the Vaults. This is a key constructed with three parts. The first, “ask.” Five times the word, “ask,” is used in two verses. We are to come as children. The Lord does not say to whom we are to come. But, He has already told us in Matthew 6:9, “After this manner pray ye: Our Father” – as trustfully and simply as a child turns to a father in need. Yet, there should never be an irreverent familiarity about our coming or language. We should never forget that He is more than simply our Father. It is an interesting thing that there are two particular words translated “ask” or “pray” in our Version: one means to ask of one who is our superior; the other means to ask of one who is our equal. When the Lord speaks about His praying, He always avoids the first, employing the second. Addressing God, He speaks as only He can – as an Equal. How exact the language of the Bible is; how worth-while to study it with meticulous care. By the very word adopted to describe our approach to Him, we are reminded of our immense inferiority and are kept humble in our coming.
Dependants
We are to come as dependants. The very act of asking is a tacit acknowledgment of need; and of His power to meet our need. One problem some of us have is that we do not know our need, but God rejoices to see the mark of humbleness in His children.
Keep on asking
This “asking” is not as simple as it sounds. It is not simply the momentary preferring of a request, then going off to other business. The tense of the verbs used in these verses justifies the rendering, “Keep on asking . . . keep on seeking . . . keep on knocking.” In Revelation 3:20, we find the same tense, which gives added poignancy to the Lord’s attitude and words, “Behold, I keep on standing at the door, and I keep on knocking.” What tender patience the picture conveys. And now, standing at His door a like persistence is enforced on us – we are to keep on knocking; keep on asking.
Be specific
Notice that prayer is asking for specific things. We should go to God with particular requests for particular things, with the assurance that particular answers will, within His will be obtained. Yes, “everyone that asketh receiveth” – perhaps not always what we ask for, but always something better; maybe not the same time we ask for, but the best time. We can say with the poet, “I believe God answers prayer; I am sure God answers prayer; I have proved God answers prayer; Glory to His Name.”
“Seek”
So, ask, and keep on asking. If the answer does not come, then we should “seek.” We should turn aside from looking for the things we desire, and look for the Person Who can give it. Suppose there is a good friend living near, from whom we want something. Going to his house, we stay at the gate, calling out to him, “Will you give me this or that?” We get no answer, so we call out again and perhaps again. But, getting no response, we go around the side of the house, seeking him out so we can make our request known. Then, failing to find him, we retrace our steps to the front door and knock, perhaps several times, until at last, he appears and attends to our need. As a matter of fact, he heard our first call, but for some good reason delayed his response.
Make no mistake, the Father hears His children, and if there is no immediate answer there must be good reason, so continue asking. But, if the answer still does not come, perhaps it means we have lost touch with Him, and will need to “seek” Him. It is so easy to lose touch. Some bit of compromise; disobedience; harsh criticism of someone; some other little thing. God is always available, but it is often not so easy for us to get in touch with Him again. We call attention to the fact that after Joseph and Mary had been up to Jerusalem with Jesus, it took them a day to lose Him, and three days to find Him again (Luke 2:44, 46). At whatever pains or cost, go back to the place where we lost touch with Him. Renew that happy, privileged contact we once enjoyed, and then “ask.” Occasionally, the newspaper tells about a lawyer wanting urgently to “ask” for an injunction. He has to “seek” out or follow some judge to perhaps a holiday resort, a golf course, etc., before being in a position to “ask.” If our “asking” has been of no avail, it may be (though not necessarily so, as we will soon see) that we are out of touch with God. Then we must “seek” and keep on “seeking,” until we are back to a close relationship with Him once again. It is much more important to once again be close to Him than to get something.
“Knock”
However, the delayed answer may not be due to a loss of contact. In that case “knock.” He will have a good reason for staying His hand. It will never be that He is unwilling to bless. He may be testing us. God knows us well enough without testing, but perhaps He wants to reveal to us just how earnest we are about that for which we are asking. So, “knock.” Let the Lord see that we are prepared to “knock” until the answer comes. In Luke 11:5f, the Lord tells the story of the persistent friend at midnight, “Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him” (Luke 5:8). Then, He proceeds: ask; seek; knock; and keep on. Our spirit should be like that of the old patriarch in Genesis 32:26, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” God graciously desires to reward holy and humble determination of spirit. Therefore, do not give up.
Summary
Here, then, is the Key to the Vaults – prayer. We must learn how to use it properly. When we do, we will discover the wonderful Storehouse. We will also discover what the Storehouse can yield, bringing us within appropriating reach of the illimitable provision that makes the Good Life with God gloriously possible. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). Yes, it can be opened. The proper use of the Key is bound up in our heart and life. If we are right with God then we have power with God (John 15:7; 1 John 3:22). James says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (5:16). Yes, the prayer of a man whose heart is right with God works wonders. Why? Because it turns the lock opening the Storehouse. So, then, by proper use (a holy life) let us see that our key does not jam or rust by constant use.
