Sermon on the Mount/Matthew Chapter 7:7-14/Commentary

The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 7:7-14/Lesson 11

Matthew 7:7"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” The three words, ask, seek, and knock, are in the present imperative tense, indicating continuing action, and they suggest an increasingly unrelenting insistence in prayer. Luke (11:5-8) notes how Jesus definitely connected this teaching with exhortations to keep on praying. The term seek suggests personal effort of the one who prays to do his part toward getting his own prayers answered. “It also suggests concentration, through prayer, of all of one’s powers upon the realization of what is prayed. Knock savors of perserverent importunity despite difficulties and hindrances” (Fowler p. 410). Such teaching reminds us that God does not always grant our requests upon the first two or three utterances of it.

Good examples of people asking, seeking, and knocking, are Abraham (Genesis 18:20-33); Jacob (32:26); Elijah (James 5:16-18); Jesus (Luke 22:44); the Syrophoenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28); and the poor widow (Luke 18:1ff).

Remember, it is always understood that God will only answer prayers which are in harmony with His will (1 John 5:14), and which arise from pure motives (James 4:1-3).

Matthew 7:8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened” Jesus has already told us what are the conditions of acceptable prayers (6:1-15). Therefore, the term “everyone” means “everyone who is willing

to do His will”. God keeps His promises and clearly God wants to hear our prayers and assist us. God does not view prayer as an intrusion, rather, He delights in the prayers of the righteous (Proverbs 15:8).

Matthew 7:9-10 "Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?”

“Next, Jesus asks a series of rapid-fire rhetorical questions not only to arouse individual interest, stimulate curiosity, and draw attention to the conclusion which follows, but also to draw out of His hearers a moral decision” (Fowler p. 411). Observe that Jesus knew that most human fathers would not deliberately give their children something that would harm them. What does this verse say about fathers or mothers who deliberately harm their children? Paul does speak of people who were without “natural affection” (Romans 1:31). A snake may resemble a fish but is unfit to eat. “He envisages a situation with which all his hearers will have been daily familiar, namely a child coming to his father with a request. If he asks for bread, will he be given something which looks a bit like it, but is in fact disastrously different?” (Stott p. 184).

Matthew 7:11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” “If you then, being evil”: This does not mean that we are born depraved, for the next statement reveals that such evil people know how to do good, and remember, Jesus is addressing His disciples as well as others in the crowd. The term evil is probably being used in a relative sense. In relation or comparison to God, they were wicked. “They were imperfect, sometimes unwise, sometimes partial, sometimes fickle toward their children. But God is always wise and helpful” (Fowler p. 412). Being “evil” does not mean that we cannot correct people who are in sin (Matthew 18:15), rather, such a statement should remind us that in the presence of God, such as when we pray, we need to feel our own unworthiness (Isaiah 6:1ff; Luke 5:8).

“How much more”: Here is one of those places where God argues from the lesser to the greater. If even imperfect parents who sin know how to give good things to their children, then how much more does God know what is best for us?

“Give what is good”: God never gives us anything that is not in our best spiritual interest. Therefore, God does not entice us to sin (James 1:13). In addition, if God only gives good things, then we need to be ashamed of ourselves if we are praying for something that is not in our spiritual best interest. We need to remember this statement, because at times people claim that God is leading them in a direction (a sinful relationship they want, an unsound congregation, a false doctrine they want to believe, and so on), that is spiritually harmful.

“Father” Professor Jeremias has carefully examined the prayer literature in ancient Judah and has discovered that the Jews did not address God with the term Abba Father. Abba was an everyday word, a homely family word.

No Jew would have dared to address God in this manner, yet Jesus did.

“What could be simpler than this concept of prayer? If we belong to Christ, God is our Father, we are His children, and prayer is coming to Him with our requests. The trouble is that for many of us it seems too simple, even simplistic. In our sophistication we say we cannot believe it, and in any case it does not altogether tally with our experience. So we turn from Christ’s prayer-promises to our prayer problems” (Stott p. 185).

Matthew 7:12"Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” Here Jesus offers a handy rule of thumb for judgment of our own behavior toward others. The term therefore may connect to the teaching found in verses 1-6 concerning judging others. It may also connect with what Jesus just taught about prayer and how God treats us. If God is so good to us, then we need to be kind to others. “It may look back to the previous verse and imply that if God is good to all who seek Him in prayer, His children must be good to all likewise” (Stott p. 190). 

“The genius of our Lord is expressed in these simple words of this rule.

To the systematic theologians, the message of Jesus must be frustratingly simple, because He makes no effort to be exhaustive in stating and applying His great propositions. Jesus could have given the last word from heaven on each and every imaginable possibility regarding human relations and individual conduct. The resultant authoritiative word of the Lord would be a veritable library of Christian laws which would discourage the potential disciple and exhaust the finest efforts of the most zealous scholars and no

Christian could ever be sure of remembering all that Jesus said on any one single case” (Fowler pp. 415-416). 

“However you want people to treat you”, must be interpreted, “however you want people to treat you in what is your best spiritual interest”. The entire emphasis is upon consider the affect of something one does or says upon the other person. In addition, this is the way that God has treated us. God has always acted (7:7-11) in our best interest.



Various voices in Judaism and paganism had somewhat said what Jesus here states, but they stated this truth merely negatively, that is, “What you would not have done to yourself, do not do to others”.

Yet this can be merely the teaching of selfishness and self-interest.

“This negative statement is not so foreign to the calculating done by the selfish, because it is easily arrived at by anyone who must come to terms with his society in order to protect himself out of selfinterest” (Fowler p. 416).



Jesus is not saying, “Treat other’s well, so they will cooperate with your selfish agenda”.



Jesus demands a life of positive goodness. “He has no use for that self-complacency which is harmless, negative goodness that does nothing wrong, but never does any good either. To Jesus, omission to be helpful is sin (Luke 10:36ff; Matthew 25; James 4:17). Equally observe how Jesus summed up the Law and Prophets in a positive statement. It is not enough to praise the Law, or admire it, it was revealed to be lived.



Doing good to others, involves correcting them when they go into sin (Matthew 18:15-17). It also involves exposing those who are teaching error, so the flock can be protected (Titus 1:9-11).

“For this is the Law and the Prophets”: That is, the essence of all Old Testament morality may be summed up this the above expression.

We at times hear people today claiming that we need to talk more about “love” and not “obedience”, “commandments”, or “doctrine”. Be impressed that Jesus summed up every “doctrine” in the Old Testament under the command to love others. Love is not something higher or different than doctrine, rather, love is behind every command or doctrine

that God has given. In addition, the practice of any doctrine or command is simply the practice of loving God, loving others, or both.

People who make the above argument are ignorant of the fact that every command is an expression of love. Jesus taught the same thing in Matthew 22:37-40.

Matthew 7:13"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it” Here Jesus continues to stress the necessity of choice. The statement, enter by, stresses the fact that man has free will and that God will not put us on the narrow way or broad way, regardless of our own will. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has continually confronted us with two basic paths. We can either lay up treasure on earth or in heaven, serve God or mammon, trust God or worry, seek earthly things or spiritual things, love the praise of men or love the praise that comes from God, and so on. We have two kinds of righteousness, two kinds of devotion, the two treasures, the two masters, the two ambitions, and now the time for decision has come. Jesus will continue this theme after these verses. We will also be reminded concerning two teachers (true and false) and two foundations (rock or sand), and two fates (lost or saved).

“By the narrow gate”: The gate is not wide and then narrows, but rather, the very entrance and beginning onto the path of life is narrow and remains narrow. Jesus is the only Savior (John 14:6), and faith and baptism are the only terms of entrance (Mark 16:16). Jones reminds us, “You must start by realizing that, by becoming a Christian, you become something exceptional and unusual. You are making a break with the world, and with the crowd, and with the vast majority of people. It is inevitable; and it is important that we should know it. The Christian way of life is not popular.

It has never been popular. On the other hand, crowding through the wide gate and traveling along the broad way is the thing that everyone else seems to be doing. You cannot take the crowd with you into the Christian life: it inevitably involves a break” (p. 221).

“For the gate is wide, and way is broad that leads to destruction”: The gate is wide because the path to destruction does not demand any choices. It is the easiest thing in the world to end up lost, all one must to do is do nothing. The gate is wide because this is the way that permits one to follow their own inclinations, feelings, and personal preferences.

This road promises freedom of thought, speech, and lifestyle, but in reality, all those on this road are in bondage (John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:18). “We would all prefer to be given many more choices than only one, or better still to

fuse them all into a congolomerate religion, thus eliminating the need for any choice, but Jesus cuts across our easy-going syncretism” (Stott p.

193).

What is dangerous is that often the wide gate is disguised as the narrow gate. “Attend the church of your choice” sounds religious, but this sign hangs over the wide gate, and so does the sign, “We are all just taking different paths to heaven”. There is plenty of room on the broad way for diversity of morals and opinions. It is the road of tolerance and permissiveness. It has no curbs (except, don’t judge me), and no boundaries of neither thought nor conduct. In many senses, many people have spent a considerable amount of time making the broad way attractive and trendy. The whole objective of liberalism appears to make the broad way look “spiritual”.

“C.S. Lewis described in his autobiography how as a schoolboy of thirteen he began to ‘broaden his mind’. ‘I was soon altering ‘I believe’ to ‘one does feel’. And oh, the relief of it!….From the tyrannous noon of revelation I passed into the cool evening twilight of Higher Thought, where there was nothing to be obeyed, and nothing to be believed except what was either comforting or exciting’ (Stott p. 194).

“And many are those who enter by it”: This clear statement should be warning to anyone who thinks that “truth” is determined by how many people believe or embrace an idea. Some people have claimed that the Lord’s church cannot be right, because if it is the right path, then most people are lost, yet this is exactly what Jesus taught. Jesus has already told us that the percentage of saved people will be small. Hence, any doctrine that ridicules the exclusiveness of Christianity, or results in viewing most lost people as saved, is a false doctrine.

So why do so many people enter by the wide gate? Are they ignorant?

We could respond that, some are ignorant (Matthew 7:22-23). Jesus also pointed out that some people refuse to come to the light because they love the darkness more than the light (John 3:19-21). Jesus noted that some people do sell their souls for some earthly gain (Matthew 16:24-26), and others would rather be popular and be part of a popular movement, rather than be true followers of Christ.

“There are two crowds. Entering by the wide gate and traveling along the easy road to destruction are the many. The broad and easy road is a busy thoroughfare, thronged with pedestrians of every kind. The narrow and hard way which leads to life, however, seems to be comparatively

deserted. Jesus seems to have anticipated that His followers would be a despised minority movement” (Stott p. 195).

Matthew 7:14"For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it” “For the gate is small”: Jones notes, “Our Lord is warning against the danger of an easy salvation, against the tendency to say: ‘Just come to Christ as you are and all is going to be well’. No, the gospel tells us at the outset that it is going to be difficult. It means a radical break with the world” (p. 224). In addition, the gate is so small, that you must leave “self” outside. This statement agrees with Jesus’ teaching on counting the cost (Luke 14:26ff).

“The way is narrow”: This path has definite boundaries. One cannot think or do anything one wants on this way. The only thing that is tolerated is thinking and acting in harmony with God’s Word (2 Corinthians 10:5).

“Few are those who find it”: “There is certainly no easy optimism in this sad declaration of Jesus. Jesus intends this statistically negative picture as a frank warning that makes His disciples realists who know what to expect in His service” (Fowler p. 420).

Why do so few find the narrow way?      

It immediately weeds out anyone who is not dedicated and sincere, no religion of convenience tolerated on this way.

One must give up self!

One must give up all falsely cherished practices and ideas.

One must fully submit to God. Many false doctrines assert that one can be on the narrow way and still believe and practice some error.

The devil has convinced many people that God will not allow the vast majority to end up lost and that only a very few, if any, will end up lost.

Closing Comments



There are only two ways. There is no middle way. There is no neutral group. There is no third alternative between life and destruction, such as limited destruction, or temporary destruction. “It is hardly necessary to comment that such talk is extremely unfashionable today. People like to be uncommitted. Men are lovers of Aristotle, and of his golden mean. The most popular path is

the via media. To deviate from the middle way is to risk being dubbed an extremist or a fanatic” (Stott p. 196). 

“Anybody can follow the ordinary; but the moment you want to do something unusual, the moment you want to reach the heights, you will find that there are not many trying to do the same. It is exactly the same with respect to the Christian life” (Jones p. 225).



I am impressed by Jesus’ honesty, no matter what men think or are told by other men, the way of life is narrow.



“True evangelism, as I understand it, is one that presents to men and women the Christian life as a whole, and we must be very careful about giving the impression that people can crowd as it were, to Christ, can try to rush the strait gate without considering the narrow way. He shows us the whole life. He has not merely come to save us from punishment and from hell; He has come to make us holy, and to ‘purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works’” (Jones pp. 227-228).



One of the first steps of moving towards Christ is to break with the world of conformity (Romans 12:1-2). “One of the most difficult things that many people have to face when they become a Christian is that it is going to involve them in being unusual and exceptional. So when a man becomes a Christian he first begins to see himself as a separate unit in this great world. Formerly he had lost his individuality and identity in the great crowd of people to whom he belonged; but now he stands alone. He had been rushing madly with the crowd, but he suddenly halts” (Jones p. 222).