Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, 10 or a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
12 “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.
Jesus’ words come near the close of the Sermon on the Mount. He has described the kind of righteousness that belongs to the kingdom of heaven. Now he turns to prayer and to the way we treat others, and he shows that the two belong together.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” The three commands describe one reality: prayer marked by trust and perseverance. They refer to prayer and encourage steady confidence (cf. Lk 18:1; 1 Thes 5:17). The verbs move from simple request (“ask”), to effort (“seek”), to persistence (“knock”). Yet the emphasis falls not on technique but on the character of God. “For everyone who asks, receives.” The promise rests on who the Father is. He gives what is best for his children, which is not always identical with what they ask for.
Jesus strengthens this confidence with a simple image. No father would hand his son a stone when he asks for bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish. A father would not deceive his child. If human parents, who are “wicked” in comparison with God’s perfect goodness, know how to give good gifts, “how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.” The “how much more” is a familiar rabbinic form of reasoning. If something is true at a lesser level, it is all the more true at the greater.
“Good things” include not only material necessities but also the grace needed to live as God’s children. Luke’s parallel makes this explicit: the Father gives the “Holy Spirit” (Lk 11:13). In the Sermon, this teaching on prayer echoes earlier calls to trust the Father’s care (Mt 6:25-34). God is not distant. He is attentive and generous toward his children.
Then Jesus draws the conclusion: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” The Golden Rule is not detached from what comes before. It flows from it. Because the Father gives good things to those who ask, his children are to reflect that goodness in their dealings with others.
This saying serves as a summary of the Sermon’s moral teaching, and it points ahead to Jesus’ later summary of the whole law as love of God and love of neighbor (Mt 22:34-40). Versions of this rule were known in Israel and beyond, often phrased negatively: do not do to others what you would not want done to you (cf. Tob 4:15; Sir 31:15). Jesus states it positively. He calls his disciples not only to avoid harm, but to choose concrete acts of kindness.
It also calls for honest self-awareness. A person can ask, “What do I hope others will do for me when I am weak, pressured, or misunderstood?” and then give that same patience, fairness, and mercy to others. In this way, the Golden Rule becomes a daily pattern of charity that fits the whole Sermon. It also prepares for Jesus’ later command to love as he loves (Jn 13:34), which sets the fullest measure of Christian love.
Trust the Father. Ask him for what you need. Receive from him what is good. Then let that same pattern shape your conduct. Our Father does not mock his children or give them what harms them. He gives what is good. Therefore, those who call him “Father” must not withhold good from others. Prayer and charity are not separate themes. The one who trusts the Father’s goodness is called to become a sign of that goodness.
Father in heaven, teach us to trust you when we ask, seek, and knock. Form our hearts by your generosity, so that we may do good to others as you have done good to us. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Mt 7:7-12; cf. Lk 11:9-13; Lk 18:1; Mt 6:25-34; Mt 22:34-40; Jn 13:34.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, Matthew, p. 19.
- New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), Matthew, p. 646, para. 47.
- Navarre Bible: St. Matthew’s Gospel, pp. 68-69.
- Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), Matthew, pp. 923-924.
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century (2020), Matthew, p. 1186.
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