Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Matthew 7:7-12 - The Greatest Sermon: Asking, Seeking, and Knocking

Doug Partin – The Christian Church – Aug 26, 2020

I searched the internet for “ask, seek, knock,” and was rewarded with a long list of devotions, sermons and books on prayer, most of which said that Jesus was, with these words, talking about making your desires known to God. Which is true, but most of them took what Jesus said and used it as a spring board to jump to what they wanted to say about prayer, and as a result I read a lot of misinformation about what Jesus meant when He encouraged this crowd to “Ask, seek, and knock.”

Some indicated that Jesus was teaching that we should pray, pray more, and pray harder and eventually we’ll wear God down and He’ll give us what we want. Like Abraham did when God revealed to Him that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. That disclosure got Abraham’s attention because his nephew and his family lived there. He didn’t want them to die because of someone else’s sin. So, Abraham started asking, seeking and knocking.

He asked God, “If there are only 50 righteous people there will you spare the city, or will you destroy the righteous who live there because of the unrighteous?” He kept right on seeking what he wanted by pressing his point. “What if there were only 45? Will you destroy them all because 5 are missing of the 50?” And then he started knocking. “What if there are only 30? Only 20? What if there are only 10 righteous?” In the end, Abraham’s nephew and his daughters were spared, with the help of angels that God sent. But the city was destroyed. So, I have to ask, “Is Abraham’s bargaining with God really an example of what Jesus was talking about?”

Others brought up the time when the disciples were gathered, praying for Peter’s release from prison. That story begins when King Herod laid his hands on some who belonged to the church to mistreat them. We are not told, but assume that the church prayed long and hard for their release. But James, the brother of John was not released, but put to death with a sword. And when Herod discovered that this pleased the Jews, he had other believers arrested, including Peter. (Acts 12:1-19)

The church prayed for him too, as they had for James, but Peter was released, also with the help of an angel. Was James’ death the result of the church not praying hard enough for him? But they were more fervent in their prayers, and therefore successful when they asked for Peter’s release? I’m not sure that this is really what Jesus was talking about in His sermon.

And some brought up that time when Paul prayed that the “thorn in his flesh” be removed, and he did so three times. Evidently that was the equivalent of asking, seeking and knocking for Paul. He was used to seeing people made well the first time he prayed for them. But he was not given any relief for his own ailment. He concluded that God’s grace was sufficient for him, and that his “thorn in the flesh” was not removed because it made him rely more upon God than on himself, and that was, evidently, a lesson he needed to learn. Was this the sort of thing that Jesus was talking about? Again, I’m not so sure. (2 Cor. 12:7)

Prayer and God’s response to it can be a difficult thing to understand. And in regard to “asking, seeking, and knocking,” there are a lot of voices that muddy the water; and I’m not talking about the sort of mud that Jesus used to heal the blind man at the pool of Siloam so he could see clearly (John 9:6). These competing voices make it more difficult to see clearly.

So, let’s start our study of what Jesus said, by asking, “For what are we to ask, seek, and knock?” Especially since Jesus seemed to indicate that our desires will be satisfied if we do. On reading what Jesus said it should make you wonder if this is the offer of a blank check. Is Jesus saying that we are standing in young Solomon’s shoes?

If you recall, Solomon was told that he would receive anything for which he asked God. He didn’t ask for wealth or long life or power or his enemies’ lives, but for an understanding heart to judge God’s people by discerning between good and evil. He wanted God’s people to experience justice under His rule. (1Kings 3:9) And Solomon was granted his request, but God also gave Him what He did not request: riches and long life. Is that what Jesus is saying will happen for us if we ask, seek, and knock? We will end up getting it all?

I can understand how you might make that conclusion, especially since there are numerous times recorded in the New Testament when Jesus seems to indicate that we can get our heart’s desire if we just ask. The words Jesus used on those occasions do give the impression that our prayers are a means of rubbing on the fabled lamp wherein lives a Gene ready to grant us three wishes.

For example. Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 18:19)

And he also said, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Mt. 21:22)

Ignoring the context of what Jesus said and to whom and for what reason has given rise to a movement in the church that is often referred to as the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. They believe that if you have enough faith, and live an obedient enough life, and you ask hard and long enough, you will be rewarded with material things. And if you don’t get these material blessings, then it is a sure sign that you are not quite right with God.

You may not have enough faith, you may have some hidden sin, but be assured that it is your fault, because God wants to give you everything your heart desires, but He can’t. Which means that you are your own worst enemy.

Which brings us back to the question, “For what are we to ask?” In hopes of finding a biblical answer, I decided to look up where the same Greek term for ‘ask’ shows up elsewhere in the Bible.

Asking is what Herodias did, and she received John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Asking is what the chanting crowd did, and they received Barabbas’ freedom. And asking is what the people in Nazareth did, but they only received the sign of Jonah. Asking is what James and John did in hopes of sitting on the right and left hand of Jesus when He came into His glory, but they were told, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They answered ‘yes,’ but Jesus knew that they would not be able to do so. It would be two thieves who would end up on either side of Jesus at the cross. And as for heaven, Jesus told them, those positions were not for Him to give, but His Father in heaven. (Mk 10:38)

Using this particular term for “asking,” and they had about seven such terms, was the most common way to seek help in getting something that you desire. No surprise there. But in the context of Jesus’ sermon, in which He has been talking to them about living by a Higher standard. He seems to have in mind that this particular ‘ask’ would be to God and it would be in the form of a prayer. And it would be for help to live as Jesus taught. But, we are not told specifically for what we are to ask; so it is a little frustrating.

So, let’s move onto the next word, “seeking.” I found that seeking rest is what unclean spirits do when they pass out of a person, but finding no rest, they return to the person to see if they are unoccupied, and if they find this person in that state, they invite other evil spirits to join them. That’s a scary thought.

Seeking Jesus is what Mary and her other sons did, but unlike the evil spirits, they found Jesus teaching in a house so packed that they had to remain outside while word was sent to Jesus that they had arrived. Jesus took it as an opportunity to talk about how everyone who believes is a part of His family. We are not told, but assume that Mary got to spend some time with her Son later.

Mary was not the only one seeking Jesus. For that is what the Chief Priests and Scribes did, but they were hoping to destroy Him. But interestingly enough, once they found Jesus they were afraid of the crowd that surrounded Him, so they did not seize Him after all. But they would later when the time was right.

It is pretty obvious that seeking is an intense form of searching, and that is rewarded only when you find that for which you sought. Our young adults went geocaching last Tuesday night, a game of searching and finding. There are geocaches hidden all over town. It was a lot of fun. The intrinsic reward of finding them can be so addictive that it can become an obsession. Our experience reminded me to be thankful that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and He is relentless in doing so. And when He finds one, all of heaven rejoices with Him.

But the kind of seeking that Jesus seems to have had in mind in this part of His sermon is a spiritual quest for an encounter with God which impacts our daily lives. How we treat the people around us. Doing for them, as we would want to be treated. It is a striving to be under His influence in some real and meaningful way. But as with the asking, we are not really told, specifically, about what we are to seek.

So, let’s move onto knocking. Maybe we’ll have better luck there. Knocking is what those did after the door was closed in Jesus’ parable that answered the question “will only a few be saved?” They sought until they found the door, and then they knocked and knocked and knocked, but the door was not opened to them. It was through a closed door that they were told, “I do not know where you are from.” They pleaded, saying, “But we ate with you, and drank with you, and You taught in our streets.” But He told them to depart from Him because He did not know them. (Luke 13:25)

Knocking is what Peter did, and continued to do, after Rhoda who was so overjoyed to see him, that she left him standing at the closed door while she went to tell the other disciples that he was at the door instead of in prison. They were still praying for his release, and they thought that it might be Peter’s angel, but that it wasn’t really him. She finally convinced them to come and open the door and see for themselves; and when they did, there was Peter, in person, an answer to their prayers.

In another parable, knocking is what the master did upon his own door after returning from a wedding feast late in the night. His servants had been told that he would return, and they were ready and waiting to open the door for him when he knocked on it.

This parable reminded me of a line from the letter to the church in Laodicea that is recorded in the book of Revelation. They were told, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev. 3:20.

Knocking was, as it is for us, their way of indicating that a person wanted a closed door opened, but from what we’ve discovered, if God is the one who closed the door; then no amount of knocking will open it.

The knocking that Jesus seems to have had in mind in His sermon on the mount is a constant pleading for the Lord to open up His storehouse and pour out His good gifts on His people. I say that because of what comes next in Jesus’ sermon.

The answer to our prayers is equated to good gifts being given to us from a benevolent Father. To make this point crystal clear Jesus said that even an “evil” person knows how to give good gifts to their son. For example, He said, if an evil person’s son asks for bread, he wouldn’t give him a rock.

If he asked for fish, he wouldn’t be given a snake. If he were to ask for eggs, he would not give him a scorpion, he’d give him some eggs. And if an evil person can give what is good, then we can trust that a good God will definitely give His “sons” what is good.

Again, we don’t find the specific answer to what Jesus was telling this crowd to ask, seek, and knock. But in a similar sermon, and Jesus seems to have given this sort of sermon on quite a few occasions, you will find the answer.

If you were to take a look at what is commonly referred to as the “sermon on the plain” which is recorded in Luke’s gospel, which parallels the sermon on the mount, nearly word for word in some places. You would find that Jesus said that he was specifically talking to them about God giving the Holy Spirit to those who asked, sought, and knocked in hopes of receiving it (Luke 11:13).

And that makes a whole lot of sense to me. We have to remember that this crowd lived before God poured out His Spirit from heaven as was promised. They did not have its indwelling presence to prompt them, to guide them, to counsel them, or even to convict them of sin. They did not bear its fruit, nor were they gifted by it with special abilities. I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to imagine following Jesus, living the kind of life He advocated, without the presence of the Holy spirit.

If I didn’t have the Spirit, but wanted to live like Jesus taught; then I would ask for, seek, and knock upon God’s door in hopes of being given His Holy Spirit that I might live for Him.

I feel that this sort of asking, seeking, and knocking was done by the disciples while they waited for the Lord to keep His promise to send to them the Holy Spirit, which eventually took place on the day of Pentecost; and now takes place when a person gives their life to Christ.

As Peter told a crowd who had gathered around Him on the day of Pentecost; a crowd who was asking, seeking, and knocking. Peter had just told them that the strange things that they had witnessed that day evidenced that God had made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom they had crucified.

They were pierced to the heart. And they asked Peter if there was anything that they could do in regard to the closed door that stood between them and God. And Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts. 2:38.

They did as Peter directed, and 3000 of them were saved that day, and church, as we know it was born. And we still rely upon God’s Spirit each and every day as we strive to live for Christ.

And just as God had given them a good thing; setting the example of love, they started loving on one another. It says that they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. (Acts 2:44-45). That kind of transformation of a crowd only happens when they receive the Holy Spirit.

And it is the kind of transformation that God will bring about in us, but we must first come to Him asking, seeking, and knocking. And He will give to us His Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Gracious Father in heaven. It is hard to imagine what life would be like without the presence, power, and protection of Your Holy Spirit. May we bear its fruit, and share the good gifts we have received from You through it. And may we share that same good news that you are ready to open the door of salvation to those who ask, seek, and knock, and will pour out your Spirit upon them, just as you have on us. And thereby transform their lives. Amen.