The Father’s Good Gifts

Matthew 7:9-11   ||   Luke 11:11-13

Kacy Madsen

Setting:

          The parable of the "Father’s Good Gifts" is found in both Luke and in Matthew.  Most biblical scholars presume that both gospels derived it from a common source, "Q" (for the German Quelle -- "source"). Each evangelist modified this source to suit the needs of their respective audiences.  In both gospels the parable of the "Father’s Good Gifts" closely follows the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) and Jesus' encouragement to prayer using the "ask, seek, knock" sequence (Matt. 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10) (Hagner, 173).  Thus, the hearers of the parable were prepared to receive the message about the Heavenly Father’s desire and ability to provide for His children.

          Most interpreters ascribe the "Father’s Good Gifts," in some form, to Jesus.  "The extravagant trust in the goodness and generosity of God, along with the appeal to the Father / son relationship with God [presented in this parable], fits well the concerns of the historical Jesus" (Nolland 629).

 Exegetical Analysis:

          Although both Matthew and Luke used a common source as a basis for the parable of the "Father’s Good Gifts," there are several significant differences between them.  There are contrasting images of what a father will or will not give in response to his child’s requests.  Nolland points out that "Luke bears the main responsibility for the significant reformation …  apparently for reasons of syntax and to clarify the thematic development of the material” (629).  Luke’s version seems to retain the more original form of the “egg” / ”scorpion” pair. But Matthew’s reference to “good things” is probably more original that Luke’s “Holy Spirit” (Noland 629).  Matthew’s “good things” is considered more original due to its broader application including spiritual gifts, whereas Luke’s reference to the “Holy Spirit” is much more specific and reflects his interest in the Holy Spirit (Hultgren 238).  For Luke, “the Spirit ‘is the ultimate gift of answered prayer.’  It is the basis for joy, strength, and courage…”; to Luke the Spirit represented all good things from God, and thus its imagery was as broadly applicable as the “good gifts” utilized by Matthew (Hultgren 239).

          The images utilized by the two evangelists, which contrast what a father would not give his child in response to what was actually requested, appear to be quite obvious.  Visual similarities tie the pairs together: “Round stones look like loaves of bread; a snake can resemble a fish; when a scorpion rolls up it can apparently resemble an egg” (Hagner 174). The functional juxtapositions present in the pairs are also obvious: A rock could not serve as food. A father would not give a poisonous snake or scorpion to his child.  These pairs are presented as rhetorical questions:  “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, … will give him a serpent in place of a fish … ?” (Luke 11:11).  No father would respond to this request by giving his child a snake. “The (assumed) negative answer to this question then becomes the basis for a ‘how much more’ statement” (Nolland 629). If flawed human parents look out for the best interests of their children, how much more gracious will be the response of the Heavenly Father to the prayers of his human creatures.

          The phrase “being evil” used to refer to human beings “need not have a moral connotation, as though Jesus' hearers were [especially] wicked.”  Rather, it should be regarded as “a comparative term in which a contrast is made between God, who is absolutely good, and human beings, who are not” (Hultgren 237).

 Message:

The "Father’s Good Gifts" was introduced to the people following the giving of the Lord’s Prayer and succeeding Jesus' direction to “ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be open unto you” (Luke 11: 9-10).  Jesus tried to make a point about the importance of prayer -- He was reminding His followers to “Ask” (Hagner 175). And in His command for us to “Ask,” Jesus reminds us that “faith in God stands at the beginning of this parable and is not its result” (Hultgren 239). We pray because we are convinced that God can be trusted.

          Jesus invites his followers to lean upon the faithfulness of their Father in Heaven, to find their confidence in Him.  He reminds that just as an earthly father nurtures and provides for his children the Heavenly Father will provide good gifts to an even greater extent!  Indeed, God “will not even withhold His Holy Spirit from those who make request to Him.”  This Spirit is “God’s highest gift.” Because He has given us His personal presence, this “should give us every assurance that [God] will not withhold from us anything that we need” (Nolland 132). 

Application:         

Good gifts.  What exactly does that mean?  Let us analyze the value system of our Nation.  In this Nation the phrase “good gifts” may take on a connotation quite perverse in comparison to that which Jesus was trying to portray.  In a society where celebrities make more money than government officials and where personal worth is so contingent upon our possessions, it is hard to understand the concept of “good gifts”, as it would have existed when Jesus spoke this parable. 

The notion of value is so subjective.  When our University's brass band was held up at gunpoint in Papua New Guinea during our tour there in the summer of 2000, my conception of value was reinvented.  My view of value was not changed in the traditional way that this kind of experience might normally afford -- I didn’t suddenly become more aware of how precious life is.  Maybe I would have under different circumstances. But the events surrounding the hold-up perverted the idea of the sanctity of life that a similar situation might normally enhance.  The evening after we were held up, we received an update on the events that transpired regarding the robbers that afternoon.  

First, I should clarify that the hold-up was not an incredibly traumatizing experience and only a few things were stolen -- a backpack, a few wallets, but nothing major.  But that evening we were told that a few of the men who had robbed us had been chased down and shot.  When I heard that news my heart felt hollow and I considered the value trade that had been made: the loss of a backpack and a few wallets -- mere lifeless fibers -- was vindicated through the loss of a human life. While we walked away from the situation a few dollars poorer, the families of these men stumbled away with the loss of a husband, a father, a provider, and a love.  I was appalled at how easily a life was exchanged for material items and I wrote this poem:

The wind is blowing, black leaves whispering

I feel this chill.

I swallow,

But what I swallow becomes fibers --

Organic material lodged

In my throat -- gagging me.

And the sounds surround me

And the voices whirl in my head.

 

Distracted from the thoughts

That bear down on me.

When I close my eyes I can

Fell the pressure of my heartbeat,

I feel a rage inside.

Fibers, organic material

Swept away by the power we rape,

Rape when we have no right --

Victims of greater victims.

 

Reconciliation.

Achievement of reconciliation. 

Defined by what?

Defined when the rage is calmed?

Defined when we feel safe, vindicated?

 

Value.

Fibers, organic material --

Devalued by judgment,

Dealt by the victims of victims

Who rage inside.

 

Black leaves fall around me,

Whispering in my ear.

I feel a chill.

 

Fibers, organic material,

I swallow them all.

 

Good gifts ... . what does that mean?  I think it means all things lovely and pure and noble, things of substance, things of beauty.  But in all cases these good things are those that our Heavenly Father, in His wisdom and mercy, desires to give us.  Therefore, we must seek the heart of God to know what we should be asking for, lest our perverse, human value system govern the desires of our hearts.