Ask, Seek, Knock…

Does God grant any prayer request?

Matthew 7:7-11 reads:

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

This is the version familiar to most people.

There is a parallel version found in Luke 11:9-13:

^{9 “}And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Although the Matthew version is generally more familiar and more often seen, the Lucan version is considered to be closer to the original saying (Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition), 136; Kenneth E. Bailey).

Where this observation becomes key is in the concluding phrase of these passages. The Matthew version reads, “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” In this version there appears to be no qualification for the asking, seeking, knocking. The audience could go away believing God will give anything to the one who asks, if he/she asks with enough passion, faith, diligence.

The Lucan version concludes, “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” This version is quite specific about what request God will grant without limits. In this version the audience cannot mistakenly go away believing God will grant any request or wish. In this version it is specifically the Holy Spirit that God will grant without measure.

This example I provide here shows one of the the dangers of a simplistic reading of Bible texts without, among other things, exploring variations and literary connections.

Good Friday Service 2012

Last night the Petersburg Christian Ministerial Association held its annual Community Good Friday service at the Lutheran Church. This year we read the Good Friday account from the gospel of Mark (chapter 15). It was divided among six pastors who read the passage and gave a brief thought based on it.

I was asked to be the pianist for the congregational singing and also provided a vocal solo, “Embrace the Cross.” The opening song was the hymn “Were You There.” The closing songs, “I Come to the Cross” and “O Mighty Cross,” were co-led with Pastor Tony of the Lighthouse Assemblies of God

The passage I read and talked about was Mark 15:33-41.

Here is the text of my devotional thought:

The crucifixion account in Mark forms one bookend of the gospel account. Jesus' baptism at the beginning is the other bookend. These bookends feature similarities in thematic material that introduce, at the baptism, and recap, at the crucifixion, key ideas about Jesus that Mark wants his audience to know.

First the baptism account in Mark 1:9-11...

[9] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10] And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. [11] And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

And now the very end of Jesus' life in Mark 15:37-39...

[37] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. [38] And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

There are three parallels found in these bookends:

1. First, at the baptism the heavens were torn open showing God, as Spirit, coming down to earth. At the death of Jesus the temple curtain was torn. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that this curtain depicted a panorama of the heavens. The common belief too, at that time, was that God was in some ways confined to the temple. The baptism was a foreshadowing of God's grace and salvation being offered to everyone through Jesus. The crucifixion seals that offer. It shows that no religious forms or traditions of man can confine God's grace.

2. The second parallel is in regards to the words Spirit and breathed. Both derive from a common Greek word, pneo, meaning “to breathe.” At the baptism, Jesus received the Spirit. At his death, he breathed his last. This symbolizes Jesus as the source and giver of life. Without Jesus there is no life. Jesus willingly gave up his own life so that he could become a life-giver to all.

3. Finally the third parallel is the witness at each bookend event to Jesus as the divine Son of God. At the baptism, the Father himself testifies to Jesus' identity, “You are my beloved Son.” At Jesus' death, Mark does not find his witness among the Jews, but in a Gentile, and a most reviled one at that – the centurion supervising the crucifixion who said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” This symbolizes once more that salvation from God is available to all humankind, to anyone who is willing to see the Christ.

Who and what do you see in the crucified Jesus?