The Commands of Christ - Matthew 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." -Matthew 7:7


Who is this command spoken to?


Spoken to the multitudes listening to the Sermon on the Mount. The disciples seem to be sitting in the front row (see Matt 5:1-2)

What does this command require?


I did some digging, but I found that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are all in the present active imperative forms in the Greek. This means that each verb indicates an ongoing action. Perhaps a better rendering would be keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.

The command requires that we keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. The context of the next few verses indicates that it is in reference to asking God for things in prayer.

What truths do we learn through this command?


God wants us to ask Him for the things that we need. He wants us to come to Him in prayer, especially regarding our requests. He gives good things to those who ask. Often, God does not answer our prayers immediately. We tend to grow impatient with God when this happens. But, here, God instructs us to keep on asking and to keep on seeking for answers. Eventually, we will see that God was simply waiting for His own perfect timing to reveal his answers to us.

What does 'knock, and it will be opened to you' mean? I like what Gill's commentary says here: "[Knock] as beggars do, who use much importunity for relief and assistance. So men should stand and knock at the door of mercy, which will not always be shut against them. Faith in prayer is a key that opens this door, when a poor soul finds grace and mercy to help it in time of need. Our Lord's design is to express the nature, fervour, and constancy of prayer, and to encourage to it."

Our prayer needs to be fervent and faith-filled. The Lord rewards those who diligently seek Him.

What are the consequences for disobedience?


Well, if you don't ask, you won't receive; if you don't seek, you won't find; and if you don't knock, it won't be opened to you.

The Commands of Christ - Matthew 10:5-15

This section of verses contains a long list of commands that Jesus gave the twelve disciples. Rather than break it down into one day at a time, let's take the following section as a whole and try to glean the main theme that Jesus is getting at.

"These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! -Matthew 10:5-15"

Who are these commands spoken to?

Spoken specifically to the twelve disciples. These commands serve as a sort of pre-Great-Commission commission for the disciples. I think that it is wise here to make a distinction between this sending out and the sending out at Christ's ascension. Consider this a practice round for the twelve disciples.

What do the commands require? And what truths do we learn through these commands?

There is a lot here, so let's just work down through each section, taking one things at a time.

1. Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans - Jesus first commissioned his disciples to avoid the Gentiles and Samaritans. This seems extreme to us, but keep in mind that Jesus always does things at exactly the right time. The time for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached to the Gentiles had not yet come. Be patient, in a few chapters, Jesus will command that the gospel be preached to everyone.

2. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel - The disciples are sent first to those who are 'the lost sheep of Israel'. This is interesting to me because Israel, for the most part, was trying to follow the law--at least outwardly. They performed sacrifices and were very religious. But Jesus calls them lost sheep. I think this is in direct connection to Matt. 9:36.

3. As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' - Jesus wanted all of Israel to know that the kingdom of heaven was drawing near. I find it interesting that Jesus commissions his disciples here to go and teach the same message that Jesus was preaching (see Matt. 4:17).

4. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. - Jesus empowered the disciples to do these things. These signs would give weight and authority to their message. 

5. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. - Jesus expects that the people to whom the disciples go and preach would provide the things necessary for them to live. This would be their wages.

6. Now whatever town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. - Jesus instructs the disciples to search out a place to stay. It seems that whether or not a person or household is worthy depends on their willingness to listen to the message of the kingdom.

7. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! - The disciples weren't to fret over those who didn't listen to the message. Jesus tells them to shake the dust off their feet. Let them go. It is unfortunate that there are many who will not tolerate listening to the gospel message, but it is not our responsibility to see them converted. It is our responsibility to preach the message.

What are the consequences for disobedience?

failure to do what Christ has commanded, failure to take part in ministry, failure to be a disciple.

The Commands of Christ - Matthew 9:35-38

"Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."" -Matthew 9:35-38


Who is this command spoken to?

Spoken to the disciples, this is a command that is for every disciple of Christ.

What does this command require?


Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

What truths do we learn through this command?


Through this command, we lean much about God's heart. This command originates from the phrase: "He was moved with compassion". Think about it: Jesus was moved with compassion. He cared for these people. He didn't just see a crowd, He saw weary and scattered people that needed a shepherd. So when we read this command, understand that it comes from God's compassion.

We also learn that the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. There are lost people everywhere. There are hundreds of people without Christ within just a few miles from where you live. You have the gospel message that can save them. You have been given grace and the ministry of pleading with the lost to be reconciled to God. This is important: If you are a Christian, you are a laborer. You have a part in God's harvest.

The command here is to pray for God to send out laborers into His harvest. I think we learn something valuable about prayer here. Prayer aligns our will with God's will. In Jesus' model prayer, He commanded us to pray "Your will be done." So when Jesus commands us to pray for God to send out laborers into the harvest, we begin to see the needs that Jesus sees. We begin to see the lost as multitudes weary and scattered without a shepherd. We begin to think about how we can fill the need.

What are the consequences for disobeying this command?


failure to pray, failure to see the world as God sees it, no participation in the harvest.

"O God, send out laborers into the harvest, and help me to lead the pack."

The Commands of Christ - Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." -Matthew 9:9-13

Who is this command spoken to? and what does it require?

You may have noticed that there are two commands in these verses. First, Jesus commands Matthew the tax collector to follow Him. Second, at the response of the Pharisees to Matthew and the other 'sinners' hanging out with Jesus, Jesus commands the Pharisees to go learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."

What truths do we learn through these commands?

Something interesting that I have not noticed in this passage is the power of Matthew's example. He arose and follow Jesus and the next thing we read is that many tax collectors...came and sat down with Him and His disciples. You never know how much influence one step of obedience can have on those around you. I'm sure that these tax collectors knew each other and probably worked together collecting taxes (probably worked together cheating people, too!). When Matthew chose to obey Christ and follow, the others were close behind.

The second thing I notice here is that the religious, self-righteous crowd didn't understand why Jesus was okay with hanging out with tax collectors and sinners. There were a lot of things that Jesus did that were misunderstood by this crowd. But they can't seem to understand why a 'Teacher' would want to be with the social outcasts of society. Perhaps the question they wanted to ask, but were afraid to, is 'Why doesn't the Teacher eat with us--after all, we've done so many good things?' 

Jesus heard that. Think about it--Jesus heard that. He was busy spending time with the sinners, but He heard that. That tells me two things. One, Jesus was paying attention to all that was going on, even if the Pharisees didn't realize it. Two, the Pharisees probably didn't whisper their question to the disciples. They probably didn't care if the tax collectors and sinners heard their biting comments and questions. Jesus has something to say to these critical, religious hypocrites. 

Let's take a look at the second command. Jesus says to the Pharisees, "But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice." The Pharisees missed the point of Jesus. They didn't realize the tremendous work of God that was going on right in front of them. Sinners were being called to repentance, tax collectors are following Jesus, and all the Pharisees can do is criticize Jesus for being with them. It is important to realize that Jesus will always be with sinners and tax collectors. That is why He came. He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

What are the consequences for disobedience to these commands?

Missing the point of Jesus...entirely

The Commands of Christ - Matthew 8:18-22

"And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."


Who is this command to?

Spoken to a follower of Jesus. This command reveals important truth as to the cost of following Christ.

What does this command require?


The words are simple enough, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

What truths do we learn from this command?

Dissect the statement with me for a second: First, follow Jesus. We've seen this before, in Matt. 4:19. The implication here is keep following Jesus. The man speaking to Jesus here is already described as a 'disciple.' Jesus wants to keep it that way. Secondly, let the dead bury their own dead. This is a bit trickier. It seems that this follower of Jesus wants to continue to follow Christ, but he needs to bury his father first. Jesus' statement here seems to point to the fact that following Jesus is more important than burying this guy's father.

Indeed, the first couple of verses in this section show that Jesus wants to show His followers that being His disciple is a difficult thing. The Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. It is costly to follow Christ. In order to follow Christ, we must give up those securities that we often hold so tightly to, namely, our homes, possessions, and our families.

What are the consequences for disobedience?

Failure to continue as Christ's follower.