NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER SEVEN

Part II

As we look at this further, I think what Jesus was telling His disciples was quite clear, now that we know how our Lord’s teaching fit with what they had already been taught. To paraphrase it, when a person has dedicated themselves, their talent, and their time to the service of God, and they somehow become disabled or their talent becomes defective, it still belongs to God. Don’t give it to the dogs. In other words, don’t let the world or the devil have it. British theologian John Gill has a pertinent question at this point: if dogs represent those who are unworthy of having any time or effort spent on them using the talents, gifts and abilities given to a person by God, then who do the swine represent?

The first thing to eliminate is the use of “pearls” in the literal sense. In Jewish thinking, pearls were thought of as words of wisdom that were plucked out of the mind like a pearl out of an oyster. And just as pearls in the oyster are developed over a long time inside the shell, so wisdom is not instant, it is developed over time as well. Second, we also eliminate “swine” as a literal reference. Swine became a metaphor for people that were thought to be so ignorant and living in the darkness of heathenism that they were incapable of understanding wisdom. So to paraphrase what our Lord is saying here: Don’t take the spiritual insights and wisdom given to you by God and go out and start sharing with those who have no interest in listening to your message.

Rabbi Ashi warns about crushing a pearl which was worth 2000 shekels.¹ And another Rabbi tells his students that Israel had been the recipient of many precious stones and pearls of wisdom.² And we also read that Rabbi Judah was quoted as saying that he was appreciative of the precious pearl that the Rabbis had given God’s people when they were exiled in Babylon, and by this he meant the Mishnah.”³ It is clear that in these instances, the word pearl is not to be taken literally, but figuratively. Jewish scholars also speak of a precious pearl when they make reference to prayer.

And when the subject of value in such pearls is discussed, and they note that matching pearls are of higher value than two pearls sold separately.⁴ This comes from what one Jewish scholar explains: “When a man possesses one ox, he may be very anxious to procure another of equal strength, because it is inconvenient to plow with two animals of dissimilar capacities. Therefore he may knowingly overpay, hence the law of overcharging does not apply. So with a pearl, if it exactly matches others in his possession.” Any person who has purchased jewelry knows that a matching pair or pearls always cost more than two that are dissimilar. So from this we see that pearls became identified as a symbol of something precious, priceless or profound. As a matter of fact, one Jewish Rabbi commenting on the Ark of the Covenant being overlaid with pure gold stated: “This is an allusion to the pearls and golden nuggets (allegorically speaking) that are found in the Torah in great abundance.”⁵

And since Jesus has been talking about advice and counsel from the onset of this chapter, it is easy to see in context that He was referring to such advice and counsel as something valuable, like matching pearls. And for us as Christians, since Jesus said that He and the Father are one, and that the Father sent Him to tell the world what the Father told Him, we can see a set of matching pearls in that Jesus never contradicted His Father, and the Father never scolded His Son for being wrong. Thus when the Holy Spirit comes into a believer’s heart, mind, and life to help them understand this wisdom and guidance from God and His Son, it provides a perfect setting for all the world to admire.

Now on to understanding the use of swine in this saying of Jesus. Jewish scholars tell us that there is probably no animal as disgusting to Jewish sensitivities as the pig. It’s not just because it may not be eaten: there are plenty of other animals that aren’t kosher either, but none of them arouse as much disgust as the pig. Colloquially, the pig is the ultimate symbol of loathing; when you say that someone “acted like a pig,” it suggests that he or she did something unusually abominable. Indeed, many Jews consider pork, ham, bacon, etc., the most non-kosher foods there are. Rabbi Maimonides speaks about why pigs were thought of this way: “The principal reason why the Law forbids swine’s flesh is to be found in the circumstance that its habits and its food are very dirty and loathsome. It has already been pointed out how emphatically the Law enjoins the removal of the sight of loathsome objects, even in the field and in the camp; how much more objectionable is such a sight in towns. But if it were allowed to eat swine’s flesh, the streets and houses would be more dirty than any cesspool, as may be seen at present in the country of the French.”⁶

It is easy to see how pigs were then used as metaphors for those who wallowed in the filth of immorality, both physically and intellectually. As a matter of fact, one Jewish commentator says: “When the pig pauses from his gluttony and lies down to rest he stretches out his foot to show his cloven hoof, and pretends that he belongs to the clean kind of animals.”⁷ And even more apropos to what Jesus was saying, one Jewish writer points out that one Roman legion, the 10^th Fretensis, used the boar as one of its ensigns. Additionally, one of the prominent Roman families was that of the Porcii (“pigs”), whose male and female members bore the respective names of Porcius and Porcia. Just as the pig sticks out its hooves when it is resting, as if to say “I am kosher,” so did the Romans put on a show of justice to mask their avarice and corruption.⁸

In Jesus’s mind, this would not eliminate Romans from receiving the Gospel, e. g., Cornelius, but that the attitude of the Romans was much like that of the pig. Therefore, people with such a “piggish” mindset would not be receptive to the Gospel, so don’t waste your time. As believers today, we can detect very quickly when we share the good news of our experience and how Christ changed our life through the power of the Gospel, when the people we are talking to have no interest in what we are saying because they feel they are intellectually above what we are trying to tell them. So don’t take it as a defeat, just move on because you are wasting your time and your pearls.

But Jesus wants to emphasize the fact that these pearls of wisdom and precious stones of knowledge are not found lying around so that people can easily pick them up. Appropriating them and collecting them can take time and effort. So Jesus gives His disciples this advice:

Verses 7-8: Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them.

Now that you can see that Jesus was referring to our attaining more wisdom and knowledge in order to be effective disciples in this world, I’m sure you can see how often this verse has been misused and misapplied to the believer’s life. So in light of what Jesus has been saying on how critical it is for us to be prepared to witness, properly discerning who we are witnessing to so we don’t waste our time, Jesus now continues teaching His followers to avoid judging others until you know all the facts and the whole truth. Unfortunately for the English reader, the Greek verbs here have not been translated sufficiently in the KJV to see their being in the present continuing tense. The verse in the New Living Testament reads: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find it. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

This verse offers us insight on how to deal with our many problems. But our problems come in different degrees of seriousness and need. And so, like our problems there are three ways of petition given here, each entailing greater action than the other. “Asking” is the simplest; “seeking” requires more effort, and “knocking” alludes to specific discovery. If I wanted to visit someone in a city I was not familiar with the layout, the first thing I might do is “ask” more than once for directions on how to find their house. Then after receiving directions I would keep “seeking” until I located it. But I still haven’t seen my friend. I could sit in front of his house for days and he not know that I was there. I still have another step to go and that is go “knocking” on his door until he opens up.

Ironically however, while this is a very simple process, yet it seems too difficult for many Christians to understand. They pick out one of the three actions and forget the need for the other two. It’s one thing to sit at home praying for God to you the skills and wisdom to do a job, but it’s another to actually go looking ways to learn how to be better at what you do, and then applying what you have learned to whatever opportunities that become available. Some Christians want God to do all the work! These verses are so oft misused they have lost their original intention. First, we must go through the door of Verse 33 in Chapter 6. Second, there is nothing in these verses to imply immediate response to our efforts. It is another command with a promise. But we must first obey the command in order to receive what’s promised.

Would Solomon have become a great king had he not listened to the voice of God? “While Solomon was at Gibeon, the Lord came to him at night in a dream. God said, ‘Solomon, ask me what you want me to give you.’”⁹ His father King David had no doubts that God would hear, “Lord, you have heard what the poor want. Listen to their prayers, and do what they ask.”¹⁰ The sons of Asaph wrote, “God says, ‘Call me when trouble comes. I will help you, and you will honor Me.’”¹¹ And David sang, “The Lord is near to everyone who sincerely calls to Him for help. He listens to His followers and does what they want. He answers their prayers and empowers them.”¹²

Augustine offers this commentary for our consideration. He writes: “Since, therefore, a command had been given that what is holy should not be given to dogs, and pearls should not be thrown down before swine, a hearer might object and say, while being conscious of his own ignorance and weakness, and hearing a command addressed to him, that he should not give what he felt that he himself had not yet received,—might I object and say, What holy thing do you forbid me to give to the dogs, and what pearls do you forbid me to cast before swine, while as yet I do not see that I possess such things? Most opportunely He has added the statement: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened.” The asking refers to the obtaining by request soundness and strength of mind, so that we may be able to discharge those duties which are commanded; the seeking, on the other hand, refers to the finding of the truth. For inasmuch as the blessed life is summed up in action and knowledge, action wishes for itself a supply of strength, contemplation desires that matters should be made clear: of these therefore the first is to be asked, the second is to be sought; so that the one may be given, the other found. But knowledge in this life belongs to the way rather than to the possession itself: but whoever has found the true way, will arrive at the possession itself which, however, is opened to him that knocks.”¹³

Then Augustine continues: “In order, therefore, that these three things – asking, seeking, knocking – may be made clear, let us suppose, for example, the case of one weak in his limbs, who cannot walk: in the first place, he is to be healed and strengthened so as to be able to walk; and to this refers the expression He has used, “Ask.” But what advantage is it that he is now able to walk, or even run, if he should go astray by misleading paths? A second thing therefore is, that he should find the road that leads to the place at which he wishes to arrive; and when he has stayed on that road, and arrived at the very place where he wishes to dwell, if he find it closed, it will be of no use either that he has been able to walk, or that he has walked and arrived, unless it be opened to him; to this, therefore, the expression refers which has been used, “Knock.”¹⁴

Chrysostom gives us the context in which this text is given: He says: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” For inasmuch as He had requested things great and marvelous, and had commanded men to be better than all their desires, and led them up to Heaven itself, and had requested them to strive after the likeness, not of angels and archangels, but (as far as was possible) of the very Lord of all; and had bidden His disciples not only themselves duly to perform all this, but also to correct others, and to distinguish between the evil and them that are not such, the dogs and them that are not dogs (although there be much that is hidden in men):—that they might not say, “these things are grievous and intolerable,”¹⁵ (for indeed in the sequel Peter did utter some such things, saying, “Who can be saved?”¹⁶ and again, “If the case of the man be so, it is not good to marry¹⁷): in order therefore that they might not now likewise say so; as in the first place even by what had gone before He had proved it all to be easy, setting down many reasons one upon another, of power to persuade men: so after all He adds also the pinnacle of all facility, devising as no ordinary relief to our toils, the assistance derived from persevering prayers. Thus, He says, we are not ourselves to strive alone, but also to invoke the help from above: and it will surely come and be present with us, and will aid us in our struggles, and make all easy. Therefore He both commanded us to ask, and pledged Himself to the giving.”¹⁸

Chrysostom continues: “However, He did not command us simply to ask, but so so with much diligence and earnestness. For this is the meaning of “seek.” For so he that seeks, putting all things out of his mind, is focused on that alone which is being sought, and unaware of any of the persons present. And this which I am saying they know, as many as have lost either gold, or servants, and are seeking diligently after them. By “seeking,” then, He declared this; by “knocking,” that we approach with earnestness and a enthusiastic mind. Despair not therefore, O man, nor show less of zeal about virtue, than they do of desire for wealth. For things of that kind you have often sought and not found, but nevertheless, though you know this, that you are not sure of finding them, you put in motion every mode of search; but here, although having a promise that you will surely receive, you do not show even the smallest part of that earnestness. And if you do not receive straightaway, do not despair. For to this end He said, “knock,” to signify that even if He should not straightaway open the door, we are to continue standing there.”¹⁹

Here again, it helps us see the principles derived from this teaching by Jesus on perseverance in seeking the truth and knowledge that He is willing to give us the ability to grasp and understand if we just strive and search for it. In this day and age of instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant pictures, instant messaging, we despair quickly and give up. I like what Father Jordan had to say on this. He writes: “We live in an instant society today. A society that has to have everything quicker and faster. If you have to wait more than 5 minutes, it’s considered a shame and disgrace. Fast Food restaurants are popping up on just about every corner. We can’t even take the time to walk into a restaurant and sit down and order, we have to be able to drive by a window and get our food fast. Bank lines are too hard to deal with, so we have automatic teller machines to serve the people with immediate access to their money any time of day or night.”²⁰

I recently heard of one church that was offering “drive-by” prayer for healing, and another offering drive-thru communion. It’s almost as though people don’t want to mine for gold or dig for diamonds, they want them out laying on the surface so they won’t have to waste time looking for them. God’s Word is a gold mine and there are many diamonds and pearls to be found, but not without taking the time to prayerfully peruse and examine it to find them. Besides, what greater joy there is in finding a gold nugget of wisdom after hours and hours of digging through the Bible, Concordances, Lexicons, and Bible Dictionaries, than when it is simply handed to us in a morning devotional guide. Not that they are to be avoided, but they are to God’s whole Word what a snapshot of one star is to the entire universe, or a small bite from a large delicious cake or pie. That’s why our Lord told His disciples that if they wanted to know the whole truth, to ask, seek and knock, so that the door of wisdom can be opened to all who wish to enter.