Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 7:9-11

"Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone; or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" — Matthew 7:9-11 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as He had previously cited the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, so that our hopes might rise from the lesser to the greater, so He does in this place as well, when He says, Or what man is there among you...? ¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Lest anyone, considering the great difference between God and man and weighing his own sins, should despair of receiving and so never undertake to ask, He, therefore, proposes a comparison of the relationship between a father and son. In this way, should we despair because of our sins, we may still hope because of God's fatherly goodness.

St. John Chrysostom: Two things are necessary for one who prays: to ask earnestly, and to ask for such things as he ought. These are spiritual things; for Solomon, because he asked for what was right, received it speedily.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He shows what things we ought to ask for under the likeness of a loaf and a fish. The loaf is the word concerning the knowledge of God the Father. The stone is all falsehood that presents a stumbling block of offense to the soul.

Remigius of Auxerre: By the fish, we may understand the word concerning Christ; by the serpent, the Devil himself.

Or, by the loaf may be understood spiritual doctrine; by the stone, ignorance; by the fish, the water of Holy Baptism; and by the serpent, the wiles of the Devil or unbelief.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, bread, which is the common food, signifies charity, without which the other virtues are of no avail. The fish signifies faith, which is born of the water of baptism, is tossed in the midst of the waves of this life, and yet lives. Luke adds a third thing, an egg (Luke 11:12), which signifies hope, for an egg is the hope of an animal. To charity, He opposes a stone, that is, the hardness of hatred; to faith, a serpent, that is, the venom of treachery; and to hope, a scorpion, that is, despair, which stings backward like a scorpion.

Remigius of Auxerre: The sense, therefore, is this: we need not fear that if we ask God our Father for bread (that is, doctrine or love), He will give us a stone. This means we should not fear that He will allow our hearts to be constricted by the frost of hatred or by hardness of soul, or that when we ask for faith, He will allow us to die from the poison of unbelief.

From this it follows, If you then, being evil...

St. John Chrysostom: He said this not to detract from human nature, nor to declare the whole human race evil; rather, He calls paternal love "evil" only when compared with His own goodness. Such is the superabundance of His love toward men.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For in comparison to God, who is preeminently good, all people seem to be evil, just as all light appears dark when compared with the sun.

St. Jerome: Or perhaps He called the Apostles evil, condemning in their person the whole human race, whose heart is set on evil from its infancy, as we read in Genesis. Nor is it any wonder that He should call this generation "evil," as the Apostle also says, Seeing the days are evil.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, He calls "evil" those who are lovers of this age,ⁱ from which it follows that the good things they give are to be called good according to the perception of those who esteem them as such. Indeed, in the nature of things, they are also goods—that is, temporal goods that pertain to this fragile life.

For the good thing that makes people good is God. Gold and silver are good things, not because they make you good, but because with them you can do good. If then we are evil, yet since we have a Father who is good, let us not remain evil forever. ²

If we then, being evil, know how to give what is asked of us, how much more should we expect that God will give us good things when we ask Him? ³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He says "good things" because God does not give all things to those who ask Him, but only good things.

Glossa Ordinaria: For from God we receive only those things that are good, whatever they may seem to us when we receive them, for all things work together for good to His beloved. ⁴

Remigius of Auxerre: And it should be known that where Matthew says, "He shall give good things," Luke says, "shall give the Holy Spirit" (Luke 11:13). But this should not seem contradictory, because all the good things a person receives from God are given by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

1. Serm. in Mont., ii, 21
2. Serm., 61, 3
3. Serm. in Mont., ii, 21
4. ord.