Matthew 7:9

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his followers during the Sermon on the Mount, immediately following the assurance in Matthew 7:8 that everyone who asks receives. He poses a hypothetical scenario about an earthly father and son to illustrate a principle of generosity.

The words — ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) means "a man," and ἐὰν (ean) introduces the conditional "if." These terms anchor the verse in a direct address to the listener about human parental instinct.

The thread — The same rhetorical structure appears in Luke 11:11, where a father is asked for a fish and would not give a snake. This parallel confirms the consistent biblical pattern of parental provision.

Why it lands — The text states that no human father would replace a requested loaf with a stone. It asks the reader to accept this baseline of earthly care as a logical foundation for trusting divine response.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.