Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 7:9 (CSB)
Jesus just told us to keep asking God. He promised that everyone who asks receives. Now He explains why we can believe that.
Jesus asks the dads in the crowd a question. A boy is hungry. He asks his dad for bread. Would his dad hand him a stone?
Back then, a loaf of bread was round. It could look a lot like a stone. So handing the boy a stone would be a cruel trick. The stone looks like food, but he can’t eat it.
No dad would hand his own child a stone for bread. In a few verses Jesus will say God is a better Father than any dad.
Jesus’ question doesn’t mean God gives us everything we ask for. He’s a Father, and He decides what’s good for us. Jesus’ question means God never plays tricks on His children.
Sometimes we pray, and the answer isn’t what we wanted. The job doesn’t come. The doctor’s news is hard. We may think, “God gave me a stone.” If that hurts, God understands. But we shouldn’t decide God is against us. We should keep talking to Him. We should trust that He’s giving us what is good, even when we can’t see it yet.
Jesus called Himself “the bread of life” (John 6:35). God the Father sent Jesus to die for our sins and rise again. God gave us His own Son.