“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?”
The full verse · Matthew 7:9 · KJV
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Asked to
Disciples: "his disciples" (Matthew 5:1), the followers who came to Jesus on the mountain with the multitudes nearby, not limited in the text to the twelve, who are first named in Matthew 10:1-2; Jesus has just told them, "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7). When He finished, "the people were astonished at his doctrine" (Matthew 7:28).
The Scene
Jesus has just told His hearers, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7-8).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus asked this to give His hearers confidence in prayer. He points to something every listener knew: no father would hand his hungry son a stone. Barnes says Christ encourages us to pray "by the conduct of parents." Gill notes that even if some stones looked like loaves, a stone could never satisfy a child's hunger. Matthew Henry restates the question: "What man is there of you, though never so morose and ill-humoured," who would do such a thing? If even the worst-tempered father would not, the Father in heaven surely will not.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe answer is obvious: no father would. Jesus adds a second picture, "Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?" (Matthew 7:10). Then He draws the conclusion: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsBread (artos) and fish were everyday food. Gill says, "Fish and bread are mentioned, because these were common food," and points to John 21:13, where the risen Jesus gives His disciples bread and fish. A stone (lithos) might look like a loaf but could never feed anyone.
Luke records the same teaching with an added example, an egg and a scorpion (Luke 11:12). Luke's conclusion is also more specific: "how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question reveals the heart of God as a Father who gives good gifts. Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater. Barnes explains: "Parents, he says, are evil; that is, are imperfect, often partial, blind, and sometimes passionate." Even so, they feed their children. Barnes also writes, "God is better and kinder than the most tender earthly parents; and with what confidence, therefore, may we come as his children, and ask what we need!"
The promise is that God gives "good things" (Matthew 7:11), not that He gives every thing we name. Matthew Henry says God is wise: "he knows what we need, what we desire, and what is fit for us." A good father gives bread, not stones, and he also knows when a request would do harm.
Look Closer
What point is Jesus making with the bread and the stone?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You are better than the best earthly father; what have I stopped asking You for because I doubted Your goodness?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What makes it hard for you to believe that God wants to give you good things?
- Share an example of a parent, mentor, or friend whose generosity helped you understand God's kindness.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Pray like a child who knows the Father is good. Jesus uses the most ordinary picture, a hungry son asking for bread, to tell you that God will not mock your requests.
If your experience of earthly fathers was painful, Jesus' point still holds. He argues from the lesser to the greater: even flawed parents know better than to give a stone for bread, and your Father in heaven has none of their flaws.
This does not mean God will give everything you ask for. Matthew Henry writes, "We often ask that of God which would do us harm if we had it; he knows this, and therefore does not give it to us." His "no" can be as loving as His "yes."
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?”
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?”
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”