God’s Good Gifts
Absurd word-picture gets the point across
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“What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:11-13 (NET)
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Of course, this is Jesus talking to the religious leaders of His day.
Harsh words. But the hyperbolic contrast is impossible to miss.
It would be absurd to think any father would give his child such evil gifts.
I don’t know how opposed to Jesus these guys were, if they just took an opposite stance to Him in whatever He said or not. But not even they would think that it was a good idea to give gifts of snakes & scorpions instead of fish & eggs.
Then Jesus, like He often does, makes the brilliant shift:
If these evil men can still give good gifts, what about a good & holy God? What kind of gift would He give?
God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask!
Clearly, Jesus was talking about salvation.
The greatest gift that God can give is Himself. There is nothing & no one of higher value than the God of the universe. How amazing is it that God would give Himself as a gift to us who ask for forgiveness of sin and eternal life?
I’m sure this made the religious leaders furious.
Outwitted by this carpenter from Nazareth.
I will say, the more I study the Pharisees, the more empathy I have for them. Especially as one trained in seminary and practicing ministry — meaning I am a religious leader.
May I never be blind like them!
Forgiveness was available to them. Remember Paul was a Pharisee just like others, they could have seen the Truth and been set free.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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