Matthew 7:7: Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.

In this final section of the sermon, Jesus warns us not to give holy things or precious things, to dogs and pigs. He is specifically warning Israel not to entrust themselves to the power of Rome. If they think they can find protection in a Roman patron, they are badly mistaken. Jesus says they can find protection and support only from a heavenly patron, the Father who gives freely to His children.

In this, Jesus is both exhorting and encouraging His disciples, the children of the Father.

He is exhorting us in the sense that He is warning us against trusting in any other help than that of our heavenly Father. He is exhorting us to ask Him, seek Him, knock on His door, rather than seeking the assistance of other patrons.

He is encouraging us because He assures us that the Father is there to be found. The Father answers those who ask, lets Himself be found by those who seek, opens the door for those who ask. He is there with good gifts, better gifts than any father gives to his children. He assures us that our holy things are safe with our Father. He will not turn to devour us or trample us under His feet.

This exhortation applies both to you and to Simon. According to Paul, Simon is a holy thing. Simply by being born into your Christian home, He is claimed by His Father, and is His Father’s property. Jesus’ exhortation is thus an exhortation to you as parents: Don’t give the holy thing that’s been entrusted to you, to dogs and pigs. Don’t trust the powers of the world to take good care of Simon. Don’t let the institutions of the world shape him. If you do, they – and he – will turn and devour you. But there is also assurance for you as parents. Entrust Simon to your heavenly Father, seek His protection and care, rely on Him for daily bread, and you can be sure that He will be faithful.

For Simon, this exhortation and this assurance applies quite directly. Simon is being marked as a member of the family of God by baptism. He is coming into the church, the community of the faithful, the body of Christ, the bride of the Lord, the temple of the living God. He is being publicly marked today as a child of his Father, and all the promises of God are his. He is a holy one, and ought not entrust himself to another patron; he is a pearl of great price belonging to his Father, and he ought not give himself to the pigs. Teach him to trust His Father and to follow the Father’s Son in the power of the Spirit.

Teach Simon to live in confidence because of His heavenly Father. His baptism means that wherever life leads him, he is a child of his Heavenly Father. Wherever life might take him, he can rely on his Father to give him good things. He can trust a Father who gives bread and fish, a God who is no pig or dog.