The Gospels · Chapter 6 of 28

Matthew 6

Jesus teaches His followers to practice righteousness for God's eyes, not for human applause. He warns against showy giving, praying, and fasting, and gives the Lord's Prayer as a pattern. He urges storing treasure in heaven rather than on earth, warns that no one can serve God and money, and calls His hearers not to be anxious but to seek first the kingdom, trusting the Father's care.

What happens in Matthew 6

Jesus warns against doing alms, praying, and fasting to be seen by others, promising that the Father who sees in secret will reward. He teaches His disciples to pray simply, giving the Lord's Prayer: hallowing God's name, seeking His kingdom and will, asking for daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. He stresses that forgiving others is bound up with being forgiven. He tells them to lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth, for the heart follows its treasure.

The eye must be single, and no one can serve two masters, God and mammon. He then addresses anxiety: do not worry about food, drink, or clothing, for the Father feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, and knows His children's needs. Instead, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these things will be added.

Matthew 6 in context

Continuing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus moves from the character of kingdom life to its practices, contrasting genuine devotion with the performative piety of the hypocrites. His audience lived close to subsistence, so His words on daily bread and anxiety over food and clothing addressed real fears.

The Lord's Prayer becomes the enduring model of Christian prayer.

Main themes of Matthew 6

Matthew 6 (KJV)

1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Verses to carry from Matthew 6

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”Matthew 6:6

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”Matthew 6:21

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”Matthew 6:33

Reflection

Jesus does not shame you for your worries; He redirects your gaze. Look at the birds, He says, look at the lilies. If God dresses the field grass that withers by evening, will He forget you? Seek first His kingdom, and let tomorrow be His concern.

A prayer from Matthew 6