THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 6
Giving, Prayer, Fasting, Treasure, Wealth
It would be an oddity if Jesus were teaching on these matters in order to set a precedent or to establish a ritual practice – which is not the case. What He is teaching, however, is how to enter the Kingdom of God so as to operate in the power of the Spirit of God.
These are the mysteries of the workings of the Kingdom. It is as if you have to ‘be finely tuned to the right mental and spiritual frequency’, and Jesus is teaching ‘how’. This is way of saying you must have the right understanding, and the right mindset which invites and allows the indwelling Spirit of God. You and I must be emptied of our fleshly desires and passions, turned completely away from the world’s way of thinking, which is the process the previous chapter explains and teaches.
This is the way.
Charitable Giving to the Poor and Prayer
Matthew 6:1, “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
Verse 2. “So when you [footnote ‘a’] give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Verse 3. But when you [footnote ‘b’] give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, verse 4, so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
(Commentary Break: At first glance, this may be misconstrued as a lesson on humility or manners of etiquette. But this is a profound oracle of God. This is difficult to explain the process of the unseen in natural terms, but it is as if you are building pressure inside a great spiritual engine, and in order to maintain the pressure sufficiently to complete your task, you must be careful not to create a ‘leak’. The ‘leak’ in this case would be ‘to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them’, or ‘to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that you will be praised by people’ for your righteousness.
Although a good deed is performed, the spiritual power creating reward and reciprocity is diminished, (leaked out), and all that is left is the steam which vanishes. You will have lost your potential of a heavenly reward. You have become little more than a ‘sounding gong’, going about in the natural world, looking like an actor and a fool. (End Commentary Break).
Verse 5. “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they [footnote ‘c’] will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Verse 6. But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Verse 7. “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Verse 8. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
(Commentary Break: The same can be said about these verses. It is an apt description that you should ‘go into your inner room, close your door, and pray in secret’. This is what seals the power of God from diminishing into a vapor. And the reward is not recognition for doing good or being righteous. The reward is having been a servant of the Living God. The reward is the proving of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, and though tested by fire, it may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
And then, nothing shall be impossible for you. (End Commentary Break).
The Lord’s Prayer
Verse 9. “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
[footnote ‘d’] Hallowed be Your name.
Verse 10‘[footnote ‘e’] Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
[footnote ‘f’] On earth as it is in heaven.
Verse 11. ‘Give us this day [footnote ‘g’] our daily bread.
Verse 12. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Verse 13. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [footnote ‘h’] evil.[footnote ‘i’]’ Verse 14. For if you forgive other people for their [footnote ‘j’] offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Verse 15. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your [footnote ‘k’] offenses.
(Commentary Break: This might be a good time to notice that the old covenant, (‘you have heard it said’), having been fulfilled by the new covenant by Jesus (Christ’s Blood – ‘but I say to you’), is an internal action, rather than an external control. The Old Law put laws, regulations, rituals, behavioral requirements, and the like, in place, and you would have had to perform to a set of external standards, which, as we know, is not possible. Scripture tell us that all have sinned and none are righteous – no, not one. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved, through faith in Christ, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not a result of your self-efforts, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
If we can realize the importance of these teachings and the absolute necessity to embrace them and not incorporate them into our ways of thinking, but to replace our old ways with these new ways. We will enter the Kingdom of God and do these works Jesus has done, and even greater works!
It is then that “His will done on this earth, in your life and in my life. And we will receive our daily bread; we will be delivered from evil; we will be able to forgive our debtors, and we will find forgiveness for ourselves. We will live in His glorious freedom. (End Commentary Break).
Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth
Verse 16. “Now whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [footnote ‘l’] distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Verse 17. But as for you, when you fast, [footnote ‘m’] anoint your head and wash your face, verse 18, so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Verse 19. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Verse 20. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Commentary Break: A word of explanation and instruction for verses 16 through 18: These are not commandments; they are a choice of actions to spur us on to righteousness. Rather than focusing on the hunger or deprivation of fasting, focus on the outcome of this spiritual discipline. By denying the flesh you are taming its passions and control over you and your mind. Hold your head high and revel in the coming reward for your action of fasting, i.e., , rather than looking gloomy, ‘anoint your head and wash your face’.
Additionally, get the mindset that by your disciplines, your mindset and your actions, you are storing up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. And you will discover that where your treasure is, there your heart – your core beliefs, your core practices – will become supreme in your life. They will become your guiding light and compass! There just is no way to overstate the importance of this. (End Commentary Break).
Verse 22. “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is [footnote ‘n’] clear, your whole body will be full of light. Verse 23. But if your eye is [footnote ‘o’] bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
(Commentary Break: The eye is used as a metaphor for how you view matters around you. Interestingly, the word, ‘eye’, literally translates figuratively as “envy, from the jealous side-glance. The eye not only collects information but it reveals your inner self and your deepest secrets. If your eye, your view and attitude is healthy or sincere, and if your eye is clear, which literally means, “without folds”, referring to a single undivided focus, i.e. without a secret or “double agenda”, which prevents an over-complicated life, keeps you from becoming needlessly distracted – then your life will be full of light! Conversely, if your eye is bad, it leads only to sin troubles and death. (End Commentary Break).
Verse 24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [footnote ‘p’] wealth.
The Cure for Anxiety
Verse 25. “For this reason I say to you, [footnote ‘q’] do not be worried about your [footnote ‘r’] life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Verse 26. Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? Vesre 27. And which of you by worrying can add a single [footnote ‘s’] day to his [footnote ‘t’] life’s span? Verse 28. And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, verse 29, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. Verse 30. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Verse 31. Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ Verse 32. For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Verse 33. But [footnote ‘u’] seek first [footnote ‘v’] His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [footnote ‘w’] provided to you.
Verse 34. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [footnote ‘x’] worry about itself. [footnote ‘y’] Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Commentary Break: Verses 24 through 32 are to be taken together. They should be fairly easy to understand for their face value. Verse 33, however is the spiritual key.
To seek, as translated here, means ‘to get to the bottom of this matter’.
His kingdom translates as, ‘God’s sovereignty, His royal power, sovereignty, authority, and rule, both in the world, specifically in the hearts of men and women: hence, the kingdom, in the concrete sense.
His righteousness, “God’s judicial approval”), refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.
The outcome is that all these things, what you will wear, what you will eat or drink, or even where you will live, will be provided for you.
Do not be worried about, or more correctly, do not be anxious about these things. Do not be distracted by them. Set you mind, your eyes, your focus on God and His Kingdom and you will not only find provision, but a peace that passes understanding!
Just Do it and you will see! (End Commentary Break).
Scriptures, by way of metaphors, talk about a treasure that is hidden in a field, a pearl of great price, for which a person would give up all they have in order to obtain that treasure. These treasures represent the gift of salvation and the words of Jesus which lead to life – and not just life, but an exceedingly abundant life, full of provision, purpose, hope, meaning and reward! A life without end.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
NEXT THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 7, Judging, Prayer, The Gates, The Fruit of The Tree, Foundations.
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