Don't Worry, [part 1] Series

Sermon on the Mount - (Don't Worry, Part 1)

Matthew 6:25-30 (NIV)

25 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith?

INTRODUCTION

This section is justly famous, wonderfully practical, and precious to Christians through the ages. It begins with "therefore," and as always, when we see a "therefore," we should ask, "What is it there for?" In other words, what is this instruction building from in the previous section?

Clothing is a basic human need, just as food is. In most places in the modern world, even those that culture thinks of as "poor" rarely have serious concerns about where to obtain clothes or food. However, that was an ongoing challenge for those living in poverty in Jesus' day. It remains so for people living in many parts of the world today. It is natural to expect someone in that position to experience anxiety. It is something we tend to sympathize with and even approve of.

COMMENTARY

(25) Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

This section is justly famous, wonderfully practical, and precious to Christians through the ages. It begins with "therefore," and as always, when we see a "therefore," we should ask, "What is it there for?" In other words, what is this instruction building from in the previous section?

The answer here is that Jesus, having talked about money and our need not to serve money, now tells us not to be anxious. One great source of anxiety is material anxiety, anxiety over possessions, and provision. However, if we serve God, we have no cause to worry—which Jesus will now explain.

Most people hearing Jesus' Sermon on the Mount were "poor." Most people in that era lived from day to day. For some, what they earned each day was all they had to live on for the next day. When Jesus instructed these people to pray for "daily bread," it resonated with their life experience (Matthew 6:11). They might have struggled more with Jesus' teaching in the previous verses: not to obsess over wealth but to focus on godly and eternal life.

Indeed, poor people can hardly be guilty of stockpiling treasures on earth—they are not even sure where tomorrow's bread will be coming from. However, in this passage, Jesus shows that even those with little wealth can become preoccupied with material things. Even the poorest people can serve money instead of God (Matthew 6:24). To the poor, Jesus applies this by reminding them not to be anxious about the money they do not have.

He commands His followers not to worry about their lives, including what they will eat, drink, or wear. People of the ancient world often wore the same one or two sets of clothes until they fell into rags. A large part of each day focuses on obtaining, preparing, or earning money for food. Jesus points out that life is about more than what we eat and wear—God has purposes for us beyond those brief details.

Jesus is not telling His followers to quit their jobs. He is not telling them to sit idly and wait for God to provide simply supernaturally. Nor is He suggesting it is wrong to earn money to provide for their families. He is not telling His followers that they should not wisely save for future needs. In keeping with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands His listeners to take control of what is going on in their minds and hearts. The word "worry" or "be anxious" here is terminated. This can mean caring for or thinking about something. In this context, it means to obsess or agonize. Jesus' point here is not that we should be careless but should not be fearful.

In a meaningful sense, constantly worrying about money is a way of "serving" money instead of serving God. Living in fear, Jesus says, is not the point of real life. He will clarify this in the following verses.