Matthew 6 (9/3/2017) Series

Matthew 6:1-4 (Jesus Teachers About Giving To The Needy)

Verse 1

This verse introduces the discussion of three acts of righteousness: (1) giving, (2) praying, and (3) fasting. Jesus’ concern here is with the motives behind such acts.

What reward are we seeking? Are we seeking to please God and receive whatever reward He will give; or are we hoping for man’s applause or a pat on the back?

Verse 2

“When you give” – Jesus presupposes the disciples’ giving to the poor.

The term ‘hypocrites,’ (which means play-actor), describes people who do good acts for appearances only – not out of compassion or other good motives. Perhaps a reference to the noise made by coins as they were thrown into the temple treasury; or the phrase may be used figuratively to mean ‘make a big show of it.’

Their actions may be good, but their motives are hollow. These empty acts are their only reward, but God will reward those who are sincere in their faith.

Verse 3

When Jesus says not to tell your left hand what your right hand is doing, he is teaching that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. It is easy to give with mixed motives, to do something for someone if it will benefit us in return. But believers should avoid all scheming and give for the pleasure of giving and as a response to God’s love. Why do you give or help?

Verses 3-4

It’s easier to do what’s right when we gain recognition and praise. To be sure our motives are not selfish, we should do our good deeds quietly or in secret, with no thought of reward.

Jesus says we should check our motives in three areas: generosity (6:4), prayer (6:6), and fasting (6:18). Those acts should not be self-centered but God-centered, done not to make us look good but to make God look good. The reward God promises is not material and it is never given to those who seek it. Doing something only for ourselves is not a loving sacrifice. With your next good deed, ask, “Would I still do this if no one would ever know I did it?”

Matthew 6:5-15 (Jesus Teacher About Prayer – The Lord’s Prayer)

Verses 5-6

Some people, especially the religious leaders, want to be seen as “holy,” and public prayer was one way to get attention. Jesus saw through their self-righteous acts, however, and taught that the essence of prayer is not public style, but private communication with God. There is a place for public prayer, but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real audience is not God.

Verse 6

Some have concluded that Jesus’ directions about private prayer call into question all public prayer. Jesus’ own practice indicates this wasn’t his intention. The Gospels record Jesus at prayer both privately (14:23) and publicly (14:18-19). Again, Jesus was drawing attention to the motives behind actions. The point really wasn’t a choice between public and private prayer but between heartfelt and hypocritical prayer. When asked to pray in public, focus on addressing God, not on how you’re coming across to others.

Verses 7-8

Repeating the same words over and over like a magic spell is no way to ensure that God will hear your prayer. Pagans used long lists of the names of their gods in their prayers, hoping that by constantly repeating them they would call on the name of a god that could help them.

Jesus is not condemning all long prayers, but meaningless verbiage in praying. It is not wrong to come to God many times with the same requests – Jesus encourages persistent prayer. Be he does condemn the shallow repetition of words that are not offered with a sincere heart.

We can never pray too much is our prayers are honest and sincere. Before you start to pray, make sure you mean what you say. And just because God already knows are desires and concerns; should not stop us from praying – it should encourage us.

Verses 9-13

This is often call the Lord’s Prayer because Jesus gave it to the disciples as a model for them (and us) to keep in mind as we pray. Jesus provided a pattern to be imitated as well as duplicated. We should praise God, pray for his work in the world, pray for our daily needs, and pray for help in our daily struggles. To what extent do you use the items in the Lord’s Prayer to guide your own prayer times?

Verse 9 (“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”)

God is not only majestic and holy but also personal and loving. The first line of this model prayer is a statement of praise and a commitment to hallow, or honor, God’s holy name. We can honor God’s name by being careful to use it respectfully. If we use God’s name lightly, we aren’t remembering God’s holiness.