Living in the Kingdom 13
Scripture: Matthew 6:1-4; 23:2-5; Exodus 13:16; Numbers 15:38
I am continuing with my series “Living in the Kingdom.” This week we will begin examining what is recorded in the first four verses of Matthew chapter six. In these verses Jesus talks about those things we do for the benefit of others. Now, before I go further, I want you to picture something in your minds. I want to ask you a few questions to set the stage for this message. As I ask them, I want you to consider, based on what we read today, what is right and what is wrong. Here are the questions for your consideration: how many times have you seen influential people give large donations to a school, charity or other function in a public manner? How many buildings have been named after someone because they gave a large donation to some organization and in return got a building named after them? How many news articles have you read about some famous person doing something for someone in need enhancing their public persona? Should we even be aware of these things happening? If these “good things” were done in secret, would we ever know who did what? Would there ever be a building named for someone because they gave a large donation to that organization based on what we read today? Just keep these questions in mind as we go through the first four verses in Matthew chapter six.
Matthew 6:1-4 says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father Who is in heaven. 2So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father Who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
How many times have we done something for those in need and then turned around and told others as if it was no big deal? Oh but we really wanted them to know we had done something special. Maybe you told a family member about it or a good friend. Maybe, just maybe, you stood up in church to give a “praise report” which turned out to be you talking about something you did for someone else which made people “praise you” for your good deed. I am right there with you. I have done things in my past to help others and then talked about what I had done when I should have been quiet about it. You see, when I looked for the praise of others for something I had done, I lost my reward with Christ for doing it, but I am getting ahead of myself.
When Jesus taught His followers He taught them to refrain from walking around talking about what they had done for others. He did not want them coming before the Church and giving a testimony about someone they helped as a means of showing their “righteousness.” He did not want them sneaking what they had done for others into their everyday conversations. For example, someone saying “I took some food over to so and so because I heard how they were struggling.” What Jesus requires is that we do what we are going to do and walk away. We are not to wait for praise or an acknowledgement for what we did – from the person we did it for or from others who might hear about it. He wants us to do it and do it secretly. In a perfect situation, the person we help would not know that the help came from us as it would be totally anonymous but we know that cannot always happen.
In the twenty-third chapter of Matthew Jesus told His followers the following in verses two through five: “…..The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.” (Matthew 23:2-5) In these verses Jesus talked about the mentality of some of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus told His followers to follow their teachings as they taught the Law of Moses, but He told them not to follow their actions - how they lived. So what was it about how they lived that bothered Jesus? They did everything that they could to draw attention to themselves! I want you to focus on what Jesus said in verse five. He said, “….they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.”
Jesus said that they “broadened their “phylacteries.” The word “phylactery” comes from a word signifying to keep, preserve, or guard. The name was given because phylacteries were worn as amulets or charms, and were supposed to defend them from evil. They were small slips of parchment on which were written certain portions of the Old Testament. The practice of using phylacteries was founded on a literal interpretation of that passage where God commands the Hebrews to have the law as a sign on their foreheads, and as frontlets between their eyes. Exodus 13:16 records, “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt." Although they were supposed to be small, the scribes and Pharisees enlarged theirs to make them wider than other people in an attempt to show, as they supposed, that they had peculiar reverence for the law. Jesus also stated that they “lengthen the tassels of their garments.” What He was referring to was the hem or fringe on a garment that was placed there in accordance with Numbers 15:38 which says, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” Likewise, the scribes and Pharisees made theirs unnecessarily wide, again to call attention to them. And because they were so wide, one of the practices that developed over time and that they encouraged was that as they walked by the people some would drop coins or gifts on to them to honor them. When you read the rest of the chapter, you see the other things they did as part of their desire to be recognized for their roles as Jewish religious leaders. They loved the special place of honor at banquets; best seats in the synagogues; respectful greetings; being called Rabbi, etc. All of these things were done for self-recognition. Jesus abhorred all of this as it went against everything He stood for in His ministry. As a matter of fact, when He did something He asked people not to tell anyone that He did it. So let’s go back to what Jesus said in the first four verses of Matthew chapter six.
In verse one Jesus warns them by telling them, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” To practice your righteousness before is to make sure that people know everything you’re doing. The reason someone does this is so that they can receive “recognition and/or praise” from people. Jesus made it clear that those who do such things will not receive an award from God the Father even though they “supposedly” done those things in service to Him.
In verse two Jesus said, “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” The word hypocrite, in the Greek comes from a word that means stage-players or actors. It’s someone who “acts the part of others, or speaks not their own sentiments, but the sentiments of others.” What it means here, and in the New Testament generally, is those who hide their true feelings and assume or express other feelings than their own. It is those who, for purposes of showiness, gain, or applause, put on the appearance of religion. It is possible that such persons, when they were about to give to the poor and/or needy, would cause a trumpet to be blown supposedly to call the poor together to receive it, but in reality they were calling the people to witness it. To put this in today’s terms, they were two-faced. What the people saw in public was not who they were in private. What Jesus is saying to us is that when we do something for someone else, we do it as a blessing, not as an opportunity. Because they were doing these things to seek the praise of men, when they obtained the applause they sought – the reputation of being charitable – Jesus says they were already receiving their reward and that no additional rewards would be coming from His Father.
So what is the appropriate way in the eyes of Christ for us to help those in need? In verse three and four Jesus tells us. In verse two He tells us not to sound a trumpet or make a lot of noise when we are doing alms – giving charitable gifts. Then in verse three He says, “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” This is a legendary expression, signifying that the action should be done as secretly as possible. The Hebrews would often give credit for some things to members which really belonged to someone else. Their rationale for doing this was that it would be pleasing to God; that He would see the act, however secret it may be, and would openly reward it. If the reward was not greater in this life, it would be in the life to come. In multitudes of cases, however, alms given to the poor are “lent to the Lord.” Proverbs 19:17 tells us, “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Jesus makes it clear that what is done for others should be done in secret and God will do the rewarding because what we are really doing is lending to God what we are giving the person.
Paul told this to the Church in Corinth, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (Second Corinthians 9:6-7) We often hear these verses read when it’s time to take up the offering in Church. However, these verses are true whenever you are giving – in Church or to the poor. It should be freely and bountifully. New Light, giving is a heart issue and I think so many in the Church at large don’t truly understand this. In these verses, Paul is referencing something that the people understood, agriculture. A man that sows little should expect to reap little. If he sows a small piece of land, he will reap a small harvest from that land. Or, if he sows only a few of his seeds, wishing to save his seed and will not commit them to the earth, he must expect to reap little. So it is in giving. Paul was saying that, giving alms, money bestowed to aid the poor and needy or to aid in the mission of the Church, is like sowing seeds into the earth. It will be returned again in some way with an abundant increase. It shall not be lost. When we give to the poor and/or needed, to many it may seem to be a waste, or it may appear to be thrown away. But in due time it will be repaid in some way with abundant increase. Now I do not want you to miss this point: the person who wishes to make the most out of his/her money for future use and personal comfort, will give liberally to both those in need and to Church just as the man who wishes to make the most out of his grain will not just hold on to it and save it, but will let go of it and plant it in the earth.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Solomon said when the waters have overflowed their banks and flooded the whole adjacent country, then is the time to cast abroad the seed. The waters will retire, and the seed will sink into the fertile mud that is left, and will spring up in an abundant harvest. So it is with that which is given for objects of benevolence. The late Maya Angelou wrote something that I think truly captures the spirt of what Jesus said. She wrote, “When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream, whose face we may never see, will benefit from our action, even as we enjoy the fruits sent to us from a donor upstream.” What she wrote tells us that the person(s) benefitting from our benevolence may not be known to us just as we do not know the ones from whom we are benefitting. To me, this sounds like the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Jesus wants us to do good without seeking praise for doing it.
Do you recall the story of the rich young ruler? He came to Jesus and asked Him what He needed to do to inherit eternal life. After Jesus walked him through what was taught in the Law, the rich young ruler was encouraged as he had been a follower of the Law and did what it said. Finally, Jesus told him “….If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21) The rich young ruler had a lot of possessions and property and he was depressed at the thought of giving it all to the poor. He was not willing to do this even to follow Jesus and inherit eternal life. Again, Jesus was after the young man’s heart. Mark 10:21 adds this detail to the story. “Then Jesus beholding him loved him …” I wonder how many in the Church today are like the rich young ruler?
The last thing that Jesus said on this topic in verse four was, “so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Although our giving should be done in secrecy, it will not be missed by God. God sees what we do and will reward us accordingly. Our Lord and Savior warned us against hypocrisy and any outward show in the execution of our religious duties. Whatever we do must be done from an inward principle; that we may be approved of by God and thus not seeking to be praised of men. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving alms. Take heed of it. It is a subtle sin and vain-glory (pride) tends to creep into what we do before we are even aware of it. Remember, if you seek the praise of men for the things you do for others, when you receive it then you have also received your rewards. When we least notice the good deeds that we do ourselves, God takes most notice of them. He will reward us; not as a master who gives his servant what he earns, and no more, but as a Father who gives abundantly to his sons and daughters who serve him.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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