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.
Verse 10
The phrase “May your Kingdom come soon” is a reference to God’s spiritual reign, not Israel’s freedom from Rome. God’s Kingdom was announced in the covenant with Abraham, is present in Christ’s reign in believers’ hearts, and will be complete when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth.
When we pray “May your will be done,” we are not resigning ourselves to fate but praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next. And how does God accomplish his will on earth? He does it largely through people willing to obey him. This part of the prayer allows us to offer ourselves as doers of God’s will, asking him to guide, lead, and give us the means to accomplish his purposes.
Verse 11 (“Give us today our daily bread”)
We are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. It is a misconception to think that we provide for our needs ourselves. We must trust God daily to provide what he knows we need. We are praying the basic necessities – we are not necessarily praying for everything we “want,” as Jesus wants us to focus on our needs and to be simplistic and not materialistic (as he will touch on further).
Verse 12 (“forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”)
Jesus will touch more on this in verses 14 and 15
Verse 13 (“lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”)
That is, do not lead us through trials so deep that they would tempt us to be unfaithful to God. God does not tempt (in the sense of enticing to sin – James 1:13).
As disciples, we should pray to be delivered from these trying times and for deliverance from Satan (“the evil one”) and his deceit. All Christians struggle with temptation. Sometimes it is so subtle that we don’t even realize what is happening to us. God has promised that he won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1st Corinthians 10:13). Ask God to help you recognize temptation and to give you strength to overcome it and choose God’s way instead.
Verses 14-15
Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don’t forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness.
God’s forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means (Ephesians 4:32). It is easy to ask God for forgiveness but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask, “Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?”
Matthew 6:16-18 (Jesus Teaches about Fasting)
Fasting – going without food in order to spend time in prayer – is noble and difficult. It gives us time to pray, teaches self-discipline, reminds us that we can live with less, and helps us appreciate God’s gifts.
Jesus was not condemning fasting, but hypocrisy – fasting in order to gain public approval. Fasting was mandatory once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:32). The Pharisees voluntarily fasted twice a week to impress the people with their “holiness.” Jesus commended acts of self-sacrifice done quietly and sincerely. He wanted people to adopt spiritual disciplines for the right reasons, not from a selfish desire for praise.
Matthew 6:19-24 (Jesus Teaches about Money – Treasures in Heaven)
Storing treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God. There is a sense in which giving our money to God’s work is like investing in heaven. But we should seek to please God not only in our giving but also in fulfilling God’s purposes in all we do.
Jesus made it clear that having the wrong treasures leads to our hearts being in the wrong place. What we treasure the most controls us, whether we admit it or not. If possessions or money become too important to us, we must re-establish control or get rid of items. Jesus calls for a decision that allows us to live contentedly with whatever we have because we have chosen eternal values over temporary, earthly treasures.
Spiritual vision is our capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from his point of view. But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. Self-serving desires, interests, and goals block that vision. Serving God is the best way to restore it. A “good” eye is one that is fixed on God.
Jesus says we can have only one master. We live in a materialistic society where many people serve money. They spend all their lives collecting and storing it, only to die and leave it behind. Their desire for money and what it can buy far outweighs their commitment to God and spiritual matters.
Regardless of what you store up, you will spend much of your time and energy thinking about. Don’t fall into the materialistic trap, because “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1st Timothy 6:10). Can you honestly say that God, and not money (or stuff or power), is your master? One test is to ask yourself which one occupies more of your thoughts, time, and efforts.
Jesus contrasted heavenly and earthly values when he explained that our first loyalty should be to those things that do not fade, cannot be stolen or used up, and never wear out. We should not be fascinated with our possessions, lest they possess us. God alone deserves to be our master. Either we store our treasures with God, focus our eyes on him, and serve him alone – or else we do not serve him at all. Where does your ultimate allegiance lie?
Matthew 6:25-34 (Jesus Teaches about Worry)
Jesus tells us not to worry about the needs that God promises to supply. Worrying may …
(1) – damage your health
(2) – disrupt your productivity
(3) – negatively affect the way you treat others, and
(4) – reduce your ability to trust in God.
How many ill effects of worry are you experiencing? Here is the difference between worry and genuine concern – worry immobilizes, but concern moves you to action.
To “seek the Kingdom of God above all else” means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with his desires, to take his character for your pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything. What is really important to you? People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don’t actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life.
Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps, and schedules, and trusting in God’s guidance. When done well, planning can help alleviate worry. Worriers, by contrast, are consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. They let their plans interfere with their relationship with God. Don’t let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.
