Dr. “Joey” Alan Le

June 9, 2024

Icebreaker: What are annoying things someone has told you about not worrying?

Do you ever lay in bed thinking about all the regrets you have? Or do you ever zone out and worry about all the ways your life could go wrong?

Matthew 6:25–34 (NRSV)

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

worry about your life – This points towards the broader goal of life. What are your ambitions? What moves you? What motivates you to do whatever it is that you do? What do you “seek first,” most of all? (Stott, 160)

what you will eat or what you will drink…what you will wear – Have the ads on your device ever surprised you? How did they know that you wanted that thing??

Jesus calls out the world’s three most popular topics—what we eat, drink, and wear (Hughes, 220). 

Who is Jesus speaking to? The materialistic or the impoverished?

To A Materialistic Audience

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? –

There are things that matter more than physical life.

If you seek something worthy of your humanity, look beyond materialism and consumption.

To an Impoverished Audience

On the other hand, Jesus was also speaking to people who were poor, abused, and oppressed. They lacked the basic necessities of food, water, and clothing.

What does Jesus say to the poor? He directs their attention to the birds, the flowers, and the grass.

The Birds

26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Even though the birds don’t sow or reap (because they can’t), God still provides for them.

Therefore, if you struggle with food and housing insecurity, Jesus says that your heavenly Father sees you and provides for you.

27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

Worry does not lengthen your life. It only shortens it (Lenski, 282).

One fictional character, Newt Scamander, says: Worrying means you suffer twice. 

The Lilies

28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider  the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

Jesus points to King Solomon, the most glorious and magnificent human being in history (Lenski, 282). And, yet, Solomon’s glory pales in comparison to wildflowers that grow on the side of the road. No one planted them. No one watered them.

Unlike the men in those times who “toil” in the field, or women who “spin” at home (Stott, 166),  the flowers do nothing to buy their beauty or place in the world. They just grow without any of the worry and anxiety that plague us humans.

The Grass

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Once a plant dies, what use do you have for it? Dead grass is only useful as hay or fuel (Lange, 134).

In that time and culture, they used wood to heat ovens. The poor had to use dried grass (Luz, 343) for baking (Lenski, 283). 

As fleeting as the grass is, God is the one who grew it. Why should we worry about the fleetingness of our lives?

Jesus draws our attention to three worthless things: birds, wildflowers, and grass. 

If God cares so much for worthless things, God certainly cares for us even more.

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

Again, I think Jesus’ words can carry two different and equally true meanings for two different audiences. 

• For those who obsess over food, drink, and clothing…Jesus says that our relationship with god is greater than life itself. 

• For those who are barely surviving…Jesus says that God will provide.

32 For it is the Gentiles  who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

In either case, if we allow ourselves to worry about and strive for earthly, material things, we act like the Gentiles. 

The Greco-Roman gods were capricious. You never knew whether your offerings sufficiently appeased the gods. You never knew if you had their favor (Turner, 107).  So, of course, you’d be worried.

Jesus’ heart breaks for them. They pursue these things because they do not know god as their loving and trustworthy Father. They are deceived about what is crucial in life (Garland, 83).  

And so, like Martha, they are "distracted" with worry and anxiety.

WORRY IS AN ISSUE OF TRUST

It’s taken me many years to notice this: 

• When I focus on what I can do, I worry. 

• When I try to control my life, I worry. 

• When I try to take care of myself on my own strength, I worry. 

And, now, I am reminded to consider the birds, lilies, and grass:

• Focus on what God can do. 

• Turn to God for help. 

• Trust that God is the one who takes care of me.

Jesus’ Compassion

And you know what? Just like how God knows our bodily needs, God also knows our emotional and spiritual needs. And that does not stop God from loving us. 

There is no need to worry about how you worry. There’s no need to be anxious about having anxiety. 

No matter how we fall short, the Spirit of God wants to pick us up and set us back on the path toward the kingdom of God.

THREE MISUNDERSTANDINGS

Now, before I conclude, I need to address three misunderstandings.

1) “Do not worry…no need to work; God will provide.”

Jesus is not saying, “Ok, just sit back and relax, and let God hand-feed you.”

Whoever can work, must work. 

Birds work, and they work hard all day. They build nests, collect food, protect their eggs, etc. (Wilkins, Loc. 5,998)  They migrate long distances. Birds work, and even plan.

So while God does not open the clouds to hand-feed the birds, God does provide by giving them the unique attributes they need to provide for themselves. And then they go out and do it. It is the same for us (Stott, 165-166). 

Do your work with the awareness that this is one of the ways that God cares and provides for you (Luz, 348). 

2) “Do not worry…God will provide for others, so I don’t have to.”

This Scripture passage begs the question: If God promises to feed and clothe his children, whom he values so much, why are so many people hungry and exposed?

One answer might be that God does provide. It’s people who hoard, spoil, or waste God’s resources and let others starve (Stott, 167).

Keep in mind that in the same Gospel of Matthew, 19 chapters later, Jesus says that God will judge us according to how we 

• feed the hungry

• give drink to the thirsty

• welcome the stranger

• clothe the naked

• care for the sick

• visit the incarcerated

Yes, God feeds and clothes his children. In fact, God wants to do it through you.

3) “Do not worry…I won’t have any problems.”

Lastly, Jesus is not saying that his disciples are exempt from experiencing pain or trouble (Stott, 167).

After all, Jesus himself experienced rejection, abuse, execution, and death. His disciples would experience it as well.

Whatever will come, let it come. Don’t let the worry sap the strength you need to face it.

Jesus does not order us freedom from work, or from responsibility, or from trouble, but only from worry (Stott, 168).

Christian Ambition

33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus wants us to consider: What is our ambition? (Stott, 173)

What do we want to do or achieve with our lives?

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus contrasted a healthy and an unhealthy ambition: 

• Spiritual versus material

• Treasure in heaven versus treasure on earth

• The kingdom of God versus food and clothing

In the end, there are only two kinds of ambition: Ambition for God versus ambition for oneself (Stott, 172).

So, this is what I take Jesus to be promising. 

When my deepest desire and ambition is to make God’s goodness, love, and peace known everywhere, then “all these things will be given as well.” 

Lesser ambitions like food, drink, and clothing are fine when they are not an end in themselves but a means to a greater end, namely, the spread of God’s kingdom and righteousness. This is what Jesus wants us to seek first (Stott, 174).

Friends, what do you seek first?

If you’re seeking the kingdom of God, then why worry?

Bibliography

Carson, D. A. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew 5–10. Baker Academic, 1999.

Gardner, Richard B. Matthew. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Herald Press, 1991.

Garland, David E. Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Gospel. Reading the New Testament Series. Macon: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2001.

Hahn, Roger L. Matthew: A Commentary for Bible Students. Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2007.

Hughes, R. Kent. The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom. Preaching the Word. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001.

Keener, Craig S. IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Logos. IVP Bible Background Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Lange, John Peter, and Philip Schaff. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008.

Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel. Augsburg Publishing House, 1961.

Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7. Edited by Helmut Koester. Revised ed. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.

Stassen, Glen H., and David P. Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2003.

Stott, John R. W. The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Christian Counter-Culture. Leicester; Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1985.

Turner, David, and Darrell L. Bock. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Matthew and Mark. Vol. 11. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.

Utley, Robert James. The First Christian Primer: Matthew. Vol. Volume 9. Study Guide Commentary Series. Bible Lessons International, 2000.

Weber, Stuart K. Matthew. Vol. 1. Holman New Testament Commentary. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.

Wilkins, Michael J., David E. Garland, Darrell L. Bock, Gary M. Burge, and Ajith Fernando. NIVAC Bundle 6: Gospels, Acts. Kindle. Vol. 6. 8 vols. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015.

Wright, Tom. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004.