Matthew 6:1-34
Giving to the Needy
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Do Not Worry
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? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In Matthew 6, Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount by moving from our external ethical behavior to our internal spiritual motives...While society often encourages us to "show off" our successes or seek public validation to fit in, Jesus warns that true righteousness is destroyed by hypocrisy...He contrasts the hollow reward of human praise with the Eternal Reward of a Father who sees what is done in secret...This chapter serves as a profound call to examine why we do what we do—challenging us to trade our earthly anxieties and our desire for status for a deep, unshakable trust in God's daily provision...
Motives for Righteousness are to seek God, and not human praise...Jesus begins by addressing the three pillars of Jewish piety: giving, praying, and fasting (vv. 1-18)...His instruction is consistent: "Don't show off."...He warns that performing good deeds publicly specifically to be seen by others is the mark of a hypocrite...When we seek human praise, we are essentially acting for ourselves and our own social standing rather than for God...Jesus teaches that true humility and faith are expressed in the "secret place."...Whether it is giving alms without letting the left hand know what the right is doing, or praying in a closet, the goal is sincerity...Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you when your devotion is for Him Alone...
To help us stay centered, Jesus provides the LORD’s Prayer (vv. 9-13) as a model for us...In staying centered, we have His prayer that focuses first on God’s holiness, His Kingdom, and His will, before asking for our "daily bread" and guidance...Crucially, Jesus follows the prayer with a stern reminder about the necessity of forgiveness...He teaches that if we forgive others when they sin against us, our heavenly Father will also forgive us; however, if we do not forgive others, our Father will not forgive our sins (vv. 14-15)...This is a vital lesson for all of us: God wants us to forgive others, and while this is often very hard to do, it is a requirement for those who have received His mercy...Our sincerity in the "secret place" is proven by our willingness to release bitterness and extend grace to those who have wronged us, reflecting the heart of the Father...
Earth's treasures and priorities are serving only One Master...As the teaching progresses, Jesus shifts from the motive of our religious acts to the priority of our daily lives (vv. 19-24)...He presents a clear choice: earthly treasures versus heavenly ones...He warns us not to store up perishable earthly riches that moths and rust destroy, but to invest our lives in eternal treasures...This isn't just about money; it's about the heart, for "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."...Jesus makes it clear that we cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve both God and money (mammon)...We must choose our master, and He is asking us: Is it money or is it God?...When we prioritize spiritual things over earthly wants, we align ourselves with God's Kingdom, which is the only investment that truly lasts...
We can overcoming worry by trusting in the LORD...The final section of Matthew 6 (vv. 25-34) is perhaps the most comforting yet challenging part of the Sermon...Jesus commands us: "Do not worry about your life." He isn't saying that our needs for food, drink, and clothing don't matter; rather, He is saying that God already knows we need them...By pointing to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field—which God cares for without their striving—Jesus reminds us of our immense value to the Creator...Worrying cannot add a single hour to our lives; instead, it reveals a lack of faith in God’s provision...
The practical application for us today is to abandon fear and anxiety by living a life of faith...When we "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness," we are promised that all these necessary things will be given to us as well...Jesus is calling us to a radical shift in focus and what we think is important each day...Prioritizing God's will over material security is so important...By trusting God as our Provider, we are freed from the heavy burden of "fitting in" or "getting ahead" by the world's standards...We can live for an audience of One, confident that the Father who began a good work in us is faithful to sustain us every single day...