1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, 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 men. I tell you the truth, 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.
1. What would be acts of righteousness and why would Jesus be so concerned with such things which were already part of Jewish culture.
Maybe we should first define righteousness. “Righteousness” means what is in harmony with the will of God, and righteous deeds are those that are pleasing to Him.
Acts of righteousness. The language comes from Jewish tradition. This verse introduces the discussion of three acts of righteousness: (1) giving (vv. 2–4), (2) praying (vv. 5–15) and (3) fasting (vv. 16–18). These “acts of righteousness” were already part of Jewish religious life.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:20 (NIV)
Jesus’ concern here is with the motives behind such acts, and gives insight as to why it matters.
Notice “when you give”. Not “if you give.” Jesus presupposes the disciples’ giving to the poor. The Jews had a systematized welfare system which took care of the less fortunate.
Alm giving: If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Deut 15:7-8 (NIV)
Gleaning: “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.’” Lev 23:22 (NIV)
Sabbath year:“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. Ex 23:10-11 (NIV)
Announce it with trumpets. 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.”hypocrites. The Greek word means “play-actor.” Matthew uses the word 13 times. Hypocrisy does not just involve giving an impression that is incorrect, such as that one gives alms when he really does not. It also involves deceiving oneself even if one deceives no one else. This kind of hypocrisy involves deceiving oneself and others into thinking that what one does is for a certain purpose when it is really for a different purpose. This seems to be the type of hypocrisy in view here.
2. What about rewards, should we be concerned with rewards?
Here it refers to those who fake being pious. their reward in full. The honor they receive from people is all the reward they get. The Pharisees, to whom there is special reference here, had in hand the reward which they sought—the admiration of the people. More accurately translated, the remark is: “they have in full their reward;” which implies that the praise of men was the only reward which they would ever receive. In contrast with this it is asserted below that if alms are given properly God himself will reward the giver.
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 1 Cor 3:12-14 (NASB)
And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matt 10:42 (NLT)
It is very often stated that the reward motive has no place whatsoever in the Christian life. It is held that we must be good for the sake of being good, that virtue is its own reward, and that the whole conception of reward must be banished from the Christian life. On the face of it that point of view is very fine and noble; but it is not the point of view which Jesus held. We have already seen that three times in this passage Jesus speaks about reward. The right kind of almsgiving, the right kind of prayer, and the right kind of fasting will all have their reward. —Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!‘ Matt 25:23 (NIV)
Sometimes the reward is the opportunity to do more and thereby accomplish more for the kingdom of God and then as a result gain even more.
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 men. I tell you the truth, 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 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. ‘
3. Again with the hypocrites, why is this a recurring theme?
Religion is always plagued with hypocrisy. Religion the word comes from the Latin word religare (to tie onto). The word picture is of a person attempting to throw a rope up to God and pull himself up to heaven. Religion is mans efforts to make himself worthy of fellowship with God. This leads to pride and the need to show oneself as being holy when one is not and to attempt to hide ones sin behind a mask of hypocrisy. Jesus’ followers are not to make a show of their praying, in contrast to “the hypocrites”.
4. Are we not supposed to repeat our prayers? What about the parable of the woman who repeatedly petitioned the unrighteous judge?
babbling like pagans. They 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 the god that could help them. Jesus is not necessarily condemning all long prayers, or praying for the same things, but meaningless verbiage in praying. Repetitious prayers, repeating the same words continually like a mantra.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
5. Then why should we pray if He already knows what we are going to say?
God tells us to pray and is really not obligated to give us reasons.
There is more to prayer that just asking for things.
Prayer is a form of communication between and maximally great infinite being and a finite created creature. He has the ability to convey truth to us through the written word, revelation, and spiritually. Prayer is our opportunity to enter into a dialog with God.
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 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. ‘
6. Are we supposed to repeat these very words?
Notice Jesus says “how you should pray”, not “what you should pray”.
The Greek word translated “how” means “in like manner”, “in this fashion” or “in like way”
7. How does the structure of this prayer model how we should pray?
6:9-13 Commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” it is really “The Disciples’ Prayer,” since it was meant as a model for them. The prayer nestles at the literary center of the Sermon on the Mount, and the surrounding texts in the Sermon echo the prayer’s concerns. It contains six petitions, three relating more directly to God (vv. 9–10) and three to us (vv. 11–13). The order of these petitions is significant and intentional.
Our father… this was revolutionary. The Jews never addressed God the father in such a familiar fashion. This was the beginning of the time when the separation between God and man was to be broken down.
hallowed be your name….God is already holy, so the prayer is not that God be made holy but that he be regarded as holy. By his saving and judging acts in history he shows himself holy. This petition is that he so achieve his saving purposes in the world that his holiness is displayed before the eyes of the world’s people and acknowledged by them—which will happen only as his kingdom comes.
Give us today our daily bread….As we’ve seen our nation enter recession, retirements accounts have shrunk, secure jobs have been lost, our fortunes many depended upon in the value of the house have vanished, all very quickly. Our security of our food supply is threatened by terrorist and as a result we should become more aware that our existence is on a day to day basis. Natural disasters remind us how our food supply is very fragile.
Our existence is a day by day trusting in God to provide for our needs.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. We forgive because God has forgiven us.
your kingdom come. Not in the sense of to “come” into existence—after all, it is already here but to “come” more and more completely until its full and final consummation. your will be done on earth. Logically follows “your kingdom come.” on earth as it is in heaven. Probably to be read with each of the three preceding petitions.
lead us not into temptation. That is, do not lead us through trials so deep that they would tempt us to be unfaithful to you. God does not tempt (in the sense of enticing to sin); . the evil one. Satan.
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
This is not to suggest that God will withdraw justification from those who have already received the free pardon He extends to all believers. Forgiveness in that sense—a permanent and complete acquittal from the guilt and ultimate penalty of sin—belongs to all who are in Christ. Yet, Scripture also teaches that God chastens His children who disobey.
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? Heb 12:5-7 (NIV)
Believers are to confess their sins in order to obtain a day-to-day cleansing (1Jn 1:9). This sort of forgiveness is a simple washing from the worldly defilements of sin, not a repeat of the wholesale cleansing from sin’s corruption that comes with justification. It is like a washing of the feet rather than a bath (cf. Jn 13:10). Forgiveness in this latter sense is what God threatens to withhold from Christians who refuse to forgive others
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matt 18:32-35 (NIV)
This just highlights the difference between salvation forgiveness and operational forgiveness.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, 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 men 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.
8. Why is fasting such a neglected part of the Church?
Whenever you fast……. This indicates that fasting is assumed to be a normal part of one’s spiritual life. Fasting is associated with sadness, prayer, charity, and seeking the Lord’s will. Don’t broadcast the fact that you are fasting.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust 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 good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, 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 he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
9. What ties these last 5 verses together?
They deal with our overall perspective and how the way we think about things reveals our inner spiritual health.
The eye is the lamp of the body. It lets light in to illumine the body. your eyes are good. You recognize the folly of storing up wealth (v. 19). The Greek term for “good,” however, may also be rendered “healthy,” here implying “generous.” whole body. Entire person.. Don’t amass earthly wealth. Jesus commends the use of financial assets for purposes which are heavenly and eternal. If this is our goal it show we have an earthly worldview and not a heavenly one.
your eyes are bad……. They are blind to the deceitfulness of wealth. The Greek term for “bad,” however, may also be rendered “unhealthy,” here implying “stingy.”
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 important than food, and the body more important 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 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies 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, O 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.
10. So, we are not supposed to worry about our families, our jobs, our country, our security and just go blindly through life with a “Pollyanna” attitude?
Jesus tells us that we have to think and plan for the future.
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Luke 14:28 (NASB)
Should I change jobs or take that vacation or invest in that business? These are all legitimate concerns that we must think about.
worry….. Undue anxiety—rather than a legitimate concern to provide for one’s daily needs. There are things which are out of our control and are in God’s hands, but we want to take His position and mentally micromanage His universe.
There’s a story about a woman who was on a tour through the planetarium, and the tour guide made the comment that scientist think that in 14 billion years our sun would burn up and explode. The woman screamed, “Oh no! 14 million years!” to which the guide replied “No madam that was 14 billion, with a “b” years. She then calmed down and said “Thank God its billions and not millions, I was really worried.”
add a single hour…. But anxiety may very well shorten one’s life span, as modern medicine has shown.
Lilies…. Here represents flowers generally.
thrown into the fire. Grass was commonly used to heat clay ovens in the Holy Land. you of little faith.
The heart of the matter. Kingdom……. his righteousness. The righteous life that God requires, as the content of the Sermon emphasizes.
- NIV Study Bible Notes
- J Vernon McGee
- Adam Clarke Commentary
- Mc Garvey Commentary on Matthew and Mark
- ESV Study Bible Notes
- Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
- NET Study Notes
- Constables Notes
- MacArthur NASB Study Notes
- Wycliffe Commentary
- Wesley Commentary
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