Matthew · chapter 6 of 28
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Matthew 6 continues the Sermon on the Mount with a warning not to practice righteousness to be seen by others. Jesus teaches giving, praying and fasting before the Father who sees in secret, offers the Lord's Prayer as a model, and calls his hearers to store up treasure in heaven, to serve one master and not to be anxious, seeking first the kingdom of God.
In Matthew 5 Jesus described the righteousness of the kingdom that exceeds that of the Pharisees. In chapter 6 he shows how it is lived out in three basic religious practices, giving, praying and fasting, and then addresses the disciple's relationship to money and anxiety. The common thread is living for the Father and not for the approval of others.
Jesus warns that righteousness must not be practiced before people in order to be seen, because those who do so have already received their reward. When giving to the needy, one should not sound a trumpet like the hypocrites; the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing, and the Father who sees in secret will reward. When praying, one should not stand on street corners to be seen but go into a room and close the door, and not heap up empty phrases like the pagans, for the Father knows what they need before they ask.
Then Jesus teaches how to pray. The Lord's Prayer asks for the hallowing of the Father's name, the coming of his kingdom and the doing of his will on earth as in heaven; then daily bread, forgiveness of debts as they also forgive, and not to be led into temptation but delivered from evil. Jesus stresses that the Father will forgive those who forgive others and will not forgive those who do not. On fasting, he asks that they not show a gloomy face but wash and anoint their heads, so that only the Father sees.
Then he calls them not to store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves steal, but in heaven; where the treasure is, the heart will be. The eye is the lamp of the body, and no one can serve two masters: God and money. So Jesus says not to be anxious about what to eat, drink or wear: look at the birds, which do not sow, yet the Father feeds them, and the lilies of the field, which God clothes. If God cares for them, how much more for his children. The pagans seek those things, but the Father knows they need them. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus advises praying in a room, with the door shut, to the Father who is in secret and who sees in secret. True prayer seeks God, not the approval of others.
Jesus teaches the Lord's Prayer as a model. It begins with God's name, kingdom and will, and then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. The order teaches us to put God first and trust him for daily needs.
Where a person's treasure is, there the heart will be also. What we value most ends up directing our affections and decisions, which is why it matters where we place our trust.
Jesus calls his hearers to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, with the promise that the Father will add what is needed. It is not indifference to needs but ordering priorities with trust in the Father's care.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That it should not know what the right hand is doing, so the giving is secret. — Matthew 6:3-4
Answer: In a room with the door shut, to the Father who is in secret. — Matthew 6:5-6
Answer: That the Father give us this day our daily bread. — Matthew 6:11
Answer: That the Father will not forgive that person's trespasses either. — Matthew 6:14-15
Answer: God and money. — Matthew 6:24
Answer: The birds of the air, which the Father feeds, and the lilies of the field, which God clothes. — Matthew 6:26-30
Jesus does not forbid others from seeing our good works, but he does forbid doing them to be seen. In a small group you can ask which part of our spiritual life exists only when someone is watching, and what would change if only the Father saw it.
Anxiety is a real experience, and Jesus does not rebuke it harshly but invites us to look at the birds and the lilies and remember who our Father is. Write down one specific worry from this week, hand it over in prayer and ask what it means today to seek first the kingdom of God in that situation.
Matthew 6 teaches us to live before the Father, with religion without show, a heart set on heaven and a trust that replaces worry. In chapter 7 the sermon concludes with warnings about judging, persevering prayer, the narrow way and the importance of building on the rock.
No. Jesus himself prayed in public, and elsewhere he asks that good works be seen so that God is glorified. The problem here is the motive: doing it to receive human praise. What counts is toward whom the heart is directed.
It is a request for protection: asking that the Father not bring us into trials we could not bear and that he deliver us from evil. It does not say God tempts anyone; the New Testament makes clear that God does not tempt, and the petition expresses dependence on his care.
The text condemns anxiety that distrusts the Father, not responsible foresight. Other passages of Scripture praise diligence and wisdom and call people to work to support their families. Jesus teaches that work and plans are carried out with trust, not with dread.