Matthew 6:19-34 | "His Kingdom and Righteousness" Part 1

I. Reading of Scripture

Matthew 6:31 ESV

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

Matthew 6:32 ESV

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

This is God’s Word, Amen.

Pray

Matthew 6:19-7:11 | "His Kingdom and Righteousness"

II. Introduction

A. Introduction to Theme

The title of this message highlights the two central themes of The Sermon on the Mount: “His Kingdom and Righteousness.”

Both of these words, kingdom and righteousness seem very familiar to us, in that we hear them, and read them, and speak them, and sing them often as we encounter God’s Word and gather with the saints for worship.

But if we are honest, we would have to admit that while these words seem very familiar, they are really very foreign to us, practically and theologically.

Practically, we are not accustomed to living under the rule of an earthly king.

Our forefathers in the United States of America, fought and gained freedom from kingly rule. They shrunk the boundaries of a kingdom. Generations of men and women since then have fought and sacrificed to keep us free. We don’t bow before anyone, much less an earthly king.

The word “Kingdom” is foreign to us. A “kingdom” is something that belongs “over there” — to another time and another place and another people.

Until someone walks into the man cave, or the “she-shed’” the “office” or the “kitchen,” the “garage” or the “gym” and touches something, or moves something out of place.

And then we realize that the concept of kingdom is something we all relate to and know selfishly well.

We all have an innate desire to mark off a territory and call it “mine.” “I am the king, I am the queen of this domain. All who enter in, will abide by my rules. So let it be written, so let it be done.”

We are inclined publicly to rebel against kings, while privately making ourselves kings and making for ourselves kingdoms, to rule and reign over whatever we please. And we do a good job of that.

We understand kingdom better than we think.

The word “Righteousness” is also foreign to us.

Practically, it is a big word, and one seldom used used outside of an ecclesial context (outside of Church).

But as with “Kingdom,” we understand the concept of righteousness better than we think.

For at the core of "righteousness” is “answering like with like” (BDAG).

When someone gives us a gift for Christmas, we are compelled to give them a like gift in return. If someone shoves us, we want to shove them back with no less force. When someone tells us “I love you,” not many people respond by saying “I know.” But we say in return, “I love you too.”

Answering like with like. We understand righteousness better than we think.

But theologically, the word “kingdom” and “righteousness” are words that belong to God and not to us.

For the kingdom of heaven is spoken of by Jesus as something that draws near. It is not created by us or sustained by us or ruled by us. It is outside of us, and even far from us, that Jesus brings near to us.

It is that which is foreign, that Jesus alone makes familiar.

Righteousness is like this too. For the Scriptures declare in multiple places: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10…).

And so we write righteousness off as unattainable , we set it aside, we compartmentalize it, and we don’t care to understand what it is and what it means so much. Because it too, is not created by us, or sustained by us or represented by us within ourselves.

The righteousness of God is outside of us, and even far from us, so that Jesus must bring it near.

Both “kingdom” and “righteousness,” when properly sourced, are found not within US, but within our Heavenly Father. It is HIS kingdom and righteousness that we are to seek after.

Jesus teaches, and even commands, that we are to seek — that is, “to devote serious effort to obtain” (BDAG) God’s kingdom and righteousness.

This is what we are to be preoccupied with as followers of Jesus.

We are not only to seek after these things, but we are also to prioritize them.

“Seek first his kingdom and righteousness.”

Jesus is going to help us prioritize what we are to be preoccupied with. And he’s going to do it by teaching us what we are to spend less time and effort upon.

We should spend LESS time and effort:

treasuring up for ourselves treasures on earth (6:19-24)

being anxious for our life (6:25-34)

judging (7:1-5)

giving dogs what is holy and throwing pearls before pigs (7:6)

We should spend MORE time and effort:

Asking and receiving

seeking and finding

knocking and doors being opened (7:7-11)

B. Introduction to Text

Our focus today is this first section, chapter 6:19-34.

III. Exposition

A. 6:19-34 | His Kingdom

The first set of verses, 6:19-34, may be grouped under a general heading of “His Kingdom.” For the things that Jesus teaches here have the result of expounding for us what it means for God to be king, and for us to be part of His Kingdom.

And this will be all-encompassing to who we are. Jesus will speak of heart, body, and soul.

1. 6:19-24 | Do not treasure up for yourselves treasures on earth.

Matthew 6:19 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

Matthew 6:20 ESV

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:21 ESV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Verses 19 and 20 are identical verses, with only minor alterations.

Verse 19 is a prohibition.

Do NOT do this —

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.”

Verse 20 grants permission.

“Do THIS — “

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

The action here, to “lay up” or “store up” is a word that derives itself from the word “treasure.”

Jesus is speaking about “treasuring up” “treasure” for ourselves.

“Treasure” is something that is valuable and guarded. It is kept safe (LN, BDAG).

The action of “treasuring up treasure for ourselves” is not what is good or bad. It is the location where we are treasuring that makes what we are doing good or bad.

The only difference in these two verses is the location:

“upon the earth” (v.19) and “in heaven” (v.20).

Think of it as a safety deposit box. Where is your safety deposit box, if you have one?

Answer: In a bank somewhere. Your treasure is stored on earth.

But does anything in that safety deposit box represent something that is being stored up in heaven?

In a way, we could think of “safety deposit boxes” as “spiritual deposit boxes.” Something that is material, that we can touch, but that is stored up for a spiritual purpose.

Did you hear about the man from San Francisco? Who acquired 7,000 Bitcoins (a cryptocurrency) back in 2012.

The only way to access a Bitcoin is with a password the user sets for himself.

And this man, Stefan Thomas, lost his password to the hard drive with his 7,000 Bitcoins. You have only 10 tries to enter the right password before all the data is erased, and I think he’s used 8 attempts.

Since 2012, Bitcoin has increased dramatically in value. Right now one Bitcoin is worth about $57,000 a piece.

Which makes this man, a Bitcoin multi-millionaire, worth almost $400 million — but he can’t access any of it.

It’s stored on this hard drive, and with two more failed attempts to access it, it will all be gone forever.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Because you will not remain on earth forever, and the earth will pass away, and what you have labored and stored up will pass away too.

What is stored upon the earth is susceptible to destruction and theft.

But not so with what is treasured up in heaven!

Matthew 6:21 ESV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The attitude that we have toward treasure fundamentally begins in the heart.

Do you remember that sin does not begin with the action, but with the attitude in the heart first? — So that looking with lust is the same as committing adultery in the heart...

This same kingdom principle applies to treasure as well. The actions we take with treasure, will reflect what our heart treasures and this is made visible by where we store our treasures.

Church —

Where is your treasure stored?

To what or whom does your heart belong?

The answer for one will be the answer for the other. Both go together. That’s what Jesus is teaching.

If you love the earth, you will treasure up on earth, and your heart is on the earth.

If you love His kingdom, you will treasure up in heaven, and your heart is in heaven.

Matthew 6:22 ESV

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

Matthew 6:23 ESV

23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Notice the emphasis here not on our “heart” but our “body.”

As your eye is open, your body takes in the light that you see. If your eye is closed (close your eyes for a moment) — what do you see? Darkness. (Open your eyes again).

What your eye looks upon, your eye takes in to your body and steers your body.

If your eye is healthy, it is good, kind, generous, upright. If your eye is bad (the word “bad” is the word for “evil”) — you have an “evil eye,” and your body is full of malice, greed and envy (Luz).

It all depends upon what your eyes are fixed upon.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Fix your eyes upon Jesus! And the rest of your body will follow suit.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.

This is one of the impossibilities Jesus reveals to us. We either believe this or we don’t - but we cannot have it both ways!

Our loyalty and service is either to one or the other — God or mammon, God or possessions, God or money.

As Ulrich Luz points out, it all boils down to this: “In one’s activity with money, one’s humanity is completely at risk.”

What we do with what we’ve been given matters, not just for the moment, but for our entire being and existence!

Proverbs 23:4 ESV

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.

Proverbs 23:5 ESV

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

Your money will ultimately end up in heaven, for it all belongs to God. The real question is — will you?

What we do with our money reveals who we serve, how we act, and the location of our heart. What we do with our possessions informs our worship.

This is clear! If we desire to give worship to God, we cannot do so if we hold on to earthly treasures as well. If we do not give our money to God as well.

Just as when we practice our righteousness before other people we need to be alert and on guard, because the temptation to do it to be seen by others is there . . . So too, whenever we are around our earthly treasures, we need to be just as guarded. Because our heart may be with them too.

2. 6:25-34 | Do not be anxious for your life

Matthew 6:25 ESV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:26 ESV

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?

Jesus begins verse 25 with a statement of authority. “I tell you.” “I say to you.”

And he also begins with a connecting statement. “Therefore.” “For this reason.”

What Jesus teaches here cannot be read independently. It must be read with what precedes it!

It is not that we are not to be anxious, period. It is that we are not to be anxious about things that God is not anxious about.

There are times when we will experience anxiety. There are times when we will worry. But it need not be about things that God is not worried about.

Jesus builds the teaching “do not be anxious” upon the revelation that “you cannot serve God and mammon.”

And so it is, that our anxieties, what we worry about, cannot be detached from who or what we serve.

This will help someone today! For your worry may reveal that your heart is not with God.

The answer to your worry is to serve God. To give your heart to God. To give your possessions to God. And in doing so, to give your worries to God.

Ask this question: What is the source of my worry?

I guarantee it will be something other than God.

If we serve money, money is our life. And therefore, all the things that money can buy become our source of worry. Our eyes are fixed on material things.

My Dad says it this way: I’ve learned that I spend my whole life working to buy things that I spend my whole life fixing.

Anxiety is never listed on a receipt, but when we buy something we certainly purchase anxiety with whatever it is!

But Jesus, speaking to his followers, His disciples, speaking to us — says “Do not be anxious about your life.”

Or, “do not be anxious in your life.” In your inner being, in your mind, in your thoughts and feelings.”

Your heavenly Father feeds the birds — are you not of more value than they?

And the answer is yes — yes you are! You are of more value than the birds. You, who were created in the image of God, with a body, soul, spirit, and mind.

Is God worried about food? Is God worried about clothing? if you are, what kind of testimony does that declare about your God?

“their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” (Phil 3:19b ESV).

Do the birds have a better testimony, and more faith, than we do?

Matthew 6:27 ESV

27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:28 ESV

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Matthew 6:29 ESV

29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Matthew 6:30 ESV

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

We understand now what it means to be under God’s rule and reign. To be a part of Heaven’s Kingdom.

God cares for what God reigns over.

The provision of God covers every square inch of the boundary of His kingdom.

To live under God’s authority, to seek and desire and pursue God’s reign, is to live in such a way that represents God’s provision.

And worry destroys that testimony about God. Worry is not found inside the kingdom, but outside of it.

Worry is an enemy of faith.

This is the first time this word "O you of little faith” is spoken, and it will be spoken several more times by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. And it is not a good thing to be called.

Because the size of our faith represents the size of our God.

The size of our faith represents our view of His kingdom.

If He is the King of All Kings, and His Kingdom is the Kingdom of Heaven, then we can have a great faith that overcomes all anxiety and worry about needed things!

Take comfort in the Gospel proclamation of verse 32: “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

He knows!

We can rest in that truth — that He knows.

We can stop worrying because of that revelation — He knows!

G.Campbell-Morgan points out that “anxiety is always care about the future.”

What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? — These are hypotheticals. What if-s. What might-be.

But the kingdom of Heaven compels us to focus on the future in light of the present, and the present in light of the future — the coming kingdom of Heaven.

If we believe God holds our future, then we live like it now!

And we don’t worry about tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34 ESV

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

G.Campbell-Morgan again says:

“You cannot kill to-morrow’s anxiety by being anxious about it to-day.”

(GCM, Matthew, 70).

IV. Conclusion

A. Gospel Proclamation

Jesus says:

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

That word “first” is the same word, and the same priority that Paul later gives to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:3 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

1 Corinthians 15:4 ESV

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

i. Sin

Sin wants us to live according to our own righteousness and kingdom. To be our own judges and kings.

But Jesus died for that sin by becoming the judged one in our place.

So that he might put to death selfishness, and worry, and misplaced treasures, and open for us the way to righteousness.

ii. Righteousness

Before we give, we must first receive.

Jesus is offering his righteousness to us. And indeed, in Christ we have received it already.

iii. Judgment

What does our life represent about our righteousness? Specifically, what do our possessions reveal about our heart, body, and soul?

We will be judged by these things.

The world is already judging us by them — if we invest in earthly riches and are always anxious, yet claiming to be children of the kingdom — we’re frauds.

But more so, God will judge us by these things. And God sees what we do outwardly, but He also sees as far as the heart.

If Christ dwells in our heart by faith, then we have nothing to worry about. Our life is hid with Christ in God.

If we know not Christ, we have everything to worry about.