Matthew 6:1-18

REVIEW OF MATTHEW

Matthew Had 2 Primary Purposes in His Account of Jesus’ Life, Ministry, and Death

To Show Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Entire Old Testament Scriptures

To Show Jesus as the Anointed King of the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew’s Primary Theme, Which is Unique to Only His Gospel Account, is the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew Wants to Show His Readers How God is Bringing His Reign and Rule Over Heaven to Earth Through His Human Son, Jesus

In Chapter 5, Jesus Goes Up Onto a Hill and Begins Teaching a Large Crowd That Was Following Him About His Coming Kingdom

He Tells Them the Characteristics and Behaviors of Those Who Will Be Citizens in His Kingdom

He Tells Them They are to Be Salt and Light to the World

And That They are to Be More Righteous Than the Scribes and Pharisees

He Tells Them How to Do That By Rightly Interpreting God’s Law Where the Scribes and Pharisees Had Twisted and Misinterpreted it

Matthew 6:1-18

We are Still in the Sermon on the Mount

And Jesus is Still Teaching the Crowd How to Have Greater Righteousness Than the Scribes and Pharisees

But He is Going to Move Away From How They are to Understand and Apply the Law…

To How They are to Behave in His Kingdom

Matthew 6:1 (NASB)

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

This Verse Introduces the Next 3 Examples of Kingdom Living Jesus is About to Teach

Those 3 Examples Consist of:

Giving to the Poor

Prayer

Fasting

But Jesus Isn’t So Much Concerned With IF We Do These Things

We’ll Notice How He Just Assumes We Are Already Giving to the Poor, Praying, and Fasting

In This Text, He Isn’t Concerned With IF We Do Them, But WHY We Do Them

Just Like in Chapter 5, How Jesus Was Focused On Obeying the Law From the Heart…

Here He is Continuing to Focus On the Heart

He Commands His Followers Not to Practice Their Righteousness in Front of Others For the Purpose of Being Noticed

What are We to Do With These Words When We Have Already Heard Jesus Say…

Matthew 5:16 (NASB)

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

First He Tells Us to Do Good Works So That People Will See Us Do Them

Then He Tells Us Not to Practice Our Righteousness Where People Will See Us

The Difference is in the Motivation

He Commands Us to Do Good Works Publicly So That God Will Be Glorified

We are Not to Practice Our Righteousness and Good Works in Order to Glorify Ourselves

A Quote From Alfred Plummer Makes This Point Much Better Than I Could

“The light of a Christian character will shine before men and win glory for God without the artificial aid of public advertisement.”

We Can Do What is Right, But if We Do it For the Wrong Reasons, God Will Not Reward Us

Let’s Look at Jesus’ Examples of This Behavior:

First He Will Describe the Wrong Behavior, Then He Will Describe the Proper Behavior

Matthew 6:2 (NASB)

So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Since the Giving of the Law, the Israelite People Were Always Expected to Take Care of and Provide For the Needy

Especially Those of Their Own People

To Give to the Poor Was Considered a Wonderful Act of Love Toward Others and Devotion to God

The Key Word that Makes Up the Greek Word For “Give to the Poor” is “Mercy”

Giving to the Poor is an Act of Compassionate Mercy for Someone in Need

Jesus Obviously Expected the Citizens of His Kingdom to Be Merciful (Beatitudes)

But, Generosity and Mercy are Not Enough

He Cares About WHY We Show Mercy

The Scribes and Pharisees Were Fond of Giving to the Poor in Such a Way That Brought Attention to Themselves

There’s No Historical Evidence For Any Jewish Leaders Literally Blowing a Trumpet When They Would Give to the Poor

It Seems Like Jesus is Describing What They Were Doing in an Outlandish Figurative Sense

They Wanted an Audience to See How Devoted to God They Were

They Wanted People “oohing and ahhing” Over How Righteous They Were

Jesus Calls Them “Hypocrites”

In the Greek Culture, This Word Meant to Be an Actor, to Pretend to Be Someone You Aren’t

They Were Playing the Part of Righteous, Self-Less, Merciful Men

But Inwardly They Unrighteous, Self-Centered, Merciless Men

They Wanted to Be Honored By Men

Jesus Said, “They Got Exactly What They Were Acting For”

They Have Their Reward, But That Will Be the Only Reward They Receive

That’s the Improper Way to Give to the Poor…

Now Let’s See the Proper Way

Matthew 6:3–4 (NASB)

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Is it Possible to Do Something With Your Right Hand Without Your Left Hand Knowing it?

Jesus Isn’t Focused On the Hands, He’s Focused On the Heart

What is Going On in Your Heart/Mind When You Give to the Poor

There Seem to Be 3 Possibilities:

Either We are Hoping to Be Praised By Others

Or We are Doing it Privately, But Inwardly We are Praising Ourselves

Or We are Only Hoping For the Approval of Our Father

That 2nd One Can Be Just as Detrimental to Our Walk in Christ as the 1st

We Should Never Seek the Attention of Others When We are Doing Righteous Deeds

But We Also Shouldn’t Dwell On Our Own Good Deeds

That Self-Consciousness Can Easily Turn into Self-Righteousness if We Aren’t Careful

We Can Think We Are Following Jesus’ Command By Not Seeking the Attention of Others When We Do Good…

But if Our Right Hand Never Stops Telling Our Left About What We’ve Done…

Then We Still Haven’t Done it With the Right Heart

It’s Possible to Turn an Act of Mercy into an Act of Pride

It’s Possible For Our Motives to Turn From Benefitting Others to Benefitting Ourselves

Our Heart, Motivation, and Purpose When Giving to the Poor Ought to Be to Alleviate the Suffering of the Needy…

And For Any Glory That is Given to Be Directed Toward God

When We Help the Needy From a Righteous and Sincere Heart…

We May Not Be Seen By Others…

But We Can Rest Assured That God Has Seen the Entire Thing

And Jesus Promises Us That Our Father Will (Future) Reward Us

What Will Be Our Reward?

Jesus Doesn’t Say

The Reward of Knowing You’ve Helped Another Human Being in Need?

The Blessing of God Providing You the Means and Opportunities to Continue Doing Such Good Deeds?

Those are Definitely Rewards the Bible Promises to Those Who are Generous With Others

But Ultimately the Reward is the Promise of Kingdom Citizenship and Resurrection to Eternal Life

Things That Those Who Give For Self-Honor and Self-Praise Will Never Receive

Let’s Look at the 2nd Example of Improper Behavior

Matthew 6:5 (NASB)

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Now Jesus Moves From Giving to Praying

The Hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees Loved to Pray Out in the Open For Everyone to Hear

Again, They Wanted Others to Hear and Say, “Wow, Look at How Righteous They Are!”

Jesus Tells Us People Who Do That Have the Reward They Were Seeking

But They Will Have Nothing More

Then Jesus Gives Us the Proper Way We are to Pray

Matthew 6:6 (NASB)

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

When We Talk to Our Father as Individuals, it is Meant to Be a Private Matter

Jesus Tells Us to Go to an Inner Room

A Room With No Windows and a Door You Can Shut to Ensure Total Privacy

When You are Speaking to God, Who are You Wanting to Listen?

Do You Want Other to Listen to You and Think Highly of Your Spiritual Life?

Or Do You Want God to Listen and Answer Your Prayers?

You Can Have One or the Other, But You Can’t Have Both

Jesus Then Gives Us a 2nd Improper Example of Prayer

Matthew 6:7–8 (NASB)

And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Jesus Turns Form the Scribes and Pharisees to the Gentiles

They Were Known For Their Meaningless Repetition in Their Prayers

We See Examples of That in 1 Kings 18:26, When Elijah is Squaring Off Against the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:26 (NASB)

Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.

Also in Acts 19:34, When a Riot Was Started By a Silversmith Who Made Shrines of Diana (Artemis) Over Paul Preaching the Gospel in That Area

Acts 19:34 (NASB)

But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

Pagans Would Shout Out Continuously to Their Gods in Hopes of Finally Causing One to Listen to Their Pleas

Citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom Were Not to Treat Their Father as if He is a God Who Doesn’t Care or Listen to His Children

He is a Father Who Loves to Hear His Children’s Voice

He is a Father Who Loves to Answer Their Prayers

And He is a Father Who Already Knows What His Children Need Before They Ever Ask Him

We are to Pray to God, Not in a Repetitious, Memorized Formula…

But From the Heart, as a Child Who Climbs Up in Her Father’s Lap in Order to Speak Secretly and Intimately With Him

Jesus Then Gives His Listeners a Model of How to Pray to God

We are Going to Look at That Tonight in More Detail

For Now, Let’s Look at Jesus’ 3rd and Final Example of Improper Behavior

Matthew 6:16 (NASB)

Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Jesus Now Moves From Prayer to Fasting

When Fasting From Food or Water, Jewish People Would Commonly Smear Ashes On Their Heads and Fast From Other Luxuries Like Anointing Themselves With Oil to Moisturize Their Skin

Fasting is All About to Denying Oneself of the Desires of the Flesh

But the Scribes and Pharisees Were Fasting For the Purpose of Satisfying Their Fleshly Pride

They Typically Fasted Every Monday and Thursday

And When They Would Fast, They Would Try to Look as Miserable as Possible So People Would Recognize That They Were Fasting

This Was for the Purpose of Looking as Righteous and Devoted to God as Possible

Again, They Have Their Reward of Praise From Others, But That is the Only Reward They Will Have

Matthew 6:17–18 (NASB)

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

The Proper Way to Fast is to Clean Yourself Up and Do Your Best to Not Look Any Different Than When You Aren’t Fasting

This is the Type of Fasting That God Rewards

Notice How Jesus Just Assumes That the People of His Kingdom Will Fast

You Won’t Find a Direct Command in the NT to Fast, But We Do See Christians Do it On Occasions

And Jesus Assumes That We Will Do it as Well

Maybe That Should Tell Us Something

There are a Few Religious Reasons Why a Person Might Fast:

Over the Conviction of Our Sins

We Turn to God in Our Grief and Give Ourselves Nothing

It Was Very Common in the OT to Fast For This Purpose

To Give Oneself Entirely to God and See Him as All One Needs

For Purposes of Self-Control

Hunger is One of Our Great Desires

To Train Oneself in Controlling That Desire Can Prove Beneficial in Other Areas of Desire as Well

Christians Ought to Be Practicing Self-Control Everyday

In Order to Share What We Have With Others

To Give One’s Meal or Other Luxuries to Another Who is in Need is an Act of Great Sacrifice and Love

I Think, Health Permitting, Christians Should Consider Fasting For Such Purposes More Often

People Much More Righteous Than Myself, and Even My King, Saw it as Important

So I Probably Need to as Well

But We Have to Remember Jesus’ Words Here

Fasting is Meant to Be Something Between Me and God

And When it is, God Knows and God Rewards

Application

The Application From this Text is Pretty Simple to Grasp

Jesus Expects the Citizens of His Kingdom to Help the Needy, Pray to the Father, and Fast

But We Dont Need to Assume These 3 Rightious Practices is an Exhaustive List

Giving to the Poor is Representative of Our Relationship With Others

Prayer is Representative of Our Relationship With God

Fasting is Representative of Our Relationship With Ourselves

These 3 Righteous Acts Represent All of the 3 Areas of Righteous Living

But He Doesn’t Just Want Us to Do Righteous Things Toward Others, to Glorify God, and to Build Ourselves Up in Faith…

He Wants Us to Do Them For the Right Reasons

They are to Be Done Secretly and Sincerely From the Heart

Not Publicly for Show

We are to Let Our Light Shine So That God Will Be Glorified Through Our Good Works

And That Will Only Happen When We Are Doing Them For That Very Purpose

To End the Lesson, Here’s a Simple Little Tip That May Help You Know How to Rightly Practice Good Works

Alexander Bruce - ‘show when tempted to hide’ and ‘hide when tempted to show’.

When We are Tempted to Hide Our Good Works or Faith in Christ…

That May Be the Exact Moment to Show Them

But When We are Tempted to Show Our Good Works or Faith in Christ…

That May Be the Exact Moment to Hide Them

May Our Motivation Always Be For God to Be Glorified