Following the Way of Jesus Series in Matthew's Gospel

God’s Kingdom is Hear! - Give to the Needy.

Matthew 6:1-4

Last week, we learned that “God’s Kingdom is Here!” and in response we must “Obey His Law.”!

He is our King and we are His subjects and in the same way as our Government expect its citizens to obey the law of the state, so God as our lawgiver expects us to obey His law.

The key verse to grasp here are those of Matthew 5 17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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. “

Notice Jesus never says the law does not matter and neither does he say, now that you are under grace you an ignore the law as a rule of life. He says in fact that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Now to understand what he means by this, note that Jesus is challenging the notion that law-keeping is merely a matter of abiding by the letter of the law.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law prided themselves on this - I don’t murder; I don’t commit adultery; I make sure if I do divorce, I follow the letter of the law; I keep my vows, etc.

However, Jesus takes us way beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the law, saying in effect it is not enough to merely say, ”I don’t murder” you must also consider your motives and intent of the heart, are you murdering someone on the inside? Are you treating them with contempt? Hating someone? Likewise, its not enough to say “I don’t commit adultery”, are you lusting after another woman in your heart?

Your righteousness must “surpass” that of mere law keepers. It must go beyond mere outward conformity; it must come from the thoughts and intents of the heart! Righteousness if it is truly righteousness comes fromt the inside, out! That is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:6 that “the letter kills but the spirit gives life”. That’s the glory of the “new covenant” and its ministry: “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”(2 Cor 3:3).

Now with this in mind we approach out passage on giving to the needy.

Matthew 5:21–48 focuses on the teaching of the law, on what men believe, and Matthew 6:1–18 focuses on the practice of the law, what men do.

When Giving to the Needy Be Careful!

This first verse says: “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.”

This serves as an introduction to all of Matthew 6:1–18 establishing the theme of the danger of doing acts of righteousness before men, and thus losing the reward from your Father in heaven.

Jesus’ exhortation to “be careful” translates the Greek work Prosechō meaning to beware of or take hold of, something and pay attention to. It is in the present tense form, and emphasizing the need to be on the alert to the temptation to seek our reward from men.

Now what do we need to be careful of?

Jesus says, “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.”

Now the “acts if righteousness” here referred to including giving to the needy; prayer and fasting. That is to say things required ane expected in the Old Testament as spiritual duties but things that are done and seen by men.

And these come with a danger of performance! Of becoming ‘acts of righteousness’ so good things that become bad, not because they are bad in themselves but ebcause they are done with the wrong spirit and itnention. “to be seen by them.”

So, when Jesus says “be careful” He is encouraging us to examine our motives: Why do we do what we do?

Giving to the needy was a specifically religious duty. Indeed, William Barclay points out that in the Jewish mindset “to give alms and to be righteous were one and the same thing.” but when Jesus shines a light on the underlying reasons for giving rather than the act of giving, He really does shock His hearers!

On 32 occasions in Matthew’s gospel you find the words: “I tell you the truth”. It is a form of speech that is designed to prepare the listener for a statement of great importance. In this case,a statement intended to shock the listener.

Jewish rabbis taught that almsgiving received especially high reward but Jesus is saying here that giving that is not motivated by caring for the individual need is not valued by God, however much it may be valued by society or by the individual giver. And indeed if the giver, gives because it makes them look good or feel good about themselves, well congratulations, that is your reward!

The point Jesus brings out here is that doing religious duties before men in order to be commended by those who see us doing them is not nearly as important as what does God see?

This links us back to “the Pharisees and teachers of the law” who Jesus condems because "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.' (Matt 23:6-8). Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.”(Matt 23:27) and advised “hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.(Matt 23:25-26).

And notice that Jesus was not afraid to call them out as “hypocrites.” In classical Greek, the term hypocrite referred to an actor on stage, wearing a mask. In the New Testament, it came to have a negative connotation, referring to someone putting on an act (i.e., masking the truth).

And interestingly when Jesus hypocrites do what they do to “be seen by men” He used the Greek word is “theaomai” which gives us the English word “theatre” - a place of acting where a play is a spectacle to be gazed at and admired!

Hypocrites want to be gazed at and admired! Jesus perhaps uses hyperbole to describe them when he talks about them blowing a trumpet and annoucing their good deeds because there is no evidence from history or archaeology that a literal trumpet or other instrument was used by Jews to announce their giving. He is perhaps simply describing their true, hiddne intentuin to “blow their own trumpet” by loudly describing their giving to the needy in the streets and int the synagogues in order to be admired!

And it is not just Church people that are like this. Hypocrissy is a condition of human nature, sinful fallen human nature which is motivated by a desire for one-upmanship!

Think of Adam and Eve who desired to “be like God”!

Or Cain, who feigned worship by offering a kind of sacrifice that God did not want and murdering his brother Abel when it was not accepted! (Gen. 4:5–8).

Think of Absalom, so handsome and charismatic who sweet-talked the people to follow him whilst hypocritically vowing allegiance to his father, King David, yet all the while plotting the overthrow of his regime (2 Sam. 15:7–10).

Think of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord with a kiss.

Think especially relevantly here of Ananias and Sapphira hypocritically claiming to have given the church all the proceeds from the sale of some property, so they could get the recognition that Barnabus received as a “son of encouragment” but who lost their lives for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1–10). Yes they were seen by men but they were also seen by God and God cannot be mocked and nor will He give His glory to another!

We are all hypocrites by nature!

Hypocrissy is defined by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13) and cited by Jesus in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Whenever our heart is not in our worship. Whenever we sing praises, or pray to God half-heartedly we feign worship and adoration and we play a game; we put on an act and we are hypocrites. God have mercy upon us!

Genuine righteousness is a matter of belief in the heart (Rom 10:10).

2. When Giving to the Needy, Be Gracious!

In the Torah, acts of mercy and generosity. “Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you” (Lev. 25:35).

When Israelites freed a slave they were told, “You shall not send him away empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you” (Deut. 15:13–14).

God’s people were continually reminded in the Psalms, Proverbs, and prophetic writings to be considerate of and generous to the poor, whether fellow Israelites or Gentile strangers and God delighted to call himself the God of the widow and the outcast!

Jesus and the disciples had their own money bag from which they gave offerings to the poor (John 13:29).

So when it comes to giving to the needy (vv. 2–4), Jesus commends: “So when you give to the needy... do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

What can we learn from this?

a). Jesus expects us to give to the needy!

Jesus is not condemning the righteous acts themselves. Giving to the needy is good, regardless of the reason behind it. Giving to the needy is an expectation - “when” not “if”

“Giving” or “almsgiving” is the translation of terms meaning “perform an act of mercy.” The Greek word is Eleēnosunē literally refering to any act of mercy or pity, which came to be used primarily of giving money, food, or clothing to the poor. It is the term from which we get the English eleemosynary, a synonym for charitable giving.

This kind of giving was not mandatory in Scripture, for it was above and beyond the three required tithes. It went beyind the legal requirment and became a matter of the generosity of the heart toward the poor and needy.

The gift of alms a deed of justice as well as of mercy; the poor have a just claim on the abundance of the rich.

And note that to give alms refers to actual giving, not good intentions or warm feelings of pity that never find practical expression. Being well-meaning does not of itself feed, clothe or care for anyone! In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25, Jesus did not say : Well done for seeing me hungry and intending to gave me something to eat, and seeing me thirsty and meaning to gave me something to drink, or seeing me in need of hospitality and meaning to invite me in, and seeing me in need of clothes and intedning to clothe me, or seeing me ill and meaning to visit me or seeing me in prison and coming to visit me! No he said, you did it and when you do it, not just talk about it or mean to but actually do it then, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:40).

b). Jesus expects that at least some of our acts of righteousness will be public:

Giving to the enedy of necessity is a public act that at least you and the recipient know about!

This is important so that we don’t misinterpret what Jesus is saying here as some Christians have made the mistake of thinking that if their acts of righteousness become known, they will receive no reward in heaven for those deeds.

The distinction is not one of private as opposed to public acts of charity; the distinction is between right and wrong motives for charity.

Not all public acts of charity are done for the wrong motives. Jesus has already commanded us to, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in heaven” (5:16). We are actually commanded to perform righteous acts of obedience before others.

The difference is in whom others see as a result of our public righteousness. Do they see only us, or do they see our Father more clearly?

Genuineness is his focus, not the act itself. His concern was the motivation behind the actions. The same act of obedience can be right or wrong, depending on why a person does the act. If you are worried at all about your motives, follow the advice of A.B. Bruce, “We are to show when tempted to hide and hide when tempted to show.”

c. Jesus encourages a selfless disinterest in what we are giving!

By saying, “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” he is encouraging is to avoid the desire for self-promotion. Avoid the need to be even observed! Avoid the desire of human applause. Avoid the hypocrissy of doing something to make a certain impression on those who are watching.

Instead, Jesus gives a striking illustration of indifference—When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Let your right hand give away without even your left hand noticing!

Apparetnly according to Joachim Edersheim that there was a special, out-of-the-way place in the Temple where shy, humble Jews could leave their gifts without being noticed and it also provided a discreet place where the shy poor, who did not want to be seen asking for help, could find help. The name of the place was the Chamber of the Silent. People gave and people were helped, but no one knew the identities of either group. (Cf. Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 2 ).

“Giving to help those in need should be a normal activity of the Christian, and he should do it as simply, directly, and discreetly as possible.”(MacArthur).

The problem is not just that we like being congratulated by others: we also enjoy being congratulated by ourselves.

In Christ’s kingdom, however, the greatest motive for our deeds of charity ought to be that God will have all the glory in what we do. “God does not reward men-pleasers (cf. Matt. 5:16), because they rob Him of glory.”(MacArthur).

So when giving to the needy we need to be gracious:

As in every area of righteousness, Jesus Himself is our supreme and perfect example. We are to BE LIKE JESUS here and DO WHAT JESUS DID! - 2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:1-10.

He preached His messages in public, He performed His miracles of healing, compassion, and power over nature in public. He alleviated poverty and sickness and in all He did, He continually focused attention on His heavenly Father, whose will alone He came to do (John 5:30; cf. 4:34; 6:38) not seeking His own glory but that of His Father (John 8:49–50).

In giving to the needy we must seek to do good but to good by bringing glory to God.

So when we give we need to bear the following things in mind to avoid being hypocritical about it:

(i). When we give the heart is investing with God - “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38). Paul encourages generous giving here saying: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).

(ii). Genuine giving is to be sacrificial - David refused to give to the Lord that which cost him nothing (2 Sam. 24:24). The widow who gave “two small copper coins” to the Temple treasury gave more than all the “many rich people [who] were putting in large sums” because “they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:41–44). Giving is not a matter of how much money we have to give but how much love and care is in the heart.

(iii). Genuine giving is to be willing giving - “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). The Macedonian Christians gave abundantly out of their deep financial poverty because spiritually they were rich in love (2 Cor. 8:1–2). The Philippian believers gave out of the spontaneous generosity of their hearts, not because they felt compelled (Phil. 4:15–18).

(iv). Genuine giving gives in response to need - The early Church gave food and provisions to the needy of Jerusalem based on need. This giving arose from a generous love based on need. Our purpose should be to meet every need we are able to meet and leave the bookkeeping to God, realizing that “we have done only that which we ought to have done” (Luke 17:10).

3. When Giving to the Needy, Be Encouraged!

Giving to teh enedy is not always needy; nor is it always appreciated but it is always rewarded! Sometimes the reward will be an earltly thank you, even earthly praise but sometimes it will remain unknown to men but known to God and God will reward His children for their good works!

We are according to Paul, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10).

The Greek word here is “poiema”, a rythmic construct, an artistic composition that speaks of the beauty and majesty of the author Himself.

When we give we enter into God’s cycle of blessing. “The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered” (Prov. 11:25).

We give from teh abundance of what God blesses us with - “You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you” (Deut. 16:10).

We are to give freely out of what God has given freely - “Freely you have received; freely give”(Matt 10:8)

And this cycle applies not only to material giving but to every form of giving, including the preaching of the Gospel as referred to in Matthew 10: 5-8, that is done sincerely to honour God and to meet need.

The way of God’s people has always been the way of giving which is in keeping with the instruction of Matt 5:16 to “let your light shine,” so that our Father in heaven will reward us for good works.

And don’t miss the significane of the reference to God as our Father in Heaven”

This is to distinguish the eternal nature of the divine reward as opposed to the temporary and transient nature of the rewards of men which shall be in time all forgotten!

Matthew recorded the term Father 17 times in the sermon, something fresh to Jewish ears. Jesus was emphasizing the reality of a relationship. The Pharisees practiced a performance-oriented “works-righteousness” apart from any relationship. For Jesus, this was unacceptable. It was the same problem the rich young ruler would demonstrate. What humans consider “righteous” is worthless.

When Jim Elliot was facing the prospect of giving his life for the sake of reaching the lost on the mission field he said, “He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose!”

Jim Elliot gave his life to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to a tribe that had never heard about Jesus and God’s plan for salvation. He and his companions were killed by the very ones to whom they wanted to bring salvation.

He risked his life in a way that is foolish to those who don’t recognize that this short life on earth does not compare to the eternal joy and glory that awaits those who will one day be face to face with Jesus. But, Jim Elliot recognized that we will all die and cannot keep the things of this world and life.

Eternal life with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, cannot be taken away from us. As 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Jim Elliot, like others who follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, look to eternal life and see eternity, and the joy of being with God, as much greater than anything in this life.

God will not miss giving a single reward. “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). The Lord knows our hearts, our attitudes, and our motives, and every reward that is due us will be given.

“The greatest reward a believer can have is the knowledge that he has pleased his Lord. Our motive for looking forward to His rewards should be the anticipation of casting them as an offering at His feet, even as the twenty-four elders one day “will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power’ ” (Rev. 4:10–11).” (MacArhut).

Giving to the needy! As we close today, I want us to remember that however rich and comofortable we may think ourselves to be, we all of us needy in some way or other!

Some of us will be in need of spiritual; physical; emotional; psychological or material help. I want to say to you that we are here to help you; tp ray with you and to support you as we are able.

Some of you are in need of salvation. I want to say to you that Jesus is here to help you - “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”(2 Cor 8:9)

Or as the Amplified Bible puts it “For you are recognizing [more clearly] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [His astonishing kindness, His generosity, His gracious favor], that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich (abundantly blessed).”

“I have comne that they may have life, and have it more abuyndantly”(John 10). Jesus offers us the GIFT of eternal life so that you need not be poor before God. He offers you the riches of sins forgiven; of a heart set free from tehe guilt and condemnation of sin. He offers you eternal life in the glories of Heaven.

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour All for love's sake becamest poor Thrones for a manger didst surrender Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour All for love's sake becamest poor

Thou who art God beyond all praising All for love's sake becamest man Stooping so low, but sinners raising Heav'n-ward by Thine eternal plan Thou who art God beyond all praising All for love's sake becamest man.

Thou who art love beyond all telling, Saviour and King, we worship thee. Emmanuel, within us dwelling, Make us what thou wouldst have us be. Thou who art love beyond all telling, Saviour and King, we worship thee.

(Frank Houghton).