CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Matthew 6
Chapter 6 of 28
Chapter Overview
What happens in Matthew 6
Continuing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about practicing righteousness in secret rather than for public approval. He provides the Lord's Prayer as a model, instructs on fasting, and calls his followers to trust God for their material needs rather than being consumed by worry.
Scripture
Matthew 6
Giving, Prayer, and Fasting in Secret
Study note
Jesus addresses three pillars of Jewish piety -- charitable giving, prayer, and fasting -- warning against performing them for human applause. The contrast between the hypocrites who seek attention and the disciples who practice their faith secretly reveals a fundamental truth: God rewards authenticity over performance. The Lord's Prayer, nestled within this teaching, provides a model that balances reverence for God with honest dependence on him for daily needs and forgiveness.
1 "Watch out that you don't do good deeds so other people will notice and be impressed. If showing off is your goal, your Father in heaven will not reward you for it. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 When you give money to help those in need, don't make a big show of it the way pretenders do. They practically blow trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets so everyone will admire them. Trust me, the attention they get then is all the reward they will ever receive. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 Instead, when you help someone in need, keep it so quiet that your left hand has no idea what your right hand did. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 Let your giving happen where nobody can see it. Your Father, who can see what is hidden, will make sure you are rewarded. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 When it is time to pray, don't be like the pretenders who love to stand and pray where everyone can watch them — in the synagogues and on busy street corners. They want people to see how religious they are. Trust me, that attention is all the reward they will ever get. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 Instead, when you want to talk to God, go into a room by yourself. Close the door behind you. Talk to your Father who is there with you in that private place. And your Father, who sees what happens behind closed doors, will reward you. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 When you pray, don't repeat the same empty phrases over and over the way people do who don't know God. They seem to think God will answer them if they use enough words. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Don't copy their habit. Your Father already knows exactly what you need even before you open your mouth to ask. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread. Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 When you let go of the wrongs others have done to you, your Father in heaven will let go of your wrongs too. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But when you hold on to bitterness and refuse to forgive, your Father will not forgive you either. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 When you go without eating as a spiritual practice, don't walk around looking miserable and worn out the way pretenders do. They mess up their appearance on purpose so everybody will know they are fasting. Trust me, that attention is all the reward they will ever get. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 Instead, when you fast, fix your hair and wash your face like any normal day. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That way, nobody will notice you are fasting — only your Father, who sees what happens in secret. And your Father, who sees everything hidden, will reward you. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Treasures, Vision, and Divided Loyalty
Study note
Through three vivid images -- treasures, the eye as a lamp, and two masters -- Jesus addresses the danger of divided allegiance. Where we store our treasure reveals where our heart truly lies. A healthy spiritual vision keeps our entire life illuminated, while pursuing both God and money leads to inevitable conflict. These teachings challenge us to examine what truly holds first place in our hearts.
19 Stop piling up valuables for yourselves here on earth. Moths eat through fabric, rust eats through metal, and robbers can break in and take whatever they want. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 Instead, store up your treasure in heaven. Moths cannot ruin it there. Rust cannot touch it. No thief can get near it. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 Wherever you store what matters most to you, that is where your heart will end up living. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 Your eye works like a lamp for your whole body. When your eye focuses on what is good, light floods every part of you. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 Nobody can truly work for two bosses at the same time. You will end up liking one and not the other, or sticking with one and blowing off the other. You simply cannot give your life to both God and money. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Do Not Worry
Study note
Jesus uses the examples of birds and lilies to illustrate God's faithful provision and to expose the futility of anxiety. Worry cannot add a single moment to our lives, yet it consumes enormous energy. The remedy is not passive indifference but active trust: seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, confident that a Father who clothes the flowers and feeds the birds will care for his children.
25 That is exactly why I am telling you: quit worrying about everyday needs like what you will eat, what you will drink, and what you will wear. Your life is about so much more than food, and your body is worth so much more than clothes. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Take a good look at the birds up in the sky. They never plant seeds, never bring in a harvest, and never store food in buildings. But your Father in heaven feeds them anyway. Don't you realize you matter far more to God than birds do? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Can worrying add one hour to your life? No, it cannot. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why get all worked up about clothing? Go look at how wildflowers grow out in the fields. They don't put in any effort, and they never make their own fabric. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 But let me tell you something. King Solomon, with all his wealth, never looked as beautiful as even one of these flowers. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 If God takes that much care dressing up grass that is here today and burned for fuel tomorrow, don't you think he will take care of clothing you? Your faith is so small! Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 So stop asking yourself, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 People who do not know God are always chasing after those things. But your heavenly Father already knows you need every one of them. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 So don't spend today worrying about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own set of problems. Deal with what today brings." Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Key Themes
Themes in Matthew 6
Authentic worshipThe Lord's PrayerHeavenly treasureTrust vs. anxietyGod's provisionSeeking the kingdom first
Apply This Today
Living Matthew 6
In a world driven by appearances and financial anxiety, Jesus' words offer a radical alternative: practice your faith for an audience of One, and trust your heavenly Father with your material needs. When worry about tomorrow begins to steal your peace today, remember that the same God who sustains all of creation is personally attentive to your needs. Make it your daily aim to seek God's kingdom first, and watch how he provides for everything else.
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