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BIBLE STUDY MATTHEW 6:1-34 REVIEW: Chapter 5 is the first part of the “Sermon on the Mount” – the first of five major sections in Matthew presenting the TEACHINGS of Jesus. This “sermon” almost certainly was NOT given by Jesus as presented, but is rather is a compilation of various teachings of Jesus concerning the Law (Torah) of the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus as the “new Moses” presents the new Law to the new Israel. Chapter 5 has four major sections of Jesus’ “Sermon”:
CHAPTER 6:1-18 “Three Acts of Piety” “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” This verse serves as an introduction to the rest of this section. Jesus takes it for granted that his followers will do religious acts such as almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. They must, however, be performed with a pure motive and without flaunting them. It is so easy to do the right things for the wrong reasons – such as to feel good about oneself, or to receive praise, gratitude, etc. from others. CHAPTER 6:2-4 “Almsgiving” “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Almsgiving (giving to the poor) was a very important part of Jewish piety. Jesus certainly does not condemn this. His warning is against making a public and ostentatious display of this act. (The word “hypocrite” literally means “actor” – that is, “one who makes a performance of something!”) “Sound a trumpet” is probably not literal, but equivalent to the modern day expression of “blowing one’s own horn.” Those who do that, Jesus says, “have received their reward” – that is, praise from other people – but that is ALL the reward they will receive. They will NOT receive any other “reward” or blessing from God! POINT: This is certainly valid for today. Many people give – not just because they want to help a person in need – but because they want something for themselves in the process. The same is true about giving offerings to the church – or any charitable institution. Many “major givers”, for example, want their name to be attached to their gifts. True godly giving, however, is done simply because we WANT to help – and with no ulterior motives. CHAPTER 6:5-8 “Prayer” “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Prayer was also a very important part of Jewish piety, as it is for us Christians today. The normal posture for prayer in Jesus’ time was standing. Jesus is not condemning corporate prayer, but rather private prayer that is made into a public performance (“hypocrites”). Personal prayer should be unostentatious and private – as if we are having a personal conversation with a loving Father. We will then receive the “reward” of having a loving relationship with him, which is much more than the “reward” of being praised by other people! “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” The Greek verb means “to babble”. Many of the pagan religions stressed repetitions in their prayers – believing that their prayers would be more likely to be heard because of that. In the Jewish faith of Jesus’ time, it was often popular to “pile up” titles and adjectives in the address of their prayers to God (an example of a famous prayer: “Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, extolled and honored, magnified and lauded be the name of the Holy One.”). Today such examples might be prayer wheels, rosaries, etc. – which stress repetition rather than simple expressions of praise, confession, requests, etc. Jesus, however, wants us to remember that God is not impressed by the length or “craftsmanship” of our prayers. True prayer should be nothing more than a personal conversation between us and our Heavenly Father – a Father who loves us and is ready to give us whatever we need – even if our “prayer language” is not that eloquent. What is most important is the heart behind the prayer, rather than the content of the prayer itself. CHAPTER 6:9-13 “A Model Prayer” “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” INTRODUCTION: This model prayer is thoroughly Jewish, especially as compared to the more primitive version of the Lord’s Prayer found in Luke 11:2-4. Matthew’s version seems to be modeled on the Eighteen Benedictions (Amidah) that pious Jews were supposed to pray three times a day. Indeed, in some early Christian circles (including Matthew’s community) the Lord’s Prayer functioned as the Christian alternative to the Eighteen Benedictions – the Didache (early Christian teaching) stated that: “Three times in the day you are to so pray (the Lord’s Prayer). The Eighteen Benedictions were much longer and ornate than the simple model prayer of Jesus. For example, following are the first three benedictions… 1. Blessed are thou, O Lord, Our God and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, Great mighty, and awesome God, God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, Our shield and shield of our fathers, Our refuge in every generation. Blessed art thou, O Lord, shield of Abraham. 2. Thou art mighty – humbling the haughty, Powerful – calling the arrogant to judgment, Eternal – reviving the dead, Causing the wind to blow and the dew to fall, Sustaining the living, resurrecting the dead – O cause our salvation to sprout in the twinkling of an eye! Blessed art thou, O Lord, who revivest the dead. 3. Thou art holy and thy name is awesome And there is no god beside thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the Holy God. All of this Jesus sums up by simply praying: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” The rest of his prayer also models the Eighteen Benedictions, but in a much shorter and simpler form. Indeed, Jesus’ model prayer seems to be a direct illustration of his previous saying to “not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.” Jesus’ prayer is brief (only one tenth as long as the Eighteen Benedictions – and therefore much easier to remember), simple (note Jesus’ reference to God as simply “Father” rather than all the ornate titles of the Benedictions), and childlike in its trust that God will hear and answer. It is also important for us to remember that Jesus did not give this prayer as something to be “recited”, but rather as a MODEL or EXAMPLE for our own personal prayers. In other words, Jesus wants to encourage us to pray in our own words – but to use his prayer as an outline of how to pray (briefly, simply, and in childlike trust) and what to pray for (the hallowing of God’s name, the coming of his kingdom, daily bread, forgiveness, and his strength and protection). “Our Father in heaven…” The version in Luke’s gospel simply has “Father” (Luke 11:2). Several points are shown in Matthew’s version:
NOTE: The rest of this prayer consists of seven “petitions” or requests. Seven is a biblical number symbolizing completeness (such as seven days in a week, seven-fold gifts of the Spirit, etc.) In other words, these seven petitions cover ALL parts of prayer requests that we need to make. “…hallowed be your name.” This is the first “petition” or request in Jesus’ prayer. In this, we ask God to glorify and sanctify his name. This is done when WE glorify and sanctify God’s name and treat it with the reverence it deserves. In other words, we are actually asking God to help US to treat his name his name as holy in our thoughts, speech, and in the conduct of our lives. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.” Here the second and third petitions are paired together. The third petition “parallels” and amplifies the second. William Barclay in his DSB commentary shows that this a common style of many Psalms, such as: “God is our refuge and strength – a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1), and “He makes me lie down in green pastures – He leads me beside still waters.” (Psalm 23:1-2). In these Lord’s Prayer petitions, the third (“Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”) explains what is meant by the coming kingdom of God. These petitions, like the earlier Beatitudes in chapter 5, are eschatological – looking forward to the time when God’s kingdom will be fully established on earth and everyone, everywhere, will be living in accordance with God’s will. Martin Luther in his Small Catechism explains both of these petitions by saying that they will indeed be fulfilled without our prayer, but we are asking that WE may be a part of the kingdom and do God’s will. In other words, in these petitions we are asking our Father that we will honor and obey him and love him and each other in how we live – trusting that in the End – by God’s grace – all this will indeed be done perfectly by us and by everyone on earth! “Give us this day our daily bread.” The Greek word translated here as “daily” is almost never found in any Greek literature outside of Christian writings. The point is that we are asking our Father for what we need “one day at a time”. Matthew’s Jewish Christian community would certainly understand this and remember the story of the manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:1-21) – if the Israelites tried to gather more than they needed for the day, it would be rotten and full of worms on the next day! A major thought in this petition is that we are asking God to help us trust that he as our heavenly Father will provide for our needs “day by day” – and help us not to worry about things beyond that. Another thought in this petition is that we ask for “our” rather than “my” daily bread. The fact is, God gives more than enough to provide for everyone’s needs – the problem is that we tend to hoard and not share so that some have too much while others have too little. By praying “our”, we are asking God to help us to be sharing people with those who are in need. Finally, as Martin Luther explains in his Small Catechism, “daily bread” includes “everything that is needed for this life, such as food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors.” God indeed gives all these things to people everywhere (even to sinners who do not deserve it – which certainly includes US also) without our prayer, “but we ask in this prayer that he will help us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.” “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Luke’s version (Luke 11:4) reads “our sins”. Matthew, as a Jewish Christian, uses “debts” – because that image of describing sins is very common in Jewish thinking. Whoever sins is owes a debt to make amends and is not free until that obligation is fulfilled. MAJOR POINT: Whoever prays this petition is stating that he/she has forgiven the sin “debts” that others may owe to him/her. If we have not forgiven the “debts” of others, then we have no basis to ask God to forgive our “debts”. This point is explicitly in verses 14 and 15. “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” As was true earlier with the second and third petitions, these sixth and seventh petitions belong together as “poetic parallels” – the seventh “amplifying” the meaning of the sixth. The Sixth Petition can also be translated as “Lead us not into temptation” – and most of us have probably learned it that way. This echoes Matthew 4:1, where “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” As I (Pastor George) mentioned when studying that passage, temptation should be understood as a “test” – and it is often God’s will that we be “tested” so that our faith and obedience can grow. Such was the case for the ancient Israelites in the wilderness, and it also so for Jesus in the wilderness. Obviously, if the sixth petition was taken literally our faith and obedience would never grow! Therefore, the seventh petition is added – namely, that when we are tested we will not be overcome by the temptation (evil). (Some manuscripts have “evil” and others have “evil one” – the source of all evil). An essential point to remember about these petitions is that ultimately, only God can rescue us from powers that are too great for us to withstand. We need to continually ask God for strength to resist the temptations of the evil one, such as (to quote Martin Luther in his Small Catechism) false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins. NOTE: Some ancient manuscripts have the familiar “doxology”: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Most modern Biblical scholars agree that this was NOT part of the original text in Matthew and was added by later editors. Most probably, this was a liturgical response that the early Church came to use at the conclusion of this prayer, modeled on similar doxologies from Psalm 72:18-19 and 1 Chronicles 29:10-13.) CHAPTER 6:14-15 “A Comment on Forgiveness” “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This is the one part of his Model Prayer that Jesus chooses for further elaboration. Bible scholars note that the Greek word translated as “trespasses” is different from the word translated as “debts” in verse 12. “Trespasses” literally means “missing the mark”. Be that as it may, the thought about forgiveness expressed here is crystal clear. Jesus makes it clear that forgiveness from God is absolutely tied to our being willing to forgive others! We can not ask for ourselves what we deny to others! CHAPTER 6:16-18 “Fasting” “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have already received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The only fast commanded in the Torah was on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31, 23:26-32). Public fasts were also called in remembrance of national disasters or in times of great need, such as droughts. (See Joel 1:14) Besides public fasts, however, the Jews made great use of private fasting as well, for a number of reasons: 1. As an expression of mourning. Between a time of death and burial, mourners would abstain from all meat and wine. 2. As an expression of sorrow and repentance of sin. 3. As a preparation for revelation. Moses on Mount Sinai fasted for “forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:15). Daniel fasted as he awaited God’s word (Daniel 9:3). Jesus himself fasted in preparation for his time of testing in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). Saul (Paul) and other leaders in the church at Antioch fasted before he and Barnabas were commissioned for their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3) 4. As an expression of piety. This was very common in Jesus’ day, and this is what he is speaking against. The Pharisees especially observed the practice of fasting twice a week (see Luke 18:12). In fact, the failure of Jesus and his disciples to fast on a regular basis was one of the issues that the Pharisees (and the disciples of John the Baptist) had against them (Matthew 9:14-17). As mentioned previously about almsgiving and prayer, Jesus does not condemn the practice of fasting as such – but he does condemn “hypocrites” (actors) making it into a public display of their piety. If fasting is done “for show”, they may indeed receive the “reward” of being well thought of by others, but that is all the “reward” they will get. They will receive no reward from God! OTHER TEACHINGS ON THE RELIGIOUS LIFE – MATTHEW 6:19 – 7:12INTRODUCTION: Unlike the previous sections of the Sermon on the Mount (The 9 Beatitudes, 6 examples of fulfilling the Law, a Model Prayer, and 3 acts of piety) this next major part has no clear structure. Rather, it is a collection of “wisdom sayings” like in the Book of Proverbs – in which short units are placed together because of similar content or “catchwords”. This was very common in Jewish rabbinic teaching – and something that Matthew’s original readers would have been familiar with. Most of these sayings were already well known within the Jewish tradition – and were not necessarily new. Jesus, however, reiterates them as being teachings for his followers to live by.The saying in the rest of this sixth chapter seem to all be about focusing upon God’s kingdom as the true treasure in our lives. CHAPTER 6:19-21 “The True Treasure” “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus makes two major points in this wisdom saying:
CHAPTER 6:22-23 “The Distorted Vision”“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” In the original Greek, the contrast is between a single eye versus an evil eye. In other words, this saying contrasts the “soul-eye” that is focused wholly upon God versus one that keeps looking at other things. If our attention and desire is God-focused, then our actions will also be godly – but if they are focused upon worldly things and values, then our actions will likewise be affected. This saying seems to be making the same basic point as the previous one about our treasures determining where our hearts will be. Some commentators also note that the Greek word that is translated as “single” was often used to mean “generous”, while the word translated as “evil” often meant “grudging” or “niggardly” – and that perhaps Jesus was contrasting a “generous” attitude versus an “grudging” one in people. In other words, generous people experience the “light” of God’s life – with all of the joy and peace that it brings, while people who are grudging or self-centered abide in the “darkness” of bitterness, worry, and so forth. CHAPTER 6:24 “The Exclusive Service”“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” This saying is related to the two previously mentioned. The truth is that ultimately, we cannot have divided loyalties. We are either focused upon serving and loving God as the most important aspect of our lives, OR we are focused upon serving and loving material possessions (the literal word for this is “Mammon”). Mammon is not evil in and of itself. God knows that we need things such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. Rather, the love of Mammon is what is evil, because then it becomes a “competitor” for our love and loyalty that should be reserved for God alone. CHAPTER 6:25-34 “Worry and Trust”“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” The fact is, we can never fully concentrate upon the treasure of God’s kingdom unless we can be freed from worry about what we have and need in this life. Jesus invites us to focus upon our relationship with our heavenly Father as being the most important aspect of living – if that is sound, then we will be able to trust that he will take care of our needs just as a loving parent does for his or her child. Jesus points out that just as God provides for the needs of all his creation, even though they do not think about it, he will certainly provide for US because we are very valuable to him. Jesus also points out the truth that worry cannot help us in any way. Indeed, worry can actually hurt us, both emotionally and even physically (stress can cause a variety of physical ailments). Jesus’ advice in effect is two-fold: 1) do not worry about things we cannot control: it does not accomplish anything and can actually hurt us, and 2) remember that our heavenly Father loves us and wants to give us all that we need day by day (“our daily bread”). If we can leave the worrying to God and instead trust that he will always love and care for us, how much better our lives will be! We will experience his kingdom in a very personal and powerful way! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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