Matthew 6
English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
Giving to the Needy
6
“Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be
seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in
heaven.
2
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by
others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you
give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.
The
Lord's Prayer
5
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by
others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when 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.
7
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they
think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for
your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.[a]
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,[b]
on earth as it is
in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,[c]
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have
forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us
from evil.[d]
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting
16
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure
their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they
have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash
your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father
who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay
Up Treasures in Heaven
19
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e]
destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
22
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body
will be full of light, 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!
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.[f]
Do
Not Be Anxious
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? 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? 27 And which of you by
being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you
anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For
the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be
anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble.
Footnotes:
Matthew
6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence
Matthew
6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done
Matthew
6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow
Matthew
6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory, for ever. Amen
Matthew
6:19 Or worm; also verse 20
Matthew
6:24 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions
Matthew
6:27 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45
centimetres
The
IVP New Testament Commentary Series
THE
ETHICS OF GOD'S KINGDOM (5-7)
Jesus summons those who would
be his followers to radical devotion and radical dependence on God. His
followers must be meek, must not retaliate, must go beyond the letter's law to
its spirit, must do what is right when only God is looking, must depend on God
for their needs and pursue his interests rather than their own, and must leave
spiritual measurements of others' hearts to God. In short, true people of the
kingdom live for God, not for themselves. (My overall approach to the Sermon on
the Mount combines some approaches, but still remains one among many. For a
more complete summary of various views on this sermon's message, see, for
example, Guelich 1982:14-22; Cranford 1992; Allen 1992.)
Readers
should contemplate the message of this sermon. Having summarized Jesus' message
as repentance in view of the coming kingdom (4:17), Matthew now collects Jesus'
teachings that explain how a repentant person ready for God's rule should live.
Only those submitted to God's reign now are truly prepared for the time when he
will judge the world and reign there unchallenged. This sermon provides
examples of the self-sacrificial ethics of the kingdom, which its citizens must
learn to exemplify even in the present world before the rest of the world
recognizes that kingdom (6:10).
To
be faithful to the text, we must let Jesus' radical demands confront us with
all the unnerving force with which they would have struck their first hearers.
At the same time, the rest of the Gospel narrative, where Jesus does not
repudiate disciples who miserably fail yet repent (for example, 26:31-32), does
season the text with grace. Most Jewish people understood God's commandments in
the context of grace (E. Sanders 1977; though compare also Thielman
1994:48-68); given Jesus' demands for greater grace in practice (9:13; 12:7;
18:21-35), we must remember that Jesus embraces those who humble themselves,
acknowledging God's right to rule, even if in practice they are not yet perfect
(5:48). Jesus preached hard to the religiously and socially arrogant, but his
words come as comfort to the meek and brokenhearted.
Of
course one also needs to read grace in light of the kingdom demands; grace
transforms as well as forgives. Jesus is meek and lowly in heart to the broken
and heals and restores the needy who seek him; it is the arrogant, the
religiously and socially satisfied, against whom Jesus lays the kingdom demands
harshly (compare Mt 23).
Although
the sermon's structure does not fit some modern outlines, it reflects a
consistent pattern. Matthew gathers a variety of Jesus' teachings on related
topics that appear in the source he shares with Luke. Ancient writers exercised
the freedom to rearrange sayings, often topically; sometimes they also gathered
sayings of their teachers into collections. Evidence within the sermon itself
suggesting various audiences (5:1; 7:28) may also support the view that the
sermon is composite. Scholars debate its precise structure, but 5:17-48, 6:1-18
and 6:19-34 are its largest complete units.
IVP
New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity
Press.
Dictionary of Bible
Themes
2378 kingdom of God,
characteristics of
Those
who have entered the kingdom must live according to its values, anticipating
the reign of peace which will come when Jesus Christ returns.
The
kingdom of God does not conform to the standards of this world
Jn
18:36; Ro 14:17
Those
who inherit the kingdom of God are to bear its fruit
1Th
2:12 See also Mt 25:34-36; 2Pe 1:10-11
The
kingdom of God is and will be a kingdom of peace
Peace
between people Isa 2:2-4 pp Mic 4:1-4 Jas 3:18 See also Isa 9:5; Isa 19:24-25;
Mic 5:4-5; Mt 5:9 The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1-7:29) is often thought of as
a description of life in the kingdom.
The
peace and prosperity of all creation Isa 11:6-9 See also Isa 35:1-2,9; Isa
41:17-19; Eze 47:9,12; Hos 2:21-22
The
kingdom of God is a kingdom of forgiveness
Mt
6:12 pp Lk 11:4; Mt 18:21-35; Lk 17:3-4
Status
in the kingdom of God
Mt
18:1-5 pp Mk 9:33-37 pp Lk 9:46-48 Mt 20:25-28 pp Mk 10:42-45 pp Lk 22:25-27
See also Mt 5:19; Mt 11:11 pp Lk 7:28; Mt 19:30 pp Mk 10:31
Yours
in His Grace
Blair
Humphreys
Southport, Merseyside
January
10th 2014
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