Bible IndexContentsHome...Saved?..Pray...Free...Bible...Shop...Learn...Worship...U.S.B.S...Contact Us
 
 

Dave Burnette's Commentary

Matthew Chapter 6

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Matthew (Levi)
Date Penned: (60-65 AD)
Overview: Jesus Christ the King (c 1-28)
Theme: Message and Ministry of Jesus, The King (c 4-25)
Message: Jesus teaches about giving to the Needy (v 1-4) Jesus teaches about Prayer (v 5-15) Jesus teaches about Fasting (v 19-18) Jesus teaches about Money (v 19-24) Jesus teaches about Worry (v 25-34)

Matthew 6 Commentary
   
(6:1-4)  It’s easier to do what is right when we gain recognition and praise. To be sure our motives are not selfish, we should do our good deeds quietly or in secret, with no thought of reward. Jesus says we should check our motives in generosity, prayer, and fasting. Check the motives behind your next good deed by asking, “Would I still do this if no one would ever know that I did it?”

(6:5-15) A second act of piety Jesus addressed was prayer. Some people, especially the religious leaders, wanted others to think they were very holy—and public prayer was one way to get attention. There is a place for public prayer, but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real intention is to please people, not God.

(6:16-18) Jesus addresses the third act of piety—fasting. People fast (go without food) so that they can spend more time in prayer. This act is both noble and difficult. The purpose of fasting is to provide time for prayer, to teach self-discipline, to remind God’s people that they can live with a lot less, and to help them appreciate what God has given.

(6:19-24) Jesus had been teaching about how his followers should live differently from those in the current religious establishment. The section about money focuses on true discipleship and how wealth is often the most common distraction from such discipleship. Our attitude toward money is often the pulse of the heart of our discipleship.

(6:25-34) Jesus continued to highlight Kingdom priorities–the attitude toward life that his disciples should exemplify. They need not be overly concerned about food or clothing because they know that God will care for them. Worrying about food and clothing should never take priority over serving God. When we worry over lack of food or inadequate clothing, we immobilize ourselves and focus on the worry.

 

 


Dave Burnette's Life Application

Wise Enough to Learn

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Matthew with Chapter 6. In our text today we see Jesus continuing with the Sermon on the Mount teaching about the needy, giving, prayer, fasting, money, and worry. What catches my eye is how our Lord teaches us. He teaches us because he loves us and He wants us to know His Will and His Direction. In making application we see that since our Lord loves us so much to instruct and teach us we should be diligent to read, learn, and apply the Word of God to our lives. How about you? Do you see how the Lord loves us enough to instruct us through His Word? Let us learn from our text today with the continued instruction from the Word of God to see that our Lord loves us so much that He teaches us through His Word so we should be Wise to read, listen, learn, and apply the Word of the Lord to our lives.

 

.
Matthew 6

Matthew 6

 1Take 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.

 2Therefore 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.

 3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

 4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

 5And 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.

 6But 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.

 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

 10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

 11Give us this day our daily bread.

 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 16Moreover 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.

 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

 18That 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.

 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

 23But 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!

 24No 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.

 25Therefore 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?

 26Behold 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?

 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 30Wherefore, 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?

 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 34Take 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.