Frameworks:
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6
(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
FRAMEWORKS:
Matthew, chapter 6
Part
1 v.1-18: Spirituality before God
v.1-4
Give to the Needy – in secret
v.5-18
Keep your spirituality simple and hidden
Part
2: v.19-34 Trusting God for Provisions
v.19-24
Treasures in Heaven
v.25-
34 Do Not Worry, Trust God
[Notes:
Whereas chapter 5 was about aspects of righteous living, all about
responding to other, the first half of this chapter is about performing
spiritual activities which should not be done for pride or show
reasons, while the second half is about trusting God for your
physical wellbeing]
Part
1: v.1-18 Spirituality before God
v.1-4
Give to the Needy – in secret
v.1
(don't try looking
good to impress people with your giving) “Be
careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others
to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your
Father in heaven.
v.2 (do
your giving privately) “So
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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward in full.
v.3,4
(keep it secret
and God will reward you ) But
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.
v.5-18
Keep your spirituality simple and hidden
i)
Keep your spirituality private
v.5
(similarly when
you pray don't do it for show) “And
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be
seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward
in full.
v.6
(instead talk
to your Father in private) But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done
in secret, will reward you.
v.7
(don't just
chatter on, words don't impress Him) And
when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think
they will be heard because of their many words.
v.8
(your father
already knows your needs) Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him.
ii)
The so-called ‘Lord's Prayer'
v.9
(address God
as your Father) “ This,
then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name,
v.10
(pray for His
kingdom and will on earth) your
kingdom come, your will be done,
on
earth as it is in heaven.
v.11
(acknowledge
your daily needs) Give
us today our daily bread.
v.12
(ask for forgiveness
) And
forgive us our debts,
as
we also have forgiven our debtors .
v.13
(ask Him to
keep you from wrong-doing) And
lead us not into temptation,
but
deliver us from the evil one.'
v.14
(as you forgive,
so you will be forgiven) For
if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
v.15
(if you don't
forgive, it puts a question mark over your relationships with
your Father ) But
if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not
forgive your sins.
iii)
Fasting
v.16
(if
you do fast, don't do it to impress) “When
you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure
their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward in full.
v.
17,18 (do
it only for God) But
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so
that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but
only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you.
v.19-34
Part 2: Trusting God for Provisions
v.19-24
Treasures in Heaven
v.19
(don't store
up earthly riches) “Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and
vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
v.20
(instead store
up heavenly riches) But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin
do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
v.21(whichever
you go for will reveal your heart) For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
v.22
(what you allow
your eyes to see will determine your inner state) “The
eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole
body will be full of light.
v.23
(if you view
evil it will bring inner darkness) But
if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
v.24
(God or material
possessions, one or the other) “No
one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love
the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.
v.25-
34 Do Not Worry, trust God
v.25
(don't focus
on and worry about material things, life is more than that)
“Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothes?
v.26 (watch
the birds who have no cares as God provides for them) Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away
in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they?
v.27 (can
worrying about these things help ) Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
v.28
(worry about
being dressed, don't!) “And
why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field
grow. They do not labor or spin.
v.29
(not even affluent
Solomon was dressed as well as the flowers) Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed
like one of these.
v.30
(if
God clothes nature won't He more clothe you) If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more
clothe you—you of little faith?
v.31
(so don't worry
about your physical needs) So
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?'
or ‘What shall we wear?'
v.32
(that's
what unbelievers do, but Father knows them) For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them.
v.33
(seek His reign
and His will and He's make sure you have the rest) But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well.
v.34
(don't worry
about tomorrow, just cope with today) Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.