A. Against Hypocrisy, (1-18) The word "alms" or the phrase
"charitable deeds" could more appropriately be translated simply
"righteousness" in these verses. This would expand the teaching
to include any righteous acts and not just the examples given. Jesus has
chosen three examples to show how hypocrisy is unacceptable in a righteous
disciple. In each case He will offer a description and denunciation of a
particular form of false piety, then He will affirm that such activity has
very limited results, and finally he will present a contrasting description
of true piety and its results. (Carson, p. 56) This battle against hypocrisy
in our spiritual lives is just one more way we must avoid the "leaven
of the Pharisees." What we do in the name of religion must be done
for God's approval and not for the applause of man. The three examples chosen
by Jesus represent the three principal interests of man: fasting his body,
prayer his soul, and almsgiving his possessions.
1. In almsgiving, (1-4) There will be no reward in heaven for those who
perform their righteousness to be seen of men. In the ancient times the
rich would have a trumpet blown to gather a crowd together to watch them
give their alms. Even today we use the phrase "tooting His own horn"
in similar circumstances. Jesus confirms that these hypocrites had their
reward and that it was the reward after which they sought the admiration
of the people. A more accurate translation would be, "they have in
full their reward," indicating there would be nothing else! The phrase
"let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing," is
often misunderstood and misapplied. It obviously condemns self publication
of our own work, but does not condemn the publication of our work by others,
(Mk. 12:41-44; Acts 4:36,37). We know that our salvation comes by the grace
of God through faith in the Son, but passages such as these make sure that
we understand that the full reward somehow hinges on the activity of the
believer as well. Almsgiving is not a choice, it is a duty. It is a duty
that must be done properly or the reward that comes with it will be lost.
2. In prayer, (5-15) While almsgiving says much about our relationship with
our fellow man, prayer says everything about our relationship with God.
a. Not as the hypocrites, (5-8) the hypocrites were guilty of two sins
in their prayer life: vain-glory and vain repetitions. Pride in prayer is
anathema to God, yet the hypocrites were full of pride. This could be seen
by the places (public) they chose to pray and the posture (standing) they
used in prayer. While standing is acceptable (Mk. 11:25), kneeling would
be more humble and reverent. Of course, the will of the Lord is in direct
opposition to the hypocrites attitude. He demands humility and sincerity.
Personal prayer is the duty of all disciples, but it is to be done in private,
to and for the Father. It is the Father who will reward us for our prayer
life, not man. The Pharisees were noted for making long prayers, in doing
so they would resort to repeating the content of the prayer. Christ condemns
this practice. All long prayers are not forbidden (Lk. 6:12), but merely
prolonging the prayer as if it would make it better and more pleasing to
God, is wrong. The repetitious style of prayer is wrong because: it emulates
the heathen and it questions God's omniscience. He knows what we have need
of, and therefore does not need our prescription, but instead our subscription.
(Henry, vol. 5, pg. 58)
b. The Lord's Model Prayer, (9-15) Having pointed out the errors which characterized
unacceptable prayer, Jesus now gives a brief outline of the contents, arrangement,
and expression of proper prayer. (see SOTM-chart 8)
| How To Use the Model Prayer (1) Pray in private, (2) No useless repetitions (3) We must forgive those that trespass against us (4) We must place the glory of God and the good of others ahead of our personal wants and even needs. As suggested by J.W. McGarvey in Commentary on Matthew-Mark, pp. 64,65 and The Fourfold Gospel, pp. 253,254. |
The prayer can be divided into two major sections:
(1) invocations that God might be glorified:
(a) in His name and be universally recognized.
(b) in His Kingdom the Kingdom which Jesus came to establish, which will
eventually destroy evil.
(c) in the hearts of humanity by all men becoming obedient to His will.
(2) petitions for humanity, for:
(a) their bodies to be sustained in moderation, not luxury.
(b) their souls in things concerning the past forgiveness of sins ("trespasses"
is the better rendering here) is a precedent for obtaining this petition.
(c) their souls as to the future so temptation and sin can be avoided. While
God does not tempt us with evil (Jms. 1:13), He permits us to exercise our
own will and therefore allow ourselves to be lead into temptation. However,
if we are His true child He will shield us to the extent that we can defeat
temptation (1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Pet. 2:9). Even to the point that the temptation
can prove to be a blessing for us (Jms. 1:12; 5:11).
NOTE: The conclusion of verse 13 ("For thine is the kingdom..."
)is not found in the most reliable manuscripts and is probably a later addition.
Also, since the Kingdom Christ referred to has already come (the church)
it is probably unwise to pray for its arrival. Also, Apostolic example would
lead us to believe that we are now to pray "in Jesus name," (Jn.
16:24; Col. 3:17). Next, verses 14 and 15 are appended to show why the forgiveness
of sins must be conditional. That is, the forgiveness of our sins hinges
on our willingness to forgive others. Lastly, There are four points that
must be followed if we are to truly use this as our model prayer: 1) pray
in private, 2) no useless repetitions, 3) we must forgive those that trespass
against us and, 4) we must place the glory of God and the good of others
ahead of our personal wants and even needs. Nowhere did the Lord say repeat
this prayer word for word!
3. In fasting, (16-18) While fasting is not commanded as a regular practice
in the NT, it was approved by Christ when done voluntarily and prompted
by a sincere motive. Examples of those practicing proper fasting include:
Anna (Lk. 2:37), Cornelius (Acts 10:30), Christians (Acts 13:3; 14:23).
The purpose of fasting was self-denial and humiliation before God. Of course,
some would make a sham of fasting, by pretending to fast to impress others
or truly fasting, but making such a show of it as to draw undeserved attention
to themselves. Jesus stresses the importance of fasting privately, but does
not say how often to fast. As far as the outside world is concerned, a fasting
day is just like any other day, based on your appearance. That is, no one
can tell if you are fasting by looking at or listening to you. The overall
lesson of these 18 verses of chapter six is to tell us how to live out the
righteousness demanded in chapter 5, namely: humbly, quietly, honestly and
to please God. Genuine godliness, plain holiness, and earnest piety are
beautiful and clean in God's eyes, hypocrisy will only spoil the beauty
of righteousness. (See SOTM-chart 9)
| THE PHARISEES HAD PERVERTED ANOTHER GODLY DUTY! DEFINITION OF BIBLICAL FASTING: Refraining from food and drink for a period of time for a religious purpose. Specifically refraining from all fancy, special, or tasty food, (Dan 10:3). Most fasting in the Bible was done by restricting the diet to bread and water. OCCASIONS OF FASTING Ordinary fasting versus extraordinary fasting Ordinary avoiding gluttony (Phil.3:19), being temperate, sober. Extraordinary fasting can be used publicly in the following circumstances: Weighty matters such as war, famine, pestilence, (Jud. 20:26; 2 Chron. 20:3,4; Joel 1:14) When particular blessings are received (Lev. 23:29-32; Ezra 8:21) Extraordinary fasting can be used privately in the following circumstances: Sick children, relatives, brethren or loved ones, (2 Sam. 12:16; Neh. 1:4; Dan. 9:3) Under persecution (Ps. 35:13) Additional New Testament example (1 Cor. 7:5) MANNER OF FASTING If not from the heart, then worthless to God, (Zech. 7:5; Isa. 58:5,6; Joel 2:13) The length of the fast is determined by the circumstances, (2 Sam. 12:16; Est. 4:16; Dan. 10:2,3) PURPOSE OF FASTING Deny self, (Ps. 69:10; Lk. 21:34) To assist in our devotions, hearing and especially prayers, (Mt. 17:21; Acts 13:3; 14:23) To bear witness to the humiliation and contrition of our hearts. To admonish us of our guilt and uncleanness, (Jonah 3; Hag. 1:5) HOW NOT TO FAST Hypocritically, to be seen of men With counterfeit sadness and pretentious grief Going out on a fasting day, just to show men you are fasting By disfiguring one's face CONCLUSION Fasting has no value to God unless your heart is right, you hate sin, you consider yourself spiritually worthless (see beatitudes) and your grief over these matters is sincere. Adapted from chapters 26 and 27 of Arthur W. Pink's book, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, pages 172-184. |
B. Against Worldly Care, (19-34) The first half of this chapter has been
mostly negative, that is, do not be a hypocrite. In this section of the
sermon Christ takes a more positive approach as He teaches that all life
is to be lived and all attitudes to be formed by unswerving loyalty to the
Kingdom and uncompromised trust in God.
1. Concerning riches, (19-24) The Lord will use three illustrations to make
this point: treasure, light, and slavery
a. treasure, (19-21) It is to be noted that Christ does not deprive us
of our treasure, but He does direct us as to how it should be chosen. First,
it should not be chosen from among earthly wealth because better things
can be had. Even an abundance of earthly wealth is worthless when measured
by spiritual treasure. Earthly wealth is not eternal and cannot be laid
up for eternity. Earthly wealth is subject to decay and theft. The best
things then are heavenly treasures, because our hearts are with our treasures.
Where our hearts are is where our love, loyalty, trusts, delights, thoughts,
and joys will be also. (Col. 3:1f; 1 Tim. 6:17-19) Man naturally tends to
move toward an object on which his gaze is fixed. If our hearts are fixed
on our treasures, that is where we will eventually be.
b. the light of the body, (22,23) if our eye is "good" then it
will be fixed on heavenly things. This will make the possessor of the "good
eye" "full of light." That is, in possession of a full understanding
of divinely inspired truth. The alternative would be to be "an evil
eye" "full of darkness," that is, devoid of purity and understanding.
What could be worse than to possess an evil eye, thinking it was good?
c. slavery, (24) Christ means serving two slave owners, not necessarily
two employers. The meaning of hate here is "to love less," but
it is still a strong contrast (Lk. 14:26). If it comes to a crisis, then
one master will be chosen over the other. If the choice is between God and
Mammon, then Mammon is a rival to God, an idol. How many have made their
wealth and possessions their god?
2. Concerning necessities of life, (25-34) As double vision and double service
are unacceptable, so double-mindedness is also. The word "anxious"
here is derived from a word that means a state of doubt or double-mindedness,
(Lk. 12:29). Consider these contrasts: Mammon supplies food, God supplies
life; Mammon furnishes clothing, God furnishes the body; double-mindedness
leads to worry through reliance on Mammon, single-mindedness leads to peace
through reliance on God. The birds do not serve Mammon, yet God cares for
them. Peace and trust characterize service of God, while the rewards of
Mammon are won through anxiety. Choose God's service! To the Jew, no one
represented magnificence better than Solomon, yet the common field flowers
surpass him in splendor. If God cares for the grass, with a lifespan of
a day, then how much more will He care for us, who He fashioned to last
for eternity. The heathen have reason to be anxious, but not Christians.
The Father promises to take care of us. Instead of life's so-called necessities
we need to pursue God's Kingdom. If we serve God today with the strength
we used to expend on our worries, troubles, and cares, then God will help
us order our affairs for tomorrow. While we are not to fret over many things
in life, the Gospel demands that we are responsible for our actions, families,
brethren, and spirituality. We must also be concerned about our sins and
sin in general, because these types of concerns are God-directed. Notice
how they contrast to the selfish type of worries that Jesus is condemning.
He is not advocating carefree irresponsibility, but is teaching that concern
for daily necessities must take a back seat to our commitment to the Kingdom.