Matthew 6:1-4

CHAPTER SIX

D. THE MOTIVES OF THE WISE AND GODLY MAN

(Matthew 6:1-18)

1. HIS BASIC MOTIVE. (Matthew 6:1)

TEXT: 6:1

1.

Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2. HIS MOTIVATION FOR DOING OTHERS GOOD. (Matthew 6:2-4)

TEXT: 6:2-4

2.

When therefore thou doest alms, sound not 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 received their reward,

3.

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

4.

that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a.

Are we not supposed to do our good works before men, that they may be seen of them and glorify the Father who is in heaven? (Matthew 5:16) How, then, may we harmonize these two ideas: doing good works to be seen of men and not doing our righteousness to be seen of men? (Matthew 6:1)

b. Why is sincerity a quality so imperative to living the godly life? or, why does Jesus warn His disciples against public display of their righteousness?
c.

How is it true that one receives his reward when he does his righteousness to be seen by men?

d. Is secrecy an absolutely essential ingredient which validates all of our religious acts, for example, our giving, service to others, prayer or fasting? Does Jesus intend in secret absolutely or relatively? In other words, what happens to the efficacy of one's righteousness if someone should see it?
e.

What difference would it make between one means of giving alms or another, if the giver failed to apprehend the right concept of what constitutes true riches and where they should be sought? (cf. Matthew 6:19-21)

f.

Is it wrong to tell others what we do for God? Is there ever any justification for doing so? What reservations would you have about doing so?

g. Analyze the process of becoming a hypocrite. Point out the motivations, the temptations, the factors which cause a man to enmesh himself in a net of pretence. Apply your analysis to the Pharisees, endeavoring to show the steps by which they became what they were.
h.

How is it possible that such expressions of sincere love for God or outgoing helpfulness to one's fellows, like prayer and almsgiving, should become the very means of expressing one's hypocrisy?

i.

Do you think that it is always possible to determine whether a man is carrying out his religious duties (alms, prayer, fasting, etc.) from ulterior motives and not rather from earnestly sincere ones? While it may be easy to describe a hypocrite, can you always be sure you have one identified in an actual person?

PARAPHRASE

Take care not to perform your religious duties in public with an eye to being noticed by others. If you do, you have no wages coming from your Father in heaven.

Thus, when you give money to the poor, do not announce the fact with a fanfare of trumpets, like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you that they have received their wages in full. But, on the other hand, when you give money to the poor, your left hand must never know what your right hand is doing, that your charity be secret. Your Father who sees what is secret will pay you.

SUMMARY

Jesus states a simple, commercial truth: a man is the servant of him for whom he works, regardless of any pretences to the contrary, and from his true employer he may expect his due and from no other. The Lord's admonition is clear: hypocrisy involves trying to please both God and man, but God accepts no second place to any man. Therefore, stop trying to please men if your one desire is to serve God!

NOTES

1. HIS BASIC MOTIVE: He serves God disinterestedly (Matthew 6:1)

Jesus has not changed His subject, because this section (Matthew 6:1-18) is but an examination of the religious motives of His disciple, which, as the true explanation of the disciple's actions, must far exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. (Cf. Matthew 5:20) The immediate connection with the foregoing section (Matthew 5:43-48) should also be clear: even the most sincere are sometimes turned aside from their seeking to be perfect in the Father's judgment (Matthew 5:48) by the praise or censure of men. Therefore, true righteousness, according to Jesus, is just trusting God and trying to do all that He says, with a view to pleasing Him only. Again, as preparation for the section which follows (Matthew 6:19-34), this part lays the essential groundwork by exposing superficial religionists who would try to serve both God and their own interests at the same time.

To Jesus, religion and morality must be identified with each other: without religion, morality has no basis outside man himself and is worthless; without morality, all religious acts we valueless and the proof of a bogus religion. Therefore, religion meets its test in the deeds it produces; not mere acts, but deeds which proceed from a heart of active faith in God. The faith which will not express itself in the obvious expressions of faithful devotion is nothing but an apparition, a phantom. (Matthew 25:31-46; Galatians 2:10; Galatians 6:10; James 1:27) But deeds of righteousness may not be done from human favor, even though we express our righteousness by means of our actions toward men. We must not do our righteousness because of social conventions, or because men expect us to do so, but because we belong to Jesus, and because we want to express God's generosity in the world. The reason Jesus must speak so frankly here is that there is a danger that His disciples be prone to succumb to the often ungodly influences of their associations in the world, to the point that they seek their praise rather than that of God. To the Christian, it matters not with what kind of associations he must live-whether with husband, wife, business associates, social pleasures or whatever-cause their conduct, praise or expectations are not to control him.

But let us look beyond His criticism of those hypocrites of His generation to see how prophetic and universal is the application of His critique to our hypocrisies today. For unless we apprehend that right relation with God which must prompt and pervade all of our righteous acts, we will do little better than did they for whom Jesus had such searching judgments. Here in this section, Jesus brings the Kingdom man up short to look at himself in the mirror of motives, saying, Be honest now: what are your real motives for your religious acts? It is too easy to overlook completely this critical question as to why we do what we do, while concentrating on how or what we say or do. The Lord is sure that if a man is not perfectly honest with God, all of his other acts or relationships cannot possibly be sound. Jesus must challenge the motives for all our g o d deeds, by striking telling blows against our desire for human notice and recognition, against our ostentation and out hypocrisy.

The Pharisees and scribes were past masters in this dubious art (Matthew 23:5-6). ISBE (article: Pharisees 2364) provides the explanatory background:

In a time when religion is persecuted, as in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, or despised as it was in the Hellenizing times which preceded and succeeded, it would be the duty of religious men not to hide their convictions. The tendency to carry on this public manifestation of religious acts after it ceased to be protest would be necessarily great. The fact that they gained credit by praying at street corners when the hour of prayer came, and would have lost credit with the people had they not done so, was not recognized by them as lessening the moral worth of the action. Those who, having lived in the period of persecution and contempt, survived in that when religion was held in respect, would maintain their earlier practice without any arriere-pensee (mental reservation, HEF). The succeeding generation, in continuing the practice, consciously acted. They were poseurs. Their hypocrisy was none the less real that it was reached by unconscious stages.

Another factor which enters into the question of what makes a hypocrite is our marvellous ability to do things by habit. This faculty permits man to progress from one learned skill to another, without having to repeat each action consciously. But this very capacity represents also a dire menace to man's sincerity in the area of personal relations with others and with God. For when religion becomes habitual, the mind can easily go elsewhere while the body automatically continues the external acts called worship.

In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus proved that bad motives in the heart always produce wicked deeds and that the motives themselves are condemned as well as the deeds; here He demonstrates that a sinister motive even vitiates a good deed, There is such a thing as being damned for doing the right thing in the wrong way or from the wrong motives, Now, in an exacting religion where public esteem is granted to the most pious, it is humanly natural that those, who refuse to pay the price for the necessary character, should seek to counterfeit the actions of the pious, in order that they too might enjoy the acclaim of their peer group. Being empty-hearted, they often resort to quite shoddy imitations of real religion, because their express purpose is that of keeping up appearances and of exalting themselves to get what they want and they wish to pay as little as possible. But the better imitations involve taking those acts, which should be real expressions of sincere love for God and out-going helpfulness to one's fellows, and sucking out of them all of the original, right motivation. Thus, they become acts which are regarded as having merit in themselves, without regard to the heart motives of the doer. The nature of such hypocrisy is unaffected by the problem as to whether or not the one who fakes the conduct of the righteous really accepts as valid the standard which motivates the righteous to act as they do. Their avowed purpose is doing their righteousness before men to be seen of them, since they have come to look upon these acts as a means of purchasing the respect of men and the favor of God. (Cf. Matthew 6:2)

Earlier (Matthew 5:16), Jesus urged that our purposes and sole motives be to live so that our actions stimulate men to glorify God. For this to occur, these actions must of necessity be seen of men, but there is no necessary contradiction with the present passage, since the real issue is settled in the heart, in the desires, and not in the external act itself. The problem is not whether the deeds are seen or not, but whether we seek the glory of God or of men.

Else ye have no reward with your Father. It should be self-evident, but seldom is, that the value of praise is to be determined not merely by what is said and meant, but by the stature and character of the one who thus grants his approval. The shallow acclaim of the immediate crowd often provides exciting food for the self-seeking, and under this stimulus one may strive to do even greater eyecatching wonders. But, having no intention to do God's will sincerely, such doers of great works are already judged by God as being corrupt. Their righteousness is SIN regardless of the magnitude of their deeds. (Cf. Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3) Ironically, the praise they sought proved to be worthless toward gaining entrance into the Kingdom. In fact, it cost many their one great opportunity to gain it. (Cf. John 5:44; John 12:42-43) Only a fool would grasp after the transient, empty praise that men can give, only to lose the eternal reward of the Father. On reward, see below on Matthew 6:4; Matthew 6:6; Matthew 6:18 and the introductory essay: The Reasonableness of the Redeemer's Rewarding of Righteousness.

NOTE: The KJV has take heed that ye do not your alms. instead of righteousness at Matthew 6:1. The word translated alms (eleemosunen) is supported only by the Washington manuscripts from the IV or V century and other later manuscripts, The ASV and all other modern versions follow the better reading, righteousness (dikaiosunen), supported by the manuscripts Siniaticus and Vaticanus, both of the fourth century, as well as other important witnesses.

2. HIS MOTIVES FOR DOING OTHERS GOOD: He gives and serves without ostentation. (Matthew 6:2-4)

Matthew 6:2 Sound not a trumpet. This is a figure of speech, deliberately exaggerated by Jesus for effect. The Pharisees would have been too shrewd to go to this limit, although the logic of their system called even for this kind of overt self-praise. Probably Jesus is taking a humorous poke at such hypocrisy in such a way as to get His audience to laugh at this caricature beautifully designed to render unforgettable the serious lesson it taught. As the hypocrites do. Jesus spares no words for those who sin by self-glorification, which they try to bring about by feigning unselfishness. While they give the impression that they intend to give to the needy, their real motive is to receive honor from men's praise. (Cf. Romans 12:8, Let him who gives do it with sincerity!) In the synagogues and streets: to assure a ready audience. Barnes, ad loc., argues that Jesus could not mean the Jewish meeting place, on the ground that synagogue means any meeting place, not just the synagogue, and on the absence of evidence that charity was distributed there. Perhaps so, but no clearer place is indicated, than a place of prayers .and Bible study, for the practice of hypocritical giving or praying. After all, he who seeks to be thought pious would surely seek to convince the very elect in the synagogue itself, so as to enjoy their esteemed favor, would he not? That they may have glory of men: Jesus bares their real motive for giving to others. No hypocrite would dare own this purpose as his, for he would immediately lose the praise of others; therefore, this is his ulterior motive. Any difference between one's professed public purpose and his real one indicates the extent to which he is a hypocrite. (Cf. Matthew 15:7-8; Matthew 22:18; Matthew 23:5-29) Mixed motives cancel each other out: since one is really serving himself, his religious motive is corrupted; because his religious motive is soiled, he is not really serving his best self! Let the man who would invest his money in the work of the Lord do so with no mental calculation as to what he may realize from it through increased financial gain or personal distinction. But how many respond to an obviously needy person or cause, satisfied that God has seen and this is sufficient? How many would even stop giving if they went unnoticed and others- did not praise? Only merciless self-crucifixion can put to death these selfish desires to be noticed. (Matthew 16:24-27)

They have received their reward. It is not always possible to distinguish in others the difference between courage born of convictions and just plain audacity. The unsuspecting naturally praise those who are unashamed to give public witness of their faith and generosity, But, in the perspective of eternity, what is the value of this ignorant acclaim? On the other hand, perhaps those who praised them saw right through their thin veneer of respectability and gave them equally hypocritical commendation. They got paid off in the coin they used, Receive reward (apecho) is a commercial technical term meaning to receive a sum in full and give a receipt for it. (Cf. Mark 14:41; Luke 6:24; Philippians 4:18; Philemon 1:15)

Matthew 6:3 When thou doest alms. For the OT viewpoint on alms-giving, look into these passages: Leviticus 25:35-36; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Job 29:11-16; Psalms 41:1; Proverbs 14:21; Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 21:13; Proverbs 28:27. Giving of alms is but the Greek word for mercifulness (eleemosune from eleemon, merciful, from eleos, compassion, pity). The desire of Christians to help the needy is natural; Jesus assumes that His disciples would do it. But they would need direction on how .to go about it. (See notes on Matthew 5:42)

Let not thy left hand. Here, by means of a humorous hyperbole, Jesus exaggerates for effect the means to bring secrecy to our giving. He explains His meaning in Matthew 6:4. The humor is seen in the question created in the mind of the hearer: But how could my left hand be ignorant of the deeds of my right, since neither have minds of their own and both are but instruments of my mind? But that is just the point: both hands represent the giver and he must so learn to do good to others that it becomes an unconscious life habit with him. If we would free ourselves from being overly conscious of men's praise, rather than invite their attention to what we do, we must not even give our actions the whole of our own attention. Thus, the hands have absolutely nothing to do with our giving, any more than they cause us to sin. (See on Matthew 5:29-30; Cf. Matthew 18:8-9) The whole matter is settled in the heart. (Cf. coveting, pride in Mark 7:21-22) Jesus does not intend a mechanical rule for hiding our gifts. Lenski notes (258): One might hide all his giving in the secret hope of eventually being discovered and then being praised for the saintly secrecy of his gifts! If men never learn of others-' giving, they can hardly praise them, and, as a consequence, these latter are not likely to be disturbed by others-' praise that never comes. Jesus wants His disciples to learn to be satisfied with having helped someone, without any ulterior thoughts about their being noticed and admired.

Matthew 6:4 that thine alms may be in secret. Since the antithesis of Jesus-' meaning is ostentatious giving, and not merely public giving, it becomes clear that He does not intend that giving must be absolutely secret to the extent that, should any see the gift, its value as righteousness is automatically compromised, Rather, Jesus intends secret in a relative sense: again His point is a question of the right motive. Not all righteous deeds could be concealed. (Acts 4:36-37) In fact, He Himself called attention to the unselfishness of the p r widow (Mark 12:41-44). Paul publicized the liberality of the Macedonian Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1-5; 2 Corinthians 9:1-5) to stimulate the giving of the Corinthians. But the Christian is to study ways to avoid display, for it is never necessary to see to it that others see our deeds, even in order to cause them to glorify God. Such deeds cannot long be hid, if they represent really unselfish service for Jesus-' sake. (1 Timothy 5:24) But there are times when a Christian may rightly excite his slower brethren by his own forthright example of generosity (Hebrews 10:24), but he must be careful lest he also stimulate in them a desire for the same public notice he received. (Cf. Acts 4:32 to Acts 5:11)

Thy Father seeth in secret. What a man does in secret reveals more about him than all his known, public acts could ever tell about him. God knows these secret desires and motives, and judges the man accordingly. (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Hebrews 6:10) Ethically it would be nice if man would always just give simply because he has to, i.e. because of his overflowing kindliness which allows him to do no other, However, Jesus meets man on a lower level and gives him an ideal that challenges him to rise far above mere overflowing kindliness. He grounds His ethic in a much firmer basis: a religious basis: Give only to be seen by your Father, so that in reality you are serving only Him, seeking only His praise. Maintain this single-mindedness regardless of how many others find out about your generosity. Your Father shall recompense you. Happy is the man who has only one judge and seeks only one exceeding great reward. The hypocrite has a thousand judges whom he can never trust to bless him, nor can he ever hope to satisfy their caprice. But a one-judge. man can work his way through life, helping people, knowing exactly where he is going and whom he is trying to please. And he is quite happy doing just that. The meager smiles of his contemporaries leave him unmoved, for his eye is fixed on the Father. (Romans 12:11; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:23-25)

Observe how gently and yet how surely Jesus divides the sheep from the goats: choose this day whom you will serve, decide whose praise you cherish, whose frown and criticism you really fear. Jesus knows that this is the finally decisive index to true discipleship. By promising the recompense of the Father to those who would but seek it, He also disappoints those who are impatient for immediate acclaim. By offering this promise, Jesus leaves open His great invitation to be one of His, and yet He knows that men will reject the high calling of God and choose their own condemnation. (Cf. Hebrews 11:26, (Moses-') attention was on the reward.)

FACT QUESTIONS

1.

List some of the famous good deeds of the Bible that became famous for the simple reason that they who did them either told others about them, or else they did them in the presence, or to the knowledge, of others. Name some of the well-known acts of selfless generosity recorded.

2.

What does the answer to the previous question have to do with seeking the proper interpretation of the admonition: Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men. that your alms be in secret?

3.

What is the meaning of righteousness as Jesus uses it in Matthew 6:1?

4.

Harmonize the two ideas of reward mentioned in Matthew 6:1-2. How is it true that the hypocrites have received their reward, when Jesus explicitly warns that hypocrisy brings no reward with the heavenly Father?

5.

What is meant by doing alms?

6.

What is the reward with your Father? (Matthew 6:1) Is this the same as His recompense (Matthew 6:4)?

7.

What is the reward which hypocrites have already received?

8.

What is meant by the hyperbole about the left and right hand?

9.

What should be the impact upon the hypocrite to whom Jesus indirectly addresses the words, Thy Father sees in secret?

10. Show the relationship between the present section (Matthew 6:1-18) with Jesus-' plan of presentation as this relationship is seen in what has preceded and for what this section prepares. In other words, how does the content of this section fit into the overall outline of Jesus-' argument in the Sermon on the Mount?