Matthew 6

Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount by turning to the heart. Giving, prayer and fasting must be done for God, not to impress people. He then teaches His disciples to pray, warns against storing up earthly wealth, and calls them to trust their heavenly Father instead of worrying.

Matthew 6:1

Jesus warns about the motive behind good deeds. If we do them to be noticed, applause is all we get. A deed done for show earns nothing from God. The Father’s reward belongs to those who live before His eyes.

BSA: righteous acts (“good deeds, charitable giving”): Jesus means our visible religious practices, such as giving, praying and fasting, which He takes up one by one.

Matthew 6:2

Some made a show of their giving, as if announcing it with a trumpet. Jesus calls them hypocrites. They wanted human praise, and they got it. That is all the payment they will ever receive.

BSA: hypocrites (“pretenders, insincere ones”): Their kindness is a performance, not a true expression of the heart.

Greek: ὑποκριταί (hypokritai, G5273) — “stage actors, pretenders.” The word was used of actors who spoke from behind a mask. Jesus pictures religious people playing a part for an audience.

Matthew 6:3-4

Giving should be so quiet that it is almost hidden even from ourselves, as when one hand does not tell the other. God sees what no one else notices. He promises to repay such hidden kindness Himself.

BSA: reward (“repay, recompense”): God does not forget unseen generosity. He answers it in His own way and time.

Matthew 6:5

Prayer is not wrong in public. The problem is praying in order to be seen. Those who pray for an audience receive an audience’s admiration and nothing more. Prayer is meant to be a conversation with God.

See also: Luke 18:10-14.

Matthew 6:6

Jesus points to a private place and a closed door. There we speak only to the Father, who is unseen yet near. He sees what is hidden and rewards it. Secret prayer needs no audience.

BSA: inner room (“chamber, secret place”): It means any private spot where we can be alone with God.

Greek: ταμεῖον (tameion, G5009) — “storeroom, private chamber.” This was the one interior room of a house that could be locked, often used for storing valuables. Prayer becomes a treasured, guarded time with God.

Matthew 6:7-8

Pagans piled up words, thinking that more talk would move their gods. Jesus says our Father is not like that. He already knows our needs. We pray not to inform Him or wear Him down, but to draw near to Him.

BSA: babble on (“repeat empty words, use vain repetitions”): The fault is empty, mechanical talk, not sincere persistence.

Greek: βατταλογήσητε (battalogēsēte, G945) — “to babble, to chatter on and on.” The word sounds like the meaningless chatter it describes. It points to words poured out with no heart in them.

See also: 1 Kings 18:26-29.

Matthew 6:9

Jesus gives a pattern for prayer. We begin with God Himself, not our needs. We call Him Father, which is warm and close. We ask that His name be honored as holy, set apart above everything.

BSA: hallowed (“sanctified, revered”): We ask that God’s name be treated as holy by us and by all people. name (“character, reputation”): God’s name stands for who He truly is.

See also: Luke 11:2-4.

Matthew 6:10

Here we ask for God’s rule to come and His will to be done on earth as it already is in heaven. This prayer places us under His kingship. We want His purposes to prevail, in the world and in ourselves.

BSA: kingdom (“royal power and dominion”): The kingdom is God’s active kingly rule, not just a place.

Matthew 6:11

After asking for God’s glory, we ask for our needs. The request is modest: bread for today. We depend on Him for what we need, day by day, as Israel depended on manna in the wilderness.

BSA: daily (“referring to something that happens every day”): We are taught to look to God one day at a time. bread (“food for our needs, sustenance”): Bread stands for all the basic provision our lives require.

Greek: ἐπιούσιον (epiousion, G1967) — “daily, for the coming day (a rare word).” This word is almost unknown outside the Lord’s Prayer, so its exact sense is debated. It points to bread for the day at hand.

Matthew 6:12

We ask God to forgive our sins as though they were debts we cannot repay. We also say we have forgiven those who owe us. A heart that receives mercy must pass it on.

BSA: debts (“sins, things owed to God”): Sin leaves us owing God what we cannot pay.

Greek: ὀφειλήματα (opheilēmata, G3783) — “debts, things owed.” Sin is pictured as a money debt. Forgiveness means the debt is cancelled, not merely overlooked.

Matthew 6:13

We ask the Father to keep us from being overwhelmed by trials and to rescue us from the evil one. We admit our weakness. We cannot stand alone against the enemy, and we trust God to guard us.

BSA: temptation (“a difficult situation that challenges our faith”): The word covers both testing and enticement to sin. evil one (“the devil, Satan, the tempter”): The danger is a real enemy, not only bad circumstances.

Greek: πειρασμόν (peirasmon, G3986) — “testing, trial, temptation.” The word can mean a trial that proves us or a pull toward sin. We pray not to be brought into a test we would fail.

Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus returns to the one petition He explains. Forgiveness received and forgiveness given go together. Refusing to forgive shows a heart that has not grasped God’s mercy. Those who truly receive mercy will want to pass it on.

BSA: trespasses (“sins, mistakes, offenses”): These are the wrongs done to us, large or small.

See also: Mark 11:25; Ephesians 4:32.

Matthew 6:16

Fasting means going without food to seek God. Some put on a gloomy face so that others would admire their devotion. Jesus says their reputation for holiness is the only reward they will get.

BSA: fast (“abstain from food, go without eating”): Fasting is meant to focus the heart on God, not to advertise our devotion.

Greek: ἀφανίζουσιν (aphanizousin, G853) — “they make unrecognizable, they make vanish.” They neglected their appearance so that their faces looked worn and pale. The word plays on the aim: they hide their faces in order to be seen.

See also: Isaiah 58:5-7.

Matthew 6:17-18

Jesus says to look normal. Anointing the head with oil and washing the face were everyday grooming. Fasting then stays between you and the Father. He sees what is hidden and rewards it.

BSA: anoint (“put oil on, show respect to”): Treating yourself as on any ordinary day keeps the fast private.

Matthew 6:19-20

Earthly wealth is not secure. Moths eat clothing, rust corrodes, and thieves steal. Heavenly treasure, such as what is given and done for God, cannot be lost. Jesus invites us to invest in what lasts.

BSA: treasures (“riches, wealth, material goods”): Anything we gather and depend on is a treasure, whether or not it is money.

See also: Luke 12:33.

Matthew 6:21

The heart follows what we value. What we treasure draws our thoughts, time and affection. So our spending and choices show where our hearts are, and they can also teach our hearts to love what is lasting.

BSA: heart (“seat of thoughts and emotions”): The heart is the center of the whole person, not only feelings.

See also: Luke 12:34.

Matthew 6:22-23

The eye lets light into the body. A clear eye fills a person with light. A bad eye leaves them in darkness. Jesus speaks of how we look at life, either with a single, generous focus on God or with a greedy, divided one. If the inner light fails, the darkness is deep.

BSA: good (“single, sound, healthy”): A good eye is undivided and focused, not split between God and wealth.

Greek: ἁπλοῦς (haplous, G573) — “single, simple, undivided.” The word describes a clear, single-minded eye. The surrounding verses about money suggest a generous heart, in contrast with a greedy one.

Matthew 6:24

No one can fully serve two masters whose demands conflict. Jesus names the rivals: God and money. Money is a poor master but a powerful one. We must choose which will rule, since our loyalty will not be shared equally.

BSA: money (“wealth or riches, idolization of material goods”): Wealth becomes a rival god when we trust it and live for it.

Greek: μαμωνᾶς (mamōnas, G3126) — “wealth, property, money.” Jesus uses an Aramaic word for wealth and speaks of it almost as a person or master that demands service.

See also: Luke 16:13.

Matthew 6:25

Because God is our Father, we need not be consumed with worry about food, drink or clothes. Life is more than these things. The One who gave us life and a body will care for them.

BSA: worry (“be anxious or troubled”): This is a restless fear about provision, not sensible planning.

Greek: μεριμνᾶτε (merimnate, G3309) — “be anxious, be pulled apart by cares.” The word suggests a mind divided and torn in different directions by cares.

See also: 1 Peter 5:7.

Matthew 6:26

Jesus points to the birds. They do not farm, yet God feeds them. We are of far greater worth to Him. This does not excuse laziness, since birds must still search for food. It shows that a faithful Father is behind our provision.

BSA: valuable (“precious, of greater worth”): We are God’s children, and He values us far above the birds.

See also: Psalm 147:9.

Matthew 6:27

Worry achieves nothing. It cannot lengthen life by even a small amount. The Greek can mean adding a short measure to height or to the span of life. Either way, anxiety cannot add what it fears to lack.

BSA: hour (“one cubit, a moment”): The original word is a measure of length, so it may mean a small addition to the length of life.

Matthew 6:28-29

Jesus now points to wild flowers. They do not work to make themselves beautiful, yet they are lovelier than Solomon in his royal robes. If God gives such beauty to flowers, He will not forget the needs of His people.

BSA: Consider (“think about, reflect on”): Jesus asks us to look carefully and learn, not just glance.

Matthew 6:30

Grass lasts a day and is then burned as fuel. Yet God clothes it with beauty. How much more will He care for His own children. Jesus gently names the problem: too little trust in the Father.

BSA: little faith (“having a small amount of trust”): The problem is weak trust, not no faith. Jesus speaks tenderly to a real but small faith.

Matthew 6:31-32

Anxious questions about food, drink and clothing mark those who do not know God as Father. Believers have a Father who knows exactly what they need. So we can stop living as if everything depended on us.

BSA: strive after (“seek, search for”): Gentiles pursue these things as their chief goal. Disciples have a higher aim.

Matthew 6:33

Jesus gives the remedy for worry: put God’s rule first. We seek His kingdom and the right living He desires, and trust Him for the rest. Everyday needs are added as gifts, but He should come first in everything.

BSA: first (“before all else, with utmost priority”): God’s kingdom is to be the top priority, ahead of every other concern. righteousness (“right living, justice”): It means living as God wants, not just feeling devoted.

Greek: ζητεῖτε (zēteite, G2212) — “keep seeking, make it your aim.” The verb is in a form that means ongoing action. We are to keep seeking God’s kingdom, not do so once.

See also: Luke 12:31.

Matthew 6:34

Jesus ends with a practical word: do not borrow tomorrow’s worries. Each day brings enough hardship of its own. We are invited to meet today’s needs with God’s help and leave the future in His hands.

See also: Lamentations 3:22-23.