Sermon on the Mount/Matthew Chapters 6:25-34/Commentary

The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:25-34/Lesson 9 6:25"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?”

“For this reason”: There is a definite link between the principle just stated in 6:24 and the applications that follow. In other words, being anxious is serving the god of wealth. “Do not be anxious”: When KJV translation has “take no thought”, three hundred years ago this expression meant exactly what is involved in the English word anxiety. The statement “take no thought” had no connection with giving careful thought to a problem or project. In fact, in this part of His sermon, Jesus is actually commanding His listeners to give very careful thought to their life and what really sustains it. Jesus is not forbidding planning or prudent foresight; neither is He advocating a shiftless, thriftless, reckless attitude towards life, compare with 1 Timothy 5:8. “So there is nothing here to stop Christians from making plans for the future or taking sensible steps for their own security, what Jesus forbids is anxious thought. It is the word used of Martha who was ‘distracted’ (Luke 10:40) with much serving, of the good seed sown among the thorns which was choked by the ‘cares; of life (Luke 8:14).

Prudent provision for the future is right; wearing, corroding, self-tormenting anxiety is wrong” (Stott p. 163).

This is the type of anxiety that prevents us from growing spiritually, hinders effective service in the kingdom (6:33), and argues that making a living justifies compromising God’s standards.

“Eat…drink”: “The worry about drink refers to the hot climate in Palestine and to the lack of water in that rugged land” (Lenski p. 280). Observe in

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this section that Jesus is condemning distracting anxiety concerning “basic human needs”. Food, drink and clothing are about as basic as one can get, but even distracting anxiety is wrong on this basic level as well as far less important physical things. “Nor is Jesus pleading for utter indifference to earthly needs or material goods, for He admits our need for all these things” (6:32). There is no asceticism here” (Fowler p. 381).

“Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” Here Jesus challenges ancient and modern society. Our world does think that life is all about food and clothing and other physical enjoyments. “Jesus is preaching against that false sense of values created by distrustful worry about the necessities of life. Thus, Jesus is saying, ‘You are more important than the food you eat, the body you inhabit, or the clothing that covers it”. “Men are prone to be more concerned about making physical life possible than about making life worth living. Mere physical existence is not worth the trouble to sustain it, if the problems of the soul are left unsolved” (Fowler pp. 381,382). The body is inferior to the man who dwells therein. The needs of the soul far outweigh the needs of the body. “At death none of us will have need of food and clothing, what folly to make our chief concern those things which perish with the using” (p. 383).

Placing all the emphasis on the physical aspect of life betrays a false view of human beings, as if they were only bodies needing to be fed, watered, clothed and housed, and of human life, as if life was merely some sort of physical thing. “An exclusive preoccupation with food, drink, and clothing could be justified if physical survival were the be-all and end-all of existence. We just live to live” (Stott p. 162). The preoccupation with the material side of life downgrades human beings, but how many people in our society think that physical well-being is the goal? How many churches have bought into the idea that taking care of the physical needs of man is their purpose?

6:26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

“Look at”: Often great truths can be observed by just observing the world that God created. Note, when Jesus observed the birds He did not see natural selection, chance, or evolution, rather He saw God’s creation and His providential care.

“They do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns”: The thing condemned is not work (2 Thessalonians 3:10), for birds are hardworking little creatures (see Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, O sluggard”). Jesus’ point 2

is that, even without man’s advantages (like machinery, fertilizer, and storehouses), God is still able to take good care of the birds. God feeds them providentially, for providence is not any less than the power of God. It does not worry for its food; it just obeys the law of its life and becomes what it is. The law of our life is that we work for our food and trust that God will provide. We were created to work, not worry.

“Are you not worth much more than they?”: If God providentially provides for the birds and does a very good job at this, then how much more is God looking out for us? We dare not isolate God and argue that serving God is fine for people who have the time, but that Christianity is not very useful for basic needs like food getting. Is God going to care for the birds (which have no human advantages) and then forget about us?

6:27"And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?”

Some say that the term here, “life’s span”, refers to one’s physical size or height, yet this does not make much sense to me, for how many people would want to be 18 inches taller? “Neither anxious worry nor loss of sleep nor beating one’s brains about it could have altered the exact height of a child at any stage of his growth” (p. 385).

“Many people worry about the prolongation of their allotted age by any amount. The image called up by this expression of Jesus is that of a man anxiously hurrying across the years of his life. He stumbles, grasping for his last breath and reaches out, clawing his way forward in the effort to have just another 18 inches along the path of life. All of his nervous worries have been in vain, because, worry or no, his life has run its course” (Fowler p.

385). Far from adding any life, anxiety actually can cut years off of our lives. “Worry often shortens life through shattered nerves, stomach ulcers, and heart attacks” (Fowler p. 385).

6:28"And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin” Here we are given another example of God’s providential care. This time Jesus says that God clothes the lilies of the field. If we do take an interest in birds and flowers (bird watching or gardening), then we should see the hand of God. Lilies do not toil nor spin in the sense that they grow and have a beautiful outward covering without being consumed by distracting cares. Even without having the advantages that God has given to man (the ability to make his or her own clothes or simply buy them already made), God can clothe the flowers.

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6:29 “Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these” When it came to wealth and outward splendor, Solomon was without peer (1 Kings 10). One lesson to be learned here is that “Treasuring garments of great value is a false ideal because they are always rags when compared to the simplest flowers” (Fowler p. 386). We need to allow God’s hand in nature to teach and humble us. Man thinks that he or she has really accomplished great things, but when we look at God’s handiwork, we should be humbled. God is saying, “Stop worrying about clothes, including keeping up with the latest styles and fads, for even if you could always buy the best, you still could not out-do the beauty found in the simplest flower”.

6:30"But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?”

The verse vividly describes the temporary nature of all earthly things. Jesus may also be saying, that if God so clothes what is so temporary (although tomorrow that bunch of grass might become the fuel that someone will use to bake their bread), will not God care for man, who is far more important? In addition, beauty is fleeting, even beautiful flowers only last for a short time (1 Peter 1:24; 3:3-4). Placing all the emphasis on physical beauty is a short-sighted goal, yet our world as their world is obsessed with such things.

“O men of little faith”: This is the bottom line. It seems clear that the disciples did have a problem with worry, and such worry was a manifestation of unbelief. “The same faith that trusts God for grace and guidance must also trust Him for garments and groceries. Man is all one piece: the less he trusts God for his temporal needs, the less he really believes in His eternal mercies” (Fowler pp. 387-388). If we cannot trust God in the same things, then how are we going to trust Him in such things as eternal life? The same is true in other areas. For example, if we cannot trust that God is able to keep His word from being corrupted, then how could such a God ever save us or forgive our sins? If we cannot trust God concerning His teachings, which govern the things of this life (marriage, parenting, etc…), then why trust Him concerning things after this life.

6:31"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?'”

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“Do not be anxious then”: This is a direct command, a command just as important as any other command. God never expects of us what is impossible, therefore, worry is not genetic or something in which we just cannot help ourselves. No one was just born a natural worrier. Distracting care manifests itself in such questions as, “What shall we eat?” “These are the very symptoms of distrustful people, the very complaints they make when they encounter losses or adversities befall them, or their supply of necessities is apparently cut off, or when they lose their job, or their investments do not pay off or they are stricken with some incapacitating disease. These very demands denote that they who ask them have no faith in God’s goodness” (Fowler p. 388).

6:32"For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek”: Worry is nothing more than pagan unbelief. “Pagan people imagine that they themselves must provide for their needs, hence their seeking is bent upon all these things” (Lenski p. 284). “How many of us are pagans in a crisis? Such distrust is understandable in one who believes in a capricious, unpredictable god, but such conduct in a worshipper of our Father is totally incomprehensible” (Fowler p. 389). What are our goals and are they spiritual or carnal? How do I differ from my pagan neighbor when it comes to worry, stress, and anxiety?

“For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things”: God is not out-of-touch, rather, God is very aware of what life on this earth is like.

God knows exactly what the price is of a gallon of gasoline, a new home, a used car, a loaf of bread, and so on. See 1 Peter 5:7. Hence, food, clothing, and shelter are not man’s greatest problems and must not sap his strength from his one main true obsession, the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This verse really answers the objection, “I will put God first when I can afford it, but right now I am trying to get ahead”. Faith says, “God will provide for my needs right now if I put Him first”. In other words, we can’t afford not to put God first.

6:33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” In contrast to seeking and striving after material things, place your emphasis on first seeking His kingdom. Here is Jesus’ positive and constructive answer to worry and greed. “To concentrate upon the doing of and acceptance of God’s will is the way to defeat worry, a great love can drive out every other concern. Such a love can inspire a man’s work, 5

intensify his study, purify his life, and dominate his whole being. Worry is banished when God becomes the dominating power of our lives. Seek first is an interesting command because Jesus does not say what to ‘seek second’. He knows that He has nothing to worry about for the man who puts God’s will first and who trusts God for all the rest…Men are prone to put economic considerations first and to sacrifice moral principles for sake of their daily bread. The plea ‘I must live’ is often advanced as an excuse for unethical behavior. When business men argue that ‘business is business’ they usually mean that it is exempt from ethical control” (Fowler pp. 389-390).

“His kingdom”: This includes God’s rule and His will. His righteousness, means seeking to be righteous on His terms or His level of righteousness (5:20). Of course, His Kingdom would involve allowing God to be the center of our lives in our homes, marriages, work place, recreation, vacation, hobby, private moments, and public worship. Seeking for first the Kingdom means striving to see that God’s will is done here on earth, and that the church grows, advances, and fulfills her purpose.

“All these things shall be added unto you”: “God knows we are not angels or machines, but men (Psalm 103:13-14). He knows that we must be provided for” (Fowler p. 390). Take a good look at this verse again.

Who can afford to seek something other than the kingdom of God and His righteousness? People who ignore the kingdom so that they can assure themselves of their life sustenance, will lose both the kingdom and their life too (Matthew 16:24-26).

6:34"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” “Only when we learn to live one day at a time can we really stop worrying” (James 4:14). Worrying about tomorrow is presumptuous. First, we are assuming that we will be alive tomorrow, secondly, we are assuming that God is doing nothing about the problem and that He is going to fail. Thirdly, the real future, when it comes, is rarely as bad as the tomorrow we had feared. As someone said, “Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due”.

“Tomorrow will care for itself”: “So then worry is a waste—a waste of time, thought and nervous energy” (Stott p. 169). Jesus’ thought here may be, tomorrow will come, and in spite of all our fretting and worrying we cannot change tomorrow by worrying today.

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“Each day has enough trouble of its own”: Notice, Jesus does not downplay our concerns or fears. He says, “Yes, this world is filled with troubles, persecution, and so on”. Jesus is not some Eastern mystic who says, “Suffering is an illusion”. Each day has enough troubles, so why anticipate them? In addition, by worrying about tomorrow, we are often unable to effectively deal with the problems that we encounter today.

How many people do you know who are basically neutralized in dealing with a problem “today” because they are worrying about something that is still in the future? It is amazing how effective you can become if you face today’s troubles “today” and leave everything else in the future.

“Why not be satisfied with today as though it did not have enough trouble, and we had to go into the future to borrow more?” (Lenski p.

287). Some translations of this verse have the word “evil” instead of “trouble”. Here the term “evil”, as in other places, is used in the sense of trouble, calamity, hardship, and problems.

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