Inter-Varsity - Matthew 6:1-18: Christ Focused Devotion

This evening we’re going to consider Matthew 6:1-18. I have been given the privilege of speaking about two of the three topics that Jesus addresses here- giving and fasting. Shane Westphal will discuss the section on prayer next week. In these verses Jesus addresses ‘three of the great devotional characteristics of Judaism at its best which Jesus takes over and underlines for members of the kingdom’.¹

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites…7 “And when you pray, do not... 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Question: What should be your motivation to pray, do acts of mercy, and to fast?

Let me make a two general observations. First, these three devotional priorities that Jesus is speaking about are often encouraged by God for His people to do within a particular context. I have been reminded of this as I have been reading through the Pentateuch. I have seen that God will often encourage Israel to do acts of mercy, prayer, and fasting in response to the mercy, grace, and kindness that He has shown to them.

In the Old Testament God chose Israel, formed them into a nation while they were slaves in Egypt, then after 400 years the LORD delivered Israel, preserved them in the wilderness, and then He brought them into the Promised Land. As Israel was about to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land the LORD often spoke of these devotional priorities as a response for all that God had done for them. (For example: Deuteronomy 12)

The Old Covenant repeatedly links giving, prayer, and fasting as a threefold expression of returning to the LORD so that He may restore rest, blessing, and covenant stability to His people. These three devotional characteristics often appear together in moments when Israel is: re-centering their worship upon Him, It appears when Israel is seeking deliverance, when they are renewing covenant loyalty to the LORD, when Israel is repenting and returning to the LORD from sin, and when Israel is preparing their hearts to be in God’s presence. (Joel 2; Nehemiah 9-10, Ezra 8, 2 Chronicles 20, Isaiah 58)

If these things were to be done by Israel in response to the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God, how much more should we do these things as a response to the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God that has been revealed through the coming of Jesus Christ. God has displayed great power in saving us, preserving us, and one day glorifying us. In the Old Testament God expressed these virtues and His attributes through great external realities in fulfilling His promises. However, in the New Testament these things are internal not merely external, but internal realities. Therefore, in response to all of these wonderful New Testament realities that are now ours through Jesus we are to engage in these devotional practices with hearts of thanksgiving. (Romans 8:29-30- “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”)

Those who are in Christ’s Kingdom are to pray, give, and fast because of what God has graciously and mercifully done for them in the heart which expresses itself outward from there. In response to these profound inward realities a believer prays to God (vertical), displays discipline through fasting (internal), and they do acts of mercy towards others (vertical). (1 Cor. 4)

Let us consider the second general rule regarding vv.1-18. To be honest, this will be our focus for the rest of our time together this evening. This passage is divided into three sections.

• The first regards acts of mercy in vv. 1-4.

• The second regards prayer in vv. 5-15.

• The third addresses fasting in vv. 16-18.

In each of these sections there are particular instructions that specifically relate to those particular devotional practices. And yet, there is a unified theme that is woven throughout all three of these subjects. This theme, this principle, and this general rule is summarized in verse 1. Look at verse 1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness (acts of mercy, particularly the giving of alms) before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

This theme which is stated in v.1 regards acts of charity (2), but it also applies to the other two devotional characteristics which appear in vv.1-18 as well. Verse 1 begins with these words, “Beware of practicing your righteousness…”. The word ‘righteousness’ in this verse is the word ‘eleemosyne’ (el-eh-ay-mos-oon-ay). The meaning of the word ‘righteousness’ that is used in Matthew 6:1 specifically addresses acts of mercy, particularly in the giving of alms to the needy among God’s people. This word is tied closely to the definition of it which is given in v.2, “Thus, when you give to the needy…”.

The word that is used here is not the word ‘dikaiosyne’ (dik-aj-yos-oo-nay) which is found in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Through faith in the gospel a sinner is made righteous and justified by God. This saving faith then expresses the inward change that has occurred by the things that Jesus is talking about in our text this evening: prayer, giving of alms, and fasting. (Matthew 6:1-18) The saving faith that justifies looks to Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins and to be clothed in His righteousness. Saving faith expresses itself in sanctification as it does these righteous acts to be seen by the LORD and not to be seen by men.

The principle that is conveyed in verse 1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”, applies to all three topics addressed in Matthew 6:1-18. Because of this, we could also say,

• “Beware of practicing your righteousness (your devotion of prayer) before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” The principles seen in verse 1 are clearly seen in Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

• We could also say, “Beware of practicing your righteousness (your devotion of fasting) before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” This principle is seen in Matthew 6:16 when we read, “And when (not if) you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Having addressed these two general observations I would like to spend the rest of our time focused upon certain parts of this rule and principle that is so clearly stated in verse 1. Consider how verse 1 begins, “Beware!” As I have contemplated this word I have become more aware of some of the signs that are around our city. For example, one of my friends lives by a high voltage sub-station and on the fencing there is a sign that reads, “Danger Electrical Shock Hazzard”. Or there is a sign by the river that says, “Danger No Swimming Allowed”. Or there is a house down the street from me that says, “Beware Of Dog”.

Jesus begins to speak about these three devotional characteristics that should characterize God’s people with a warning, ‘Beware!’. The warning that Jesus gives here is not that we should stop neglecting these things (prayer, giving, fasting), but that when we do them we should not do them to be seen by others. There are scriptures that warn God’s people not to neglect these disciplines, but here the warning is associated with how these things are being done.

As we will see in a moment, we need to pay attention to this warning because,

• Our own indwelling sin and self-righteousness seeks to be recognized and commended by others. (Beware of practicing your righteousness...{1,16})

• We live in a sinful and self-righteous community that teaches and models for us to seek the approval of others. (...sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets...{2,5,16})

• Our sin nature sees recognition by others as a compelling reward, but we do not always value the future reward that we would receive from our Father. (1,2,4,16,18)

The word ‘Beware!’ is a present tense active imperative plural verb. Let’s consider what these things mean. First, it is present tense. This means that Jesus is giving a simple statement of fact which is happening right now. Jesus is speaking to people who need to understand that they need to ‘Beware!’ This is not a warning that does not apply, or is not relevant, to you and I.

One reason we need to ‘Beware’ is mentioned in verses 2,5,&16 when Jesus tells his hearers that they are not to be like the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets who seek the praise of others. (v.2) You will often hear someone say that the church is full of hypocrites, but Jesus says they are in the synagogues and in the streets. Notice that hypocrites are not found in a particular synagogue, but in every synagogue. They are not found on a particular street, but they can be found on every street. (Streets and synagogues are both plural)

Do you remember when Jesus wanted to teach His disciples a lesson about humility so He pulled a child to Himself and made the child the illustration, saying, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3) Well, in a similar way Jesus could have easily found a hypocrite to bring before the disciples to say, “Do not be like them.” (Mark 12:38-44)

Another reason we ought to “Beware” is in v.7.  We need to “Beware” because these sins some so easily and naturally to the fallen nature of men. Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Here Jesus speaks about the ‘Gentiles’, those who do not know the LORD and His Word, and He makes a universal statement about what they do in their prayers, ‘they heap up empty phrases...’.

Apparently Israel, who was to be a light and an example to the Gentiles, had learned some bad habits from their unbelieving neighbors. Similarly, many times the church can begin to model their actions, their worship, and their thinking after the world instead of being transformed by the renewing of their minds according to God’s Word. (Romans 12:2) When this happens we are headed for trouble and need to ‘Beware!’. It only takes a little leaven to leaven the whole lump. This is why Jesus’ teaching about these things is so important. Scripture is the ‘Regulative Principle’ for our devotion and worship. We need to ‘Beware’ because not only will we lose rewards but we will receive some rebuke and condemnation if this is done.

• Mark 12:40 - “...for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

• We will not be commended if we give to be seen by men. Like the poor widow was by Jesus in Mark 12:44, “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The focus of the church is to be upon Christ and His teaching. We are not to allow ourselves to be distracted by all the other voices and examples around us. We are to ‘Beware’ and heed the instruction of Jesus. This very fact is emphasized three times in verses 2,5, & 16 where we read these words, “Truly, I (Jesus) say to you…”.

The word ‘Beware’ is in the active voice. The active voice speaks of the fact that the subject is the doer or performer of the action. In other words, it is our responsibility to hear and heed Jesus’ instructions in this text. We are to give heed and attention to the danger that Jesus has spoken about. We are to turn our thoughts and attention against doing these things to be noticed by those around us. Instead, we are to do all things as unto the LORD. If in the end we loose our rewards we have no one to blame but ourselves. We cannot blame the hypocrite in the street or in the church who taught us by their example to do this.

The word ‘Beware’ is in the imperative mood which means that this is a command.

• On the one hand, we are to respond rightly to this command because if we don’t we will forfeit our reward from the LORD. We see this in verse 1 when Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” We also see it in verse 16, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

• On the other hand, there is a more important reason to obey this warning. We are to obey this command because of Who has given us this command. (6:5,16) In this case, the one who gives this command is Jesus so it ought to be obeyed. Jesus is our LORD, our King, and we obey His Word. (1:1)

Finally, all of us should heed Jesus’ command to ‘Beware’. The word ‘Beware’ is plural. On this particular occasion Jesus is speaking to His disciples and the large crowd who had gathered to hear Him. (5:1) Throughout this text Jesus uses plural verbs to show the universal nature of this problem, but then he always speaks to the individuals with singular tenses when giving His instruction that is to be obeyed. If Jesus were here tonight He would be looking at you and speaking directly to you. If we do not heed Jesus’ instructions we will gravitate by nature to be hypocritical in how we think and act in regard to these things.

Discussion questions:

In the sermon I said that Israel was to do acts of mercy, prayer, and fasting in response to the mercy, grace, and kindness of God. How does remembering God’s kindness change how you will approach these devotional traits in your life this week.

In the sermon I said that Israel would practice these things to re-center their worship, seek deliverance, renew their covenant, or when they repented. Which of these contexts applies to you?

In regards to what Jesus Christ has done for us in the New Testament, what aspect of His work motivates you towards deeper devotion?

Where do you most often feel the pull to be seen and recognized by others in your devotion to the LORD?

How can your friends in Inter-Varsity help each other pursue devotion to the LORD without drifting into hypocrisy?

1The Message of Matthew, Michael Green, The Bible Speaks Today, IVP, p.102