GIVING TO THE NEEDY
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matthew 6:2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Matthew 6:4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. ;
“Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.”—Matthew 6:1, margin.
The words of Christ on the mount were an expression of that which had been the unspoken teaching of His life, but which the people had failed to comprehend. They could not understand how, having such great power, He neglected to use it in securing what they regarded as the chief good.
Their spirit and motives and methods were the opposite of His. While they claimed to be very jealous for the honour of the law, self-glory was the real object which they sought; and Christ would make it manifest to them that the lover of self is a transgressor of the law.
But the principles cherished by the Pharisees are such as are characteristic of humanity in all ages. The spirit of Pharisaism is the spirit of human nature; and as the Saviour showed the contrast between His own spirit and methods and those of the rabbis, His teaching is equally applicable to the people of all time.
In the days of Christ the Pharisees were continually trying to earn the favour of Heaven in order to secure the worldly honour and prosperity which they regarded as the reward of virtue. At the same time, they paraded their acts of charity before the people to attract their attention and gain a reputation for sanctity.
Jesus rebuked their show, display, declaring that God does not recognize such service and that the flattery and admiration of the people, which they so eagerly sought, was the only reward they would ever receive. Jesus said to them:
Matthew 6:4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
In these words Jesus did not teach that acts of kindness should always be kept secret
Christ’s own words make His meaning plain, that in acts of charity the aim should not be to secure praise and honour from men. Real godliness never prompts an effort at display. Those who desire words of praise and flattery, and feed upon them as a sweet morsel, are Christians in name only.
By their good works, Christ’s followers are to bring glory, not to themselves, but to Him through whose grace and power they have wrought. It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accomplished, and the Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver.
When the light of Christ is shining in the soul, the lips will be filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, your performance of duty, your benevolence, your self-denial, will not be the theme of your thought or conversation. Jesus will be magnified, self will be hidden, and Christ will appear as all in all.
We are to give in sincerity, not to make a show of our good deeds, but from pity and love to the suffering ones. Sincerity of purpose, real kindness of heart, is the motive that Heaven values. The soul that is sincere in its love, wholehearted in its devotion, God regards as more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir.
We are not to think of reward, but of service; yet kindness shown in this spirit will not fail of its recompense. “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. ” While it is true that God Himself is the great Reward, that embraces every other, the soul receives and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character. Only like can appreciate like. It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of humanity that He gives Himself to us.
No one can give place in his own heart and life for the stream of God’s blessing to flow to others, without receiving in himself a rich reward. The hillsides and plains that furnish a channel for the mountain streams to reach the sea suffer no loss thereby.
That which they give is repaid a hundredfold. For the stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind its gift of verdure and fruitfulness. The grass on its banks is a fresher green, the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers are more abundant.
When the earth lies bare and brown under the summer’s parching heat, a line of greenness, verdure marks the river’s course; and the plain that opened her bosom to bear the mountain’s treasure to the sea is clothed with freshness and beauty, a witness to the recompense that God’s grace imparts to all who give themselves as a channel for its outflow to the world.
Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
Isaiah 58:10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
The work of beneficence is twice blessed. While he that gives to the needy blesses others, he himself is blessed in a still greater degree. The grace of Christ in the soul is developing traits of character that are the opposite of selfishness,—traits that will refine, ennoble, and enrich the life.
Acts of kindness performed in secret will bind hearts together, and will draw them closer to the heart of Him from whom every generous impulse springs. The little attentions, the small acts of love and self-sacrifice, that flow out from the life as quietly as the fragrance from a flower—these constitute no small share of the blessings and happiness of life. And it will be found at last that the denial of self for the good and happiness of others, however humble and uncommended here, is recognized in heaven as the token of our union with Him, the King of glory, who was rich, yet for our sake became poor.
The deeds of kindness may have been done in secret, but the result upon the character of the doer cannot be hidden. If we work with wholehearted interest as a follower of Christ, the heart will be in close sympathy with God, and the Spirit of God, moving upon our spirit, will call forth the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch.
who have sought for the development and perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works, will, in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon earth will reach its consummation in that higher and holier life to endure throughout eternity.
CHAPTER 6
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Jesus had shown in what righteousness consists, and had pointed to God as its source. Now He turned to practical duties. In almsgiving, in prayer, in fasting, He said, let nothing be done to attract attention or win praise to self.
Give in sincerity, for the benefit of the suffering poor. In prayer, let the soul commune with God. In fasting, go not with the head bowed down, and heart filled with thoughts of self. The heart of the Pharisee is a barren and profitless soil, in which no seeds of divine life can flourish. It is he who yields himself most unreservedly to God that will render Him the most acceptable service.
For through fellowship with God men become workers together with Him in presenting His character in humanity.
The three illustrations given almsgiving, prayer, fasting, represent the three most observed forms of Pharisaic “righteousness.” It should be observed that Christ in no way objects to religious acts; He is concerned only that they be prompted by pure motives and be performed without ostentation.
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Paraded to attract attention and admiration .
To be seen. Gr. theaomai, “to gaze upon,” “to see.” The English words “theater” and “theatrical” are from this root. Pious acts performed “before men, to be seen of them,” were designed to earn the
Matthew 6:2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Christ is rebuking the evil of giving great publicity to deeds of charity.
Hypocrites. Gr. hupokritai, from a verb meaning “to pretend,” “to feign.” The Jews provided for the poor by an assessment upon the members of the community based upon ability to pay.
The funds thus acquired were augmented by voluntary gifts. In addition, appeals for contributions were from time to time made at public religious gatherings in the synagogues, or at open-air meetings generally conducted in the streets.
On these occasions men were tempted to pledge large sums to win the praise of those assembled. There was also a practice of permitting the one who contributed an unusually large gift to sit in a place of honour by the side of the rabbis.
Love of praise was thus all too frequently the motive in these gifts. It was also the case that many pledged large sums but later failed to make good their promises. Jesus’ reference to hypocrisy doubtless included this form of pretence.
Matthew 6:2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
They have their reward. The Greek brings out the idea that they received payment of their wages in full. The word here translated “have” occurs frequently on receipts in ancient Greek papyri with the meaning, “paid in full” or “received payment of.”
The hypocrites, Jesus says, have received all the payment they will ever get. They practiced charity strictly as a business transaction by means of which they hoped to purchase public admiration; the relief of distress was no concern of theirs. The reward they desired is the one they will receive, but that is all.
Matthew 6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
The word “you” is singular. Jesus addressed each member in His audience personally.
It is said that among the Arabs the right and the left hand are figurative of close friends. There is no need, Jesus says, for closest friends to know about one’s pious deeds. In this graphic figure of speech Christ uses the hyperbole of emphasis.
Matthew 6:4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
The Mishnah (Shekalim 5. 6, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, p. 21) refers to what it calls a “chamber of secret gifts” within the Temple area where the devout might deposit their gifts in secret and where the worthy poor might also come in secret for help in meeting needs for which they were otherwise unable to provide.
God who sees the secret motives of the heart that prompted action. It is for these motives rather than for the deeds themselves that men will “have praise of God” on the day of judgment.