Now we’re ready to start Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount. And as I have mentioned before, Jesus will continue to be even more direct in his comments regarding the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The first thing Jesus addresses is their public, showy display of giving to the poor in Matthew 6:1-4. We’ll just break this down a verse at a time. “Be careful you don’t do what is good and right just so others can see you do it. If the recognition and approval from men is all that motivates you to help others, don’t expect God to reward you too. After all, why are you really doing it? If it’s to get others to notice what a good person you are, then you’re only doing it for yourself and their attention is your reward.” (Verse 1)
Where I have “be careful” above (“take heed” in the KJV), the word is prosecho and has a basic meaning of, to pay strict attention or to apply one’s self wholly (compare Luke 21:34; Acts 3:5) and is used to emphasize something important. In this instance the important thing is being careful to not do the right thing for the wrong reason. The use of this word makes even more sense when the verse is actually translated properly. Where the KJV has “alms”, the most authentic manuscripts have “righteousness” (from dikaiosune, the quality of being, therefore doing, what is right).
This is actually a bit of sarcasm on Jesus’ part, making a critical point about the fact that many of the Pharisee’s activities were obvious attempts to put their self-righteousness on public display — something He will continue to stress in His comments about prayer, fasting, greed and lack of trust in God. Here, the approval of men is the only reward they will get (“reward” is misthos, here, in context, it refers to rewards received in life).
“So, when you give to the poor, don’t pretend to be something you’re not by making a big deal out of it. If it’s the attention of men you’re after, you have your reward. But do it quietly, so the only ones who know about it are the people you help and your Father in Heaven.” (Verse 2) The Pharisees announced when they were going to give to the poor by sounding a trumpet as they walked through the street or synagogue. The pretext was to let the poor know they should come, but Jesus exposes that by calling them hypocrites, only calling attention to themselves for their own gratification. “Give to the poor” is actually “alms” in this verse (and in the following verses 3 and 4). This is from eleemosune, literally, mercifulness, an outward expression or act as contrasted by an inward feeling of pity or compassion that would be expressed by oiktirmos. This is the difference between a feeling and an act of mercy; however, Jesus makes it clear this is clearly hypocritical.
So, again, Jesus exposes the fact that true mercy is not a character quality found in what the Pharisees were doing and how they did it. He called them “hypocrites” from hupokrites, in classic Greek it was an actor playing a part and wearing a mask. In scripture it is used to illustrate someone who pretends to be righteous, but their actions and attitudes prove otherwise. The Pharisees didn’t care about the poor, all they cared about was calling attention to themselves and trying to impress others with their false spirituality. It’s also about motivation (a recurring theme in chapter 6, as we will see); why do you do what you do?
“Always guard yourselves from wrong intentions.” (Verse 3) This is an interesting verse. Jesus contrasts the left hand (from aristeros, used to described something inferior or second best) with the right hand (from dexios, used in several different ways as preferential in matters of importance (Revelation 5:7) and in illustrating a position of equal honor as Christ sitting on the right hand of the Almighty (Hebrews 1:3). This was Jesus’ way of saying they should do the right and honorable thing in giving to the poor, instead of the wrong, pretentious, self-serving thing they were doing.
“Do your good deeds secretly. Then your Father in Heaven will see it and bless you in ways everyone will notice. You have to decide which is better, the approval of men or the blessing of God.” (Verse 4) The principle of doing what is right and good in secret so others don’t know about it, then being rewarded by the Father openly so others do see it, is a common feature in Jesus’ comments here on giving, prayer and fasting. Again, this exposes the wrong motives of the Pharisees and the fact their actions were aimed towards the approval of men, not God.
The next subject in Matthew 6 is prayer. I call this the model prayer because after Jesus exposes the Pharisee’s hypocrisy in verses 5 through 8, verse 9 starts out with “So, when you talk to God, this is how you should talk to Him and what you should talk about.” What follows is commonly considered by many as The Lord’s Prayer, recited in the King James English as a ritual prayer. Just another example of the tendency of religion to replace personal interaction and intimacy with mindless, ritual form to be recited at prescribed times for predetermined reasons.
And He’s still talking about proper motivation when He turns His attention to the subject of prayer. As we look at this passage, one question comes to my mind. Why do some pray the way they do? As we see what Jesus says here about prayer, it becomes more and more obvious that many today in traditional Christianity have the same lack of understanding that existed in the religious establishment of His day. Our concept and use of prayer is usually limited to certain times and situations and almost always involves other people listening to what we’re saying.
“When you pray, don’t be religious about it. Don’t recite long, flowery prayers in public, where everyone can hear. When you do that, who are you really talking to? Again, the approval of others is your only reward” (Verse 5) Jesus’ intent here is obvious: long, probably prewritten ritual prayers performed in public places where others can hear are hypocritical, because they have nothing in common with true and honest prayer. It’s more like a performance in front of an audience and the Father is not involved in it at all.
“When you’re going to talk to God, go to a quiet, private place and just talk to Him alone. And even though you can’t see Him, He sees you. And He’ll honor your personal, heart-felt conversation by responding to you in ways that confirm that He heard you.” (Verse 6)
The subject is having a conversation with God and, again, your motivation. Jesus’ logic is, as usual, crystal clear and irrefutable. He says your true motivation is shown by where you talk to God and how you talk to Him. If you’re talking to God in an open, public place, and your words are specifically crafted to impress those who may be listening, then you have just betrayed your real intent and revealed your hypocrisy.
In some churches a prayer meeting consists of a seeming competition to see who can pray the longest and loudest. In others a prayer time is when carefully prepared prayers are read for certain situations, needs or determined by the service order (it’s time to pray). In many churches people are taught that in certain circumstances, pray this and when you need this, pray that. And there’s a brochure rack in the foyer that covers almost any given subject (pick up the ones you need on your way out and be sure to “pray” this prayer three times a day). But Jesus is not talking about competition or ritual here. He’s talking about having a personal, one on one conversation with the Father.
Let me point out some things here related to the language Jesus uses in verse 6. “Pray” or “talk to God” above, “prayest” in the KJV, is from proseuchomai, a word used in the New Testament to illustrate a conversation with the Father. Without getting too technical, it’s in the present tense, subjunctive mood, active voice (repeated, continuous action, about which the time or frequency of the action is not defined, and the action is carried out by the subject — “when you pray”) Another word is “reward” from misthos, here, in the context of a two-sided conversation is better rendered “respond”.
The reason the context is conversation (again, involving both God and the one praying) is the last phrase of verse 6, “pray to your Father, Who is in secret, and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you openly.” Here, “in secret” is kruptos, hidden or not seen. Then “openly” is from en phaneros, en implies closeness, phaneros means, to make known or apparent. Taken together, the last phrase of verse 6 literally says, “talk to your Father, Who you can’t see, and your Father who sees you, will respond in ways that make it apparent that He heard you.”
We have to recognize what was going on all those times Jesus went to a quiet, private place, alone, to talk to the Father. (Compare Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12) Should we assume those were one-sided conversations? Of course not! Jesus obviously talked to His Father, then waited for a response. That’s why He said things like, “My message is not my own, but what the Father has given Me." Or, “I only do what the Father has shown Me to do.” This is a clear illustration of the difference between public prayer with an audience and private, personal, conversational prayer with the Father.
The Father wants us to learn how to talk to Him, because He wants us to enjoy a close, personal relationship with Him. It seems strange to me that professing Christians claim to have a relationship with God, yet their so-called "relationship" doesn’t fit the definition of any other relationship they have. Can you really have a relationship with someone when you don’t converse with them on a regular basis? What can the foundation of the relationship be?
Jesus illustrates the difference in Luke 18:9-14. This is the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who both went into the temple to pray. It’s important to see what Jesus says about the Pharisee in verse 11, "the Pharisee stood proudly and prayed this way to himself" The Pharisee was talking to himself. God wasn’t involved in the conversation.
On the other hand, the tax collector went over to a corner of the Temple enclosure by himself to pray. He was so ashamed of himself that he wouldn’t so much as raise his eyes towards God. His prayer was short and to the point. “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He was truly repentant and God knew it. (Verse 13) Jesus says the tax collector left that place justified (in right standing) before God. (Verse 14) What was the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector? It was the condition of their hearts and the fact that one of them actually had a conversation with God.
And this is what determines whether or not God gets involved. God came and dealt with the tax collector because his appeal was directed to God. The tax collector was serious. God looked on his heart, knew he was serious, so He responded. And in the same way, He knew what was in the heart of the Pharisee, so He didn’t show up. Why should He? Here’s the principle: the presence of God is always determined by what He sees in our heart (1 Samuel 16:7). You can’t deceive Him. Jesus is not being subtle here. If you really want God to respond to your prayer, be honest and transparent like the tax collector.
“Just try to be yourself. There’s something false and impersonal about reciting the same, old, tired, worn-out formulas. Remember, the Father responds to sincerity, not the length of the prayer.” (Verse 7) Jesus is still trying to get us to see that the Father isn’t interested in religious ritual. He’s looking for personal involvement here. He wants us to drop the pretense, to get real, to be ourselves, to pour out our hearts to Him. He wants to respond to our honesty, transparency and vulnerability.
“So don’t be like those who have no relationship with a real God, Who lives and sees and hears. They repeat the same words over and over again to lifeless images that can’t respond. Your Father is much different than that. He knows what you need, even before you ask.” (Verse 8) The Father not only responds to our sincere, heart-felt conversations with Him, He knows so much about us and our situation and our lives that He already knows what we need before we even ask. What He desires is a relationship of such intimacy that we’re able to tap into this knowledge that He has concerning us.
This is the point in the red letters where we should define “need”. This is from chreia, a word that denotes the lack of something, hence, a “need” for something. This goes back to the meaning of agape love, the benevolent love of God that desires to give what is needed, not what is wanted by the fallen, human nature that tends towards insecurity, selfishness and greed. The Father really isn’t so interested in what we want, but He is deeply interested in what we need to fulfill His will and purpose in our lives, which is, to be conformed to the image of His Son. His first priority is spiritual. But He doesn’t ignore the physical or natural, as we will see later when Jesus says we’re not to worry about what we will eat, drink or wear.