Matthew 6

In one generation after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the religious sanctuary atop Mount Zion was destroyed by Roman armies. With the end of temple life in Jerusalem came an eclipsing of the Sadducees as a powerful religious group. There remained two very important Jewish groups. One of these, the Pharisees, was especially identified with synagogues scattered all over the Mediterranean world. The other group were the Jewish followers of Jesus Christ, increasingly joined by large numbers of Gentiles who learned that they did not need to follow the Old Testament ceremonial laws in order to have peace with God, but that their righteous standing before God was due entirely to the merit of Christ their Redeemer, and had been received through faith alone.

This doctrine of justification by faith put the Christians at great odds with the Pharisees, who pursued their particular version of Law as if they could secure their standing with God through the performance of works. The true facts are that Jews and Gentiles can only have peace with God because of the works of the Lord. We trust in Him and are justified. Yet those who truly do trust in Him are moved from death to life and are called upon to perform good works.

While we are not saved by works, good works of humble service are an important display of the grace that is ours as those who have a living faith in the Messiah. Those works are something that God has prepared for us. They are best performed in as humble a way as possible to give all glory to God, and not to draw attention unnecessarily to ourselves. Showiness was unfortunately a big problem in the Pharisaic world. It is safe for us to add that it is not only Pharisees who are tempted to practice acts of righteousness in front of other people in order to be seen by them. The Lord assures us that there is no heavenly reward for those who are only seeking the applause of men.

It is a fact that giving to the needing, praying, and fasting are things that are good for us to do, but not if our goal is to look religious, or generous to others. We should remain unimpressed with ourselves concerning the good things that we are privileged to be able to do. These things are best done in secret, for the eyes of the One who knows the secrets of our hearts and is not impressed with the showiness of hypocrites.

Concerning our prayers toward God, the Lord instructs us that kingdom prayer should not be loaded with empty phrases and useless words. The Lord gives His disciples a simple pattern of prayer that has informed the Christian church for centuries. This prayer begins with the glory of His name, the coming of His great kingdom, and the seeking of His will above our own. Then the matters of our daily provision, forgiveness for our sins, and our protection from evil are brought to the Lord as a secondary matter. There is a particular emphasis on forgiveness, for Christ has come to deal with our sins at great cost to Himself. It is unseemly when His people are pushy with their own ideas, or even worse, are unwilling to forgive others when Christ has paid such a heavy price in His life and death to secure our eternal blessedness.

Our Lord also addresses the issue of money and the place of riches and financial security in our daily lives. Once again, the view of the kingdom on these matters was in strong contrast to the problem of secret greed among the Pharisees. Greed is corrosive to the soul. It is not merely a weakness for those who are fearful. It is a display of idolatry, showing that we prefer the temporary medium of exchange in this passing world to the One who is Lord not only of this earth, but also of heaven. A greedy eye will blind us to the life of resurrection glory. As we grasp more and more for things that perish, the matters of eternal worth seem of smaller and smaller consequence to our hearts. This way of living leads to darkness, not to light. We should use our wealth to express before God our love for His Word and His kingdom.

There is a way of life that is so common among men in every society that we can lose track of how wrong and harmful it is. I speak here of the life of worry. This world is a place of scarcity, and many people would have us give ourselves over to fear. When we do this we miss some of the obvious lessons of the Lord's providence all around us. He feeds the birds, and He cares even for the flowers. Don't we know that He will take care of us too? When our time comes to leave this world and to go to higher realms where angels dwell, are we not aware of the fact that He will take care of us in that place even more wonderfully than He takes care of us now?

All of this worry does nothing good for us. We are not able to keep our bodies alive even one extra hour by worrying. In fact, it is very obvious that unnecessary fears take years off of our life expectancy, and give us nothing but grief in return. This kind of anxiety betrays a lack of trust in the Lord. Through that way of life we display an undue attachment to the things of this creation, rather than an overwhelming affection for the Lord and His heaven.

There is a better way to live. It is that life that is lived moment by moment in the awareness that God is real, that He has captivated us with the love of Christ, and that whatever miseries me may face in this age cannot follow us beyond the grave if we are in Jesus Christ. This is the way that our Savior lived. He was the One who was always seeking first God's kingdom, and God's good definition of all righteousness. He was able to sleep well in the stern of a boat when the disciples were overwhelmed by the possibility of drowning. If we know that there is something good waiting for us beyond this life, we can greet the unnatural fact of death, though an enemy, as yet a foe who unwittingly takes us to the home of our greatest and most powerful friend. Christ suffered for us, but He put away all anxiety after His solemn request to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. There was no other way than the cross. He went there with no sinful worries. He willingly suffered for the glory that was set before Him. It was a day of great trouble for Him, yet by it He won for us a great weight of surpassing glory. Such a Savior can be fully trusted.