6:1__18 Jesus gives examples of how a person's faith can be expressed in a hypocritical way, when giving to the needy (verses 2__4), praying (verses 5__15), and fasting (verses 16__18).
6:1 _BEFORE OTHER PEOPLE. Public acts of obedience are valuable and honorable, but if they are done merely for the sake of public recognition, there will be no reward from God (verses 2, 5, 16).
6:2__4 _HYPOCRITES originally referred to Greek actors who wore different masks to play various roles. Jesus criticizes the religious leaders, most notably the Pharisees, for a particular form of hypocrisy: doing right things for the wrong reasons. To GIVE TO THE NEEDY was one of the pillars of piety, but the irony was that they had RECEIVED THEIR REWARD of public and professional acclaim, but that was all the reward they would ever receive, and such fleeting human adulation precludes satisfaction of the deep longing of people's hearts to stand approved by their FATHER WHO SEES IN SECRET.
6:5__15 _Prayer was a pillar of Jewish piety. Public prayer, said aloud in the morning, aftherenoon, and evening, was common.
6:5__6 _STAND AND PRAY IN THE SYNAGOGUES. At the set time of prayer, pious Jews would stop what were doing and pray, some discreetly, but others with pretentious display. Jesus did not condemn all public prayer, as indicated by his own prayers in public (14:19; 15:36). One's internal motivation is the central concern. SHUT THE DOOR. Though public prayer has vaulue, prayer completely away from public view allows a person (or group) to focus more exclusively on God.
6:7__8 _HEAP UP EMPTY PHRASES. Pagans repeated the names of their gods of the same words over and over without thinking (1 KINGS 18:26; ACTS 19:34). Jesus is prohibiting mindless, mechanical repetition, not the earnest repetition that flows from the imploring heart (MARK 14:39; 2 CORINTHIANS 12:8; PSALM 136; ISAIAH 6:3)
6:9__13 _Jesus gives his disciples an example to follow when praying. The prayer has beginning invocation and six petitions that give proper priorities. The first three petitions focus on the preeminence of God while the final three focus on personal needs in a community context.
6:9 _FATHER (Greek pater, "father") would have been "Abba" in Aramaic, the everyday language spoken by Jesus (MARK 14:36; ROMANS 8:15; GALATIANS 4:6). It was the word used by Jewish children for thier earthly fathers. However, since the term in both Aramaic and Greek was also used by adults to address their fathers, the claim that "Abba" meant "Daddy" is mis leading and runs the risk of irreverence. Nevertheless, the idea of praying to God as "Our Father" conveys the authority, warmth, and intimacy of a loving father's care, while IN HEAVEN reminds believers of God's sovereign rule over all things. The theme of "heavenly Father" is found throughout the OT (DEUTERONOMY 14:1; 32:6; PSALM 103:13; JEREMIAH 3:4; 31:9; HOSEA 11:1). Jesus disciples are invited into the intimacy of God the Son with his Father. The concern of this first petition (See MATTHEW 6:9__13) is that God's NAME would be HOLLOWED__that God would be treated with the highest honor and set apart as holy.
6:10 _Christians are called to pray and work for the continual advance of God's KINGD OM on earth (the second petition; See verses 9__13). The presence of God's kingdom in this age refers to the reign of Christ in the hearts and lives of believers, and to the reigning presence of Christ in his body, the church__so that they increasingly reflects his love, obey his laws, honor him, do good for all people, and proclaim the good news of the kingdom. The third petition speaks of God's WILL. This means God's "revealed will" (See EPHEIANS 5:17), which involves conduct that is pleasing to him as revealed in Scripture. Just as God's will is perfectly experienced in heaven, Jesus prays that it will be experienced on earth. The will of God will be expressed in its fullness only when God's kingdom comes in its final form, when Christ returns in power and great glory (See MATTHEW 24:30; ROMANS 8:18; REVELATION 20:1__10), but it will increasingly be seen in this page as well (MATTHEW 13:31__33).
6:11 _The fourth petition (See verses 9__13) focuses on the disciples DAILY BREAD, a necessity of life which by implication includes all of the believer's daily physical needs.
6:12 _FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS (the fifth petition) does not mean that believers need to ask daily for justification, since believers are justified forever from the moment of initial saving faith (ROMANS 5:1, 9; 8:1; 10:10). Rather, this is a prayer for the restoration of personal fellowship with God when fellowship has been hindered by sin (EPHEIANS 4:30). Those who have received such forgiveness are so moved with gratitude toward God that they also eagerly forgive those who are DEBTORS of them. On sin as a "debt" owed to God, (See COLOSSIANS 2:14).
6:13 _This final (sixth) petition addresses the disciples battle with sin and evil. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. The word translated "temptation" (Greek periasmos) can indicate either temptation or testing (See 4:1; JAMES 1:13). The meaning here most likely carries the sense, "Allow us to be spared from difficult circumstances that would tempt us to sin" (MATTHEW 26:41). Although God never directly tempts believers (JAMES 1:13), he does sometimes lead them into situations that "test" them (MATTHEW 4:1); also Job 1; 1 PETER 1:6; 4:12). In fact, trials and hardship will inevitably come to believers lives, and believers should "count it all joy" (JAMES 1:2) when trials come, for they are strengthened by them (JAMES 1:3__4). Nonetheless, believers should never pray to be brought into such situations but should pray to be delivered from them, for hardship and temptation make obedience more difficult and will sometimes result in sin. Believers should pray to be delivered from temptation (MATTHEW 26:41; LUKE 22:40, 46; 1 PETER 2:9; REVELATION 3:10) and led in "paths of righteousness" (PSALM 23:3). DELIVER US FROM EVIL. The phrase translated "evil" (Greek tou ponerou) can mean either "evil" or "the evil one," namely, Satan. The best protection from sin and temptation is to turn to God and to depend on his direction. "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever Amen" is evidently a later scribal addition, since the most reliable and oldest Greek manuscipts all lack these words, which is the reason why these words are omitted from most modern translations. However, there is nothing theologically incorrect about the wording (1 CHRONICLES 29:11__13), nor is it inappropiate to include these words in public prayers.
6:14:15 _FORGIVE OTHERS. Jesus reemphasizes the importance of forgiving others, indicating that there is a direct relationship between having been forgiven by God and the forgiveness that his discipes of necessity must extend to others. As in verse 12, FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES here refers to restoration of personal relationship with God, not to inital justifiction (See verse 12).
6:16__18 _various kinds of fasts were commonly practiced in OT times, though the law required only one fast a year, on the Day of Atonement (though fasting is probably implied by the command to "afflict yourselves"; LEVITICUS 16:29__34; 23:26__32). In addition to abstaining from food, people were to humble themselves by praying, miurning, and wearing sackcloth.As with giving (MATTHEW 6:2__4) and praying (verses 5__15), fasting is to be a matter of the heart between the Christian and God. WHEN YOU FAST. Jesus assumes that his disciples will fast. DISFIGURE indicates leaving one's face unwashed and sprinkled with ashes, with the intention of publicizing the physical hardshipsof fasting. THEIR REWARD. See verses 2__4. Anointing and washing (Verse 17) signify preparations to enjoy life (ECCLESIASTES (9:7__8).
6:19__34 _The righteousness of the kingdom of heaven works out in the details of one's personal life. Jesus calls his followers to choose their master, either God or wealth (verses 19__24), and to choose their outlook on life, either faithor worry (verses 25__24).
6:20 _BUT LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN implies that people often have a choice between activites that lead to greater earthly reward in the present (verses 2, 5, 16) and those that store up greater future reward in heaven. Elsewhere in the Gospel the consequences of making the wrong choice are shown to be eternally disatrous (See MARK 8:36; LUKE 12:20__21).
6:21 _Throughout Scripture, the HEART refers to the center of one's being involving one's emotions, reason, and will.
6:22__23 _The EYE (similar to the "heart" in Jewish literature) is a LAMP that reveals the quality of a person's inner life. A HEALTHY eye (clear vision) suggests loyal devotion to God, while a BAD eye (impaired vision) cannotes moral corruption.
6:24 _SERVE (Greek douleuo) indicates the work of a slave, not an employee. Since a slave is the sole properity of one master, he must give the master exclusive service. A disciple's loyalties cannot be divided__that is, one is either a slave to GOD or to MONEY.
6:25 _THEREFORE. . .DO NOT BE ANXIOUS. If one makes the right choice (See Verses 19__24), there is ("therefore") no reason that one should be anxious. Jesus gives two a fortiori ("how much more") example__"look at the birds" (verse 26), "considerthe lilies" (verse 28)__to show that, since God cares even for the birds and the lilies, how much more will he care for his own. To be anxious, then, demonstrates a lack of trust in God, who promises that he will graciously care for "all these things" (verse 33; ROMANS 8:32). See also PHILIPPIANS 4:5__6.
6:26 _Human beings are of MORE VALUE than animals (10:31; 12:21) because only humans, out of all God's creatures, are created "in the image of God" (GENESIS 1:28), and because God loved human beings so much "that he gave his only Son" to die for our sins (JOHN 3:16)
6:30 _GRASS was a natural source of fuel for fire and a common biblical metaphor of human frailty (PSALM 37:2; 102:4). LITTLE FAITH implies a deficiency rather than an absence of faith (MATTHEW 8:26).
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