MATTHEW 6:19-34

Matthew 6:19-24

Money and Possessions:

Luke's version prefaces these words with: “Sell your possessions and give alms; provide yourselves

 with purses that do not grow old...”

    vv. 19-24 Three sets of antithetic parallelism:

    vv. 19-21 effect on heart,

    vv. 22-23 effect on mind,

    vv. 24 effect on will

vv. 19-21. This is the first of three reasons for not trusting in wealth—it doesn't last. “Rust” is literally 

“eating” and may refer to all sorts of decay. Untended fields become weedy, food spoils, walls and 

fences break down, etc. All this is due to the Third Law of Thermodynamics (entropy/randomness 

increases): the world is running down. Thieves stealing – the same thing happens in stock market 

crashes, inflation, unexpected bills, etc. Most importantly, this wealth does you no good when you are 

dead. The spiritual blessings, by contrast, are permanent – described in the Bible as being pardoned, 

sharing in Christ's peace, indwelling of Holy Spirit, spiritual victory, names entered into the book of 

life, crown of righteousness, etc. These may sound more vague than material possessions which we can 

put a concrete value on, but in reality the spiritual blessings are more concrete and real.

 

There is nothing wrong with wealth itself, but it should be used for good (creating jobs, charity) and not just accumulated. “Most all people who are able to save and invest experience the temptation to drastically overestimate their genuine needs and/or try to secure their futures against all calamity.” This will leads into the next related topic, starting in verse 25, concerning the basis of our security.

v. 21 Second reason for not trusting in wealth – it will rule over you.

vv. 22-23 Third reason for not trusting in wealth – it clouds our spiritual vision just as cataracts cloud our physical vision.

v. 22. “If a man divides his interest and tries to focus on both God and possessions, he has no clear vision, and will live without clear orientation and direction” -Filson

The Greek word for good or sound (compare translations) also has the meaning of sincere or upright. It can also denote “single-minded devotion or generosity.”

v. 23 Luke's version ends more positively, “Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”

v. 24 This is the standard Hebrew way to convey the idea of preferring one to the other. It is expressed as extremes.

See Proverbs 9:10-11: “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”

The Gospel of Thomas adds “No one can ride two horses or draw two bows.”

“In this as in all other areas of the Christian life the true solution does not lie in abstinence or withdrawal. It lies in the proper use and proper estimate of the things which God has provided.” James Boice (The Sermon on the Mount, p. 247)

24b. Mammon. Linguistic history of Aramaic word Mammon:

It originally meant possessions that one is entrusted with. It only had negative connotations when an adjective was added such as “unrighteous.” Later (perhaps starting with Christ) it took on the meaning of something that one trusted in—almost a god. Jacques Ellul (Money and Power, pp. 75-76) has much to say on this subject. For example: “What Jesus is revealing is that money is a power...something that acts of itself, is capable of moving other things, is autonomous (or claims to be), is a law unto itself and presents itself as an active agent...Mammon can be a personal master.”

There is a pertinent line from Bob Dylan's song It's all Right, Mom, I'm Only Bleeding: “Money doesn't talk; it swears.”

Matthew 6:25-34

Three times Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry.” These are in verses 25, 31 and 34 and refer to what precedes these words each time. Compare translations. The three reasons are that: you can't glorify God with your life if you are worrying (v. 24), God has demonstrated his ability to take care of us (vv. 26-30), and you need to give it a test (v. 33).

v. 25. This is an argument from the greater to the lesser: God provided you with life and a body so he can be trusted to give you whatever else you need. Most commentators stress that these promises are addressed to believers only.

vv. 26, 28-30. This is an argument from the lesser to the greater.

v. 26. See the parallel in Psalms 147:9: “He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry.” Note that the birds still work for their food, but it is God who provides it ultimately. Luke's version has “ravens, or crows.” These are unclean animals – stressing God's care even for these. Matthew may have used the generic “birds” for his Jewish audience. Another lesser to greater argument is that if God provides for the birds who are not able to plan ahead, how much more will he take care of the needs of human beings who do have that ability. They therefore have even less to worry about than the birds.

v. 27 is sort of a mixed metaphor meaning adding one cubit (18'') to your height or one hour to your span of life. Compare translations. Psalm 39:5 uses similar language: “You have made my days a few handbreadths.”

v. 28 It is uncertain which flower he was referring to: crocus, iris, gladiola, etc. Probably generic wildflowers are in mind.

v. 31 This is like Ecclesiastes 11:4: “Whoever observes the wind will not sow, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” Just do the work at hand and don't overly worry about circumstances which might affect the outcome.

The command to not worry is in a different verb tense in this third appearance. Instead of indicating a continual state of mind as in the first two cases (Don't be a worry-wort), it cautions you not to even begin getting worried about an individual situation (i.e., don't even begin to get into the habit of worrying).

v. 33 This is like Solomon, who asked only for wisdom and got material possessions thrown in also.

vv. 33-34 This is a summary on how to balance human and godly priorities. KJV says, “Take no thought for tomorrow.” This is a bit misleading because we must think about the future and plan for it.

v. 34 Rabbinical saying: “Care not for tomorrow's cares, for you do not know what the day brings forth. For perhaps tomorrow you will not exist, and then you will have cared for a world no longer yours.”

Lamentations 3:22-23: “His compassions fail not, They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”

Paul extends the idea in I Corinthians 7:31b-34a (“I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.”) This gives an extra dimension to the word “anxious” – being distracted. The reasons are given by Paul in a preface (v. 31b: “For the present form of this world is passing away”) and a conclusion (“to promote unhindered devotion to the Lord”).

vv. 25-34 Worry is:

    unnecessary (v. 26, 28-30)

    foolish (v. 27)

    a bad reflection on our relation to God (v. 32)

    destructive (v. 34) (i.e., it leaves no strength to deal with today's problems)

Mounce: “Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God.” Anxiety characterized pagan religions which were dominated by fear of the actions of capricious gods.

What if you can't help worrying? Boice suggests reading the Bible to learn more about God and how He can be trusted. Also, you can break that conditioned response by turning to God whenever you are tempted to worry.

Here are some pertinent quotes from George MacDonald collected by C.S. Lewis in his anthology of MacDonald's writings:
The next hour, the next moment, is as much beyond our grasp and as much in God's care, as that a hundred years away. Care for the next minute is just as foolish as care for the morrow, or for a day in the next thousand years – in neither can we do anything, in both God is doing everything.” “Tomorrow makes today's whole head sick, its whole heart faint. When we should be still, sleeping or dreaming, we are fretting about an hour that lies a half sun's journey away!” To put these comments in context, George MacDonald was a poor Congregational pastor in Scotland. Because he wouldn't preach strict Calvinism, the congregation cut his salary in half, which he accepted without complaint even though he had eleven children to support at the time.