MATTHEW 5:16 vs. MATTHEW 6:1

I have been giving examples from atheist websites of supposed mistakes in the Bible. A number of them have needed a little help from various outside resources to adequately address. But here is one that any Christian should be able to easily counter on his or her own. So take a minute before reading below to see if you can respond to this one: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contradicts himself by first saying in Matthew 5:16 that we should practice our good works so that others can see them, but then in 6:1 and following verses he says that we should do them in secret.

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I have read the Sermon on the Mount many times but have to admit that I had never thought about any possible contradiction until these two verses were placed side-by-side. Perhaps that is because each of the two verses makes perfect sense when read in its immediate context and not divorced from it, as critics do to prove their point. Blomberg (Matthew) succinctly puts it this way: “Verse 6:1 does not contradict 5:16 because the motives in the two passages are entirely different.”

I once led a session in our Sunday school class on Paul and Prayer. One of my co-teachers brought to our attention the great number of times that Paul in his recorded prayers gave the reasons for his requests introduced by phrases such as “so that” or "in order that." We see that in the Sermon on the Mount also since Jesus really zeroed in on ultimate motives there. Thus, in 5:16 the ultimate motive for practicing our good works openly before others is said to be “so that they may...give glory to your Father in heaven.” In marked contrast, 6:1 addresses those who practice their “piety before others in order to be seen by them.” Thus, you should add “so” to the list of small but powerful words you need to pay attention to when reading the Bible. Others are “thus,” “and,” “but,” “or,” “then,” “if,” etc.

Of course, I couldn't stop there because (another important word) I had to see if the commentators agreed with my assessment:

Hendricksen (The Gospel of Matthew) asks regarding 6:1, “But is not this exhortation in conflict with 5:16? It is not, for the purpose commended in 5:16 was to secure praise for the 'Father who is in heaven.' On the other hand, the purpose of the hypocrites...is to obtain it for themselves.”

The International Bible Commentary agrees: “The quality of these actions does not depend on whether men see them, but on whether men are intended to see them.”

France (The Gospel of Matthew) feels that there are actually two differences between the two passages. In addition to the different motives of those involved, he says that “5:16 was talking about the whole character and lifestyle of disciples, while the subject here [6:1] is specifically religious duties. The latter offer more fruitful ground for development of a false piety.”

Finally, I looked at the original Greek for “seen” in these two passages. Interestingly, different root words are used in these two places. Strong's Concordance says that eidon in 5:16 has the nuance of “know or be acquainted with” while theaomai means “to view or behold attentively.” Vine's Word Study basically agrees with these distinctions and adds that eidon gives prominence to the discerning mind and theaomai can have the meaning of viewing with admiration, desire, or regard. So even the particular words used in these verses have been employed to confirm the basic distinction in motives between the two sayings.