Matthew 6:1-4. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 11, 2024.
Chapter six of the Sermon on the Mount clearly moves on to another main point. Jesus has been looking at the teaching of the Scribes and the Pharisees, the teachers of his day, and showing how it fails to fulfill the Law.
Now, Jesus moves to exposing the problem with the apparent “righteousness” of these “hypocrites.” However, more than exposing their problem, Jesus shows his followers how to live out true Kingdom righteousness. Whereas the previous point showed the lack of love for others in their teaching, this point will show the lack of a true heart for God in their righteousness.
In fact, what Jesus shows here is at the root of the common problem that religious institutions tend towards corruption. If their teaching is superficial, i.e., has no heart, so their righteousness itself is also superficial. It is generally not for the glory of God.
Jesus will look at three areas of spiritual matters: charity (acts of mercy), prayer, and fasting. It is not by accident that prayer is at the center of this point, and at the center of the whole Sermon on the Mount.
Today we will focus on the acts of mercy that are often called charitable deeds.
Let’s look at our passage.
The way of righteousness (v. 1)
Though Jesus does not use the word “way” here, it an important theme throughout the Old Testament, and the work of Messiah. John the Baptist details this when he comes forth as the voice in the wilderness that calls for the way of the LORD to be prepared. At the end of this sermon, Jesus will point to the “narrow way.” This is essentially following the teaching of the Messiah, Jesus.
We also know that Jesus is talking about their “righteousness” in this chapter because of his words back in Matthew 5:20. There is a question in the manuscripts in verse 1 on whether it says, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds…,” or if it read, “Take heed that you do not do your righteous deeds…” The manuscripts that are older and more reliable actually split about 50/50 on which is original. The difference is not significant, but if the proper word is “righteous deeds,” then this verse serves as an up front description of what is wrong in the following three areas of righteous deeds. I believe that is most likely and it would also create a clear tie back to the earlier recognition that our righteousness needs to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.
In truth, deeds of righteousness is the larger category of which charitable deeds is a subset, just as prayer and fasting are other subsets of this larger category. Historically, these were so close that “righteousness” was often used to refer to them as a synonym.
Let’s tie this into our role as imager of God. If we will listen to Jesus on this point, we will be able to properly image God the Father to the world around us.
We should also recognize that charitable deeds is not just about money. It literally means an act of mercy. If we use the Good Samaritan as an example, you will see that the most important thing that he gave to the ambushed man was his careful attention. Everything that he did from that man flowed from a heart of compassion, mercy.
Jesus gives us a command. “Do not do your righteous deeds before men…” However, instead of putting the imperative upon the verb, i.e., “do not do…,” he puts the imperative on the verb “take heed!” The effect of this is to intensify the imperative. Jesus commands us to take up this area of our life and pay close attention to it. It can be translated as: “beware,” or “Be careful.” We need to spend time thinking through this any time we go to do an act of righteousness. In the book of Deuteronomy, this kind of language generally points to an area of sin that we need watch out for or we will fall.
Thus, we are told that our intention must never be about other people seeing us. If you do that, then you will have no reward from God because He knows that you are not doing it for him, but for them. We see this in the story of the widow’s mite. The motive of the rich man will only be rewarded by the adulation of the crowd. What about the widow? Most people who saw her probably contemptuously looked down on what she was doing. Even when she did it in public, she was not in danger of doing it for the praise of man.
Messiah corrects them in their charitable deeds (v. 2-4)
Let’s be clear up front that we are not talking about salvation as a reward for our “righteousness.” Before we come to Christ, our righteousness is as filthy rags. However, when we come to Christ in faith, we are now saved. Yet, through his teaching and with the help of his Holy Spirit, we are enabled to walk out the righteousness of Christ, and even fulfill the Law. We are enabled to better image God the Father to the world around us.
Of course, walking out the righteousness of Christ is wrapped up in our salvation. Our salvation in Christ is the foundation upon which we walk forward. If I don’t keep my eyes upon Christ, and worse, I begin to resist and rebel against the Holy Spirit, then I can harm my own faith in Christ, even to the point of walking away from him. Thus, on one hand, we can never merit salvation through walking out the righteousness of Christ. Yet, on the other hand, if I become discouraged and walk away from Jesus, then I can forfeit it. So, the one is integral to the other. He has saved me, and that stirs up the desire to image him to the world.
We notice in verse 2 that Jesus describes a trumpet being blown when the hypocrites are going to do a charitable deed at the synagogue or on the streets. It is unclear whether this was literally being done, or if it is an apt symbol of what they were doing. Regardless, whether literal or metaphorical, it does serve as a great symbol of a person trying to draw attention to what they are about to do. They do things that “trumpet” their deeds. Of course, this doesn’t just happen in religious works among religious people. The secular world is full of trumpeting one’s own goodness. But, God’s people should be different.
The point is that they would not give, or do an act of mercy, without having a mechanism by which to draw attention to it. Why? It is because they want to be seen by men so that they will receive some kind of glory from them. If we think of all the inner vices that Jesus referred to in working through the six case studies on the Law, they lust for the attention and glory that people will give them.
It is easy to despise those who give great sums of money in order to get their name on a building when we don’t have enough money to do the same. The problem is not that they have money, and it is not that they even give it away. The problem is the intention of the heart is all pointed towards people and not God. In fact, not all people who give large donations do what we are seeing in these verses.
Essentially, Jesus is speaking to a crowd that most likely does not have much money. He is telling them that these rich scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees, might appear to be quite righteous, but most of their hearts are not right before God. They simply lust for the glory of people.
We people are too quick to give glory to others. Of course, we are not God and cannot see the motives of people’s hearts. However, that is exactly why we should be careful glorifying the righteous deeds of others. We are all too ready even to trumpet for them, and to continue to trumpet long after the deed has been done. This is not about judging them, but recognizing that we do not know the true value of what they have done.
All of this is couched in a negative command. We are not to draw attention to our charitable deeds. More importantly, our motivation for giving must not be driven by the recognition we could get from other people for being so righteous.
This brings up the greater issue of why we should give charity. Notice that Jesus just assumes they will do it.
As I said before, the word basically means “an act of mercy.” It emphasizes that you do not owe a person anything, but you are touched in your heart (actually deep in your guts) for them. You have compassion upon them. In prayer before God, and with the knowledge of my resources, I determine in my heart what I am going to do.
However, we need to be careful of thinking that God needs to give us a particular number- not that He can’t do that if He wants. However, He actually wants you to become like Him. That means your love and compassion needs to be expressed by you. Perhaps, you could have done more, but what you did was good, if it was done for Him. An act of love is and act of love.
Imaging God is at stake here. No one is more compassionate and giving than God. Our charitable giving needs to be out of a desire to be like God in this world by helping others. In fact, it shouldn’t even be about a desire to get God to bless you more in this life. God is always blessing us. Why do I crave more? As God supplies in your life, respond compassionately to the world around you with your time, energy, help, and even giving.
At the end of verse three, Jesus gives us the command in a proverbial form. I believe this is all about counteracting our inner desire, even lust, to be recognized by people for our charitable deeds. All proverbs can be abused. I’ve heard some justify not telling another family member what they are doing because we are not to let our left hand know what the right hand is doing. However, verse 4 clarifies exactly what Jesus means. Do your deeds in secret.
The right hand was typically the hand of giving to others. Yet, we should recognize that the left hand belongs to the same body. So, this may actually be saying something that is going on internally within us. When we give, we should not give a second thought to what a good thing we are doing. We should not even judge our own works as too how good they are before God. We should simply do them and move on. Don’t get a big ego over it. Don’t even internally trumpet your goodness. This will only have a corrupting influence in your heart.
Of course, Jesus is not creating a law here, and if someone finds out that you gave a charitable donations, then God will be angry and punish you, or simply not give you a reward. It is actually quite hard to give mercy to another person without at least them knowing. Should you hide such things from your spouse? I don’t think Jesus is trying to create an environment where we are hiding things from our spouse. The point is to be taken simply, and at face value. Make your aim to please God and to show His love to others. Pay close attention to your motivation, the desire that is motivating you. If you will do this then the details will become immaterial.
Let’s end with looking at the rewards for both the hypocrites and for the followers of Messiah.
The hypocrites are rewarded. However, it is not by God. God allows them to have whatever glory people are giving for such things. They simply get what they were looking for. God doesn’t owe them anything because it wasn’t done for Him.
Yet, there is a trap in their giving. The corrupting influence of the glory of the people will continue working in our hearts. It will continue to corrupt until no good thing remains. The word here for “rewards” can be used for positive or negative things. Thus, it can take on the idea of punishment. Perhaps, the glory of men is a punishment that God gives to the wicked.
How much charity is given out of wrong motives? How much charity is given from hearts that hunger for something other than God? Whatever you are hungering for (whether as a giver, or even as a receiver) becomes an idol, and to worship an idol is to become a worthless, vain thing ourselves.
We were not designed to hold up well under the glory of people (just look at the lives over time of those who have it).
There is nothing wrong with giving honor where honor is due, but we need to be really careful. We are a people who love to idolize others. Perhaps, it has something to do with living vicariously through them, even being a part of the group that they came from. Yet, the adulation of a crowd can never satisfy a heart that was designed to be satisfied by the One True God. All other things fall short of His glory.
This brings us to the righteous who do their charitable deeds for the right motives and in secret (as best can be done). Giving secretly leads to a reward from God. The word “openly” is in question and is not found in the oldest manuscripts. We should be careful of overemphasizing a reward in this life. God is constantly blessing us in this life. But, later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will emphasize laying up treasure in heaven. Peter speaks to this in 1 Peter 1:4. There, he calls it an inheritance reserved in the heavens. If we live for Christ in this life, then He has a great reward for us in the life to come. Our great reward is to be resurrected and inherit the whole earth with Jesus. We will serve as the glorified, righteous administration of King Jesus. It is not yet manifest what we will be, but when Jesus comes, we will appear with Him clothed in His glory! Now, that is much better than screaming crowds of fallen people shouting our name!