Sermon on the Mount
Part 4
“Why You Do What You Do”
Matthew 6:1-18 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
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Now, in keeping with so much of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is concerned here with our heart. He’s already shown us that if you don’t deal with hate in your heart it can lead to murder—either literally, or assassination of someone’s character, and so on.
Likewise, if you don’t deal with lust in your heart it can lead to the actual act of adultery.
And now Jesus is addressing our motives—why we do what we do with 3 key activities we engage in as Christians—giving, praying, and fasting.
The Pharisees are foremost in His mind here as he points out the wrong motive for doing these things.
Jesus points out that the motive of the Pharisees with all 3 is first and always the praise of men. They were all about show, pomp, the visible display of religious deeds so that men would say, “Wow, aren’t they something!”
With all 3 of these things Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” What is their reward? The brief and fleeting praise of men!
In verses 1-4 Jesus points out how, when GIVING to the needy, the Pharisees made sure everyone was looking. Jesus compared it to blowing trumpets causing everyone to look their way as they hand a needy person some bread.
Their entire motive had nothing to do with doing it for the glory of God, in the name of God. No…they wanted all the credit and attention.
They did the same thing with PRAYER. Jesus said that, rather than praying to God in secret with a sincere heart, they stood on street corners and prayed loudly so that everyone would see them. It was actually embarrassingly pathetic. Again, then and there they got their reward. What they DIDN’T get was an answered prayer!
And then finally Jesus mentions the right motives for FASTING. And again he holds up the Pharisees as prime examples of what NOT to do! Listen to his description:
“They look somber and disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
The somber or sad look the Pharisees would put on was totally affected (fake) so as to appear that they were grieving over something God was also grieved about. It was a show.
Then they “disfigured” their faces, meaning they didn’t wash their face or trim their hair. The reason for the sad countenance and disfigured countenance was once again vying for the attention and praise of men.
They wanted people to ask, “Are you okay? You look so sad?” So that they could answer, “Oh, I’m just fasting.”
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Now with all three of these religious practices Jesus offers the same instruction:
I. Do what you do as unto the Lord, and not unto men.
It may be that Paul the Apostle was thinking of this teaching of Jesus when he wrote,
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”—Col. 3:17
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”—1 Cor. 10:31
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”—Col 3:23-24
What we do as believers we must always do with our eyes looking up to God, not looking around for the praise of men.
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The fact is that if you’re all about pleasing men, you cannot and will not please God.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”—Gal 1:10
The Bible also warns that, “The fear of human opinion is a trap; trusting in God protects you from that.”—Pr. 29:25
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The 2nd thing we learn from Jesus’s teaching is:
II. God openly rewards the genuine seeker
Jesus says: With GIVING don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
And the promise is: “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will openly reward you.”
With PRAYING, go to a secret place and pray. And the same promise is given, “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will openly reward you.”
With FASTING, “put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting.”
And Jesus promises that when God sees your sincere heart, he will OPENLY answer and bless you!
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The overall message of Jesus is that our motive for doing what we do matters as much to God as the action itself.
God told the prophet Samuel:
“Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions.”—1 Sam 16:7
NEXT TIME we’ll look at what Jesus said about your treasures and the problem of worry!