Matthew 6:1-18

Please take out your copy of God's Word and join me in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Unless the Lord decides to take me home now, we're actually going to preach the beginning of Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

! This is a good day.

In today's text, Matthew records Jesus dismantling the hypocrisy of His day.

Hypocrisy is the act of claiming some moral standard or beliefs and then living in contradiction to your claims.

Hypocrisy was not new in Jesus' day.

It has existed since the fall of man.

In Genesis chapter 4, we can observe the very first hypocrite, Cain, who offered insincere worship to God.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

And when his hypocrisy was exposed, his true character was revealed in the murder of his brother.

In 2 Samuel chapter 15, Absalom hypocritically vowed allegiance to his father, King David, while all along plotting to overthrow him.

2 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

The prophets spoke against the hypocrisy of the nation of Israel.

In Isaiah chapter 1, God is grieved over Israel because their religious devotion is not consistent with their actions.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

And in Amos chapter 5, verse 21 through 24, God deals strongly with the hypocrisy of Israel.

Amos 5:21–24

Listen to what he says.

Take away from me the noise of your songs.

To the melody of your harps I will not listen.

But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

You see the disconnect in the people of Israel's worship in that day and their obedience to God.

There was such similar hypocrisy in Jesus' day.

Listen to the very scathing words that Jesus speaks to the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23, verse 27 and 28.

Matthew 23:27

Jesus says,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanliness.

So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

In fact, much of the Sermon on the Mount, where our text for today is found,

is concerned with correcting the gross misunderstanding of the law and subsequent hypocrisy in which Jesus lived.

Recall that one of the major themes of Jesus' sermon is whole person righteousness.

He says astounding things in this sermon in chapter 5 we've looked at so far, like in verse 20.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And the people in his day would have been absolutely astonished by this.

If the scribes and Pharisees aren't keeping the law well enough, then who possibly can?

And in verse 48 of chapter 5, Jesus said,

You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You must be holy as God is holy.

And you have to try to imagine Jesus' listeners going,

What?

How is this possible?

How can we be found more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees?

How can we be found perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect?

And so we, with a bigger understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ,

know that we are not and cannot be perfect under our own volition.

But that we can have a righteousness that comes from outside of us.

The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

If we are found in Christ, we pursue perfection,

being found by God to be perfect.

We are declared righteous in Christ.

We are positionally moved from unrighteous to righteous,

from sinner to saint.

And because of that new identity,

we now pursue this perfection by the power that God provides.

The now and not yet of the Christian life

is a matter for very careful consideration.

Because hypocrisy was not left behind

with the false practitioners of Jesus' day.

There were hypocrites in the early church.

There were hypocrites in the medieval church.

There were hypocrites in the Reformation church.

And there are hypocrites in today's church.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4, verse 1 and 2,

1 Timothy 4:1

that there will be hypocrisy to the end of the age.

Hypocrisy can be practiced by those who are not in the faith,

but act as though they are,

believing that, showing up, doing certain things,

saying certain things, posting certain things,

that they will be found right with God.

Hypocrisy can also be practiced

by those who are in the faith,

but act as though they are not.

So all of us, every one of us,

needs to be warned today

as we take a look at what Jesus has to say

about the hypocrisy of His day and ours.

So our text for this morning is Matthew 6, verses 1-18.

Matthew 6:1–18

Before I read it, beloved,

let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good,

so we would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Begin reading in verse 1.

Jesus says,

Beware of practicing your righteousness

before other people

in order to be seen by them.

For then you will have no reward

from your Father who is in heaven.

Thus, when you give to the needy,

sound no trumpet before you

as the hypocrites do in the synagogues

and in the streets,

that they may be praised by others.

Truly I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you give to the needy,

do not let your left hand know

what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

And when you pray,

you must not be like the hypocrites.

Do they love to stand and pray in the synagogues

and at the street corners

that they may be seen by others?

Truly I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you pray,

go into your room and shut the door

and pray to your Father who is in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

And when you pray,

do not heap up empty phrases

as the Gentiles do,

for they think that they will be heard

for their many words.

Do not be like them,

for your Father knows what you need

before you ask Him.

Pray then like this,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

And when you fast,

do not look gloomy like the hypocrites,

for they disfigure their faces,

that their fasting may be seen by others.

Truly I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you fast,

anoint your head and wash your face,

that your fasting may not be seen by others,

but by your Father who is in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

Now, we don't normally deal with

this much text at one time.

There's a lot here.

And there is much to be unpacked

in some coming weeks.

But I want you to see this morning

that the primary exhortation

of this entire text

is found in verse 1.

The driving thing,

the ultimate thing

that Jesus is trying to communicate here

is this idea

of not practicing your righteousness

to be seen by people,

to be praised by people,

because if you do,

then you will have

no reward in heaven.

And he calls this activity

hypocrisy.

Jesus issues a caution

that if the point of our good works

is to be praised by men,

if we are motivated

by what others think of us

rather than what God thinks of us,

then we do not receive

heavenly reward

for our good works.

There is such danger here

as hypocrisy can be so deceptive.

Augustine once wrote,

the love of honor

is the deadly bane

of true piety or holiness.

The vices bring forth evil works,

but this,

this love of honor,

brings forth good works

in an evil way.

So we can be doing

all the right things,

even in our own estimation,

doing them rightly.

People can be praising us

for all of our outward appearance

of holiness,

but we can be altogether

unpleasing to God

in the way we do the things

that we do.

Do you notice that in verse 1

that Jesus is tying obedience

toward God with reward?

He's placing the two things together

side by side.

He's partnering them up.

I am so grateful

to serve a God

that is ever seeking His own glory

and is ever working for my good.

Duty and delight

are not mutually exclusive,

but are intrinsic

for a life well lived.

We as people

just seem so apt

to want to cast off

all authority,

any instruction whatsoever.

We want to be autonomous

in all ways.

And this is never good

for people.

It's good for us to live

under the loving instruction

of our God.

These two things

come together,

duty and delight.

You want to be filled with joy?

Set yourself to obedience

to God.

The 17 verses that follow,

verse 1,

are illustrations

of what Jesus is trying

to teach His listeners.

And with the exception

of verses 9-15,

which we know

is the teaching

on the Lord's Prayer,

and we're going to deal

with that at length

in some coming weeks,

these illustrations

follow a carefully

crafted pattern

as follows.

And I want you to see this,

and I know that I'm saying it

and I'm looking at it.

It's much easier to look at it

than to hear it.

So I'm going to repeat it

a number of times.

But it follows

a six-point pattern.

Okay?

So just listen.

Don't try to write

all this down.

In each of the three illustrations,

Jesus brilliantly

uses the same pattern.

First, the observance.

Second, the prohibition.

Third, the intent.

Fourth, the reward.

Fifth, the better observant.

And sixth, the better reward.

And each of them neatly walk through

this pattern of presentation.

We'll see very particularly momentarily

how this happens.

But before we do that,

I want us to consider

why Jesus uses

the three illustrations

of giving to the needy

or almsgiving,

prayer,

and fasting.

Why do you think

He uses these three?

Do you think

that these three activities

are particularly susceptible

to hypocrisy?

Or that these three activities

are of particular value

in our pursuit

of righteousness?

I don't think

that either

is true.

All three of these things

we'll see

are things that we should be doing

as Christian people,

as disciples of Jesus Christ.

But I don't think

they're particular

for that reason,

for our instruction,

as these are more important

than others.

But these

were the most important acts

of personal piety

for the falsely religious

of Jesus' day.

They elevated these three

in personal piety.

So the scribes

and the Pharisees

would have talked lots

about almsgivings

and prayer

and fasting.

You want to be viewed

as personally pious?

These are the things

that you will pick up.

So Jesus is not so much

building for us

what true religion looks like,

merely these three practices,

but He's dismantling

the hypocrisy

of His day.

He's very poignantly speaking

the hypocrisy

of His day.

So,

we may find

that we are

given to hypocrisy

in these activities.

It's so very possible

to do

the very thing

that people

in Jesus' day

were doing,

but we should not

limit the teaching here

to these activities.

What else

might you do

to seek

the approval

of others?

what might you do

because you want

others

to think

that you are

particularly

holy?

I could list

a slew of things

that could fit

in this

category.

How are your

actions and intentions

inconsistent

with your stated

moral standards

or beliefs?

And I pray for this

for us this morning.

Well,

it's been my prayer for us

across the last couple

of weeks

to this morning

so that we would all

find ourselves

carefully examining

our lives

in the coming moments

and beyond

that God would reveal

any hypocrisy in us

so that we would be

brought

to repentance.

So again,

the exhortation

for us

this morning

from the words

of Jesus.

Beware of

practicing

your righteousness

before other people

in order to be

seen by them

for then you will

have no reward

from your Father

who is in heaven.

So let's

look at them

and we'll look at them

in three points

following each

of the examples.

Number one,

do not give

like the hypocrites

but rather look

to heavenly reward.

Let me see this

in verses 2, 3, and 4.

Do not give

like the hypocrites

but rather look

to heavenly reward.

Notice first,

verse 2,

the observance.

Thus,

when you give

to the needy,

thus,

in your alms

giving,

this is practice

that was going on

in their day.

Jesus does not do away

with the practice.

We are also meant

to give to the needy

in our day

but in a particular way.

In Jesus' day,

the giving of alms

had been taken

to extreme measures

in Second Temple Judaism.

In rabbinical teaching,

we can read things

like this.

I quote,

It is better to give

to charity

than to lay up gold.

I think we're on board

so far.

However,

for charity

will save a man

from death.

It will expiate sin

or atone

for sin.

So,

works.

Second Temple Judaism,

the Pharisees were teaching

that giving

would cancel out

sin.

Does that heresy

sound familiar?

As a result,

many in Jesus' time

thought that the rich

were much more likely

to make it to heaven.

And they would make

a big deal,

a big fanfare

out of this giving.

This is why Jesus' statement

in Matthew 19,

Matthew 19:24

verse 24,

was so shocking

to the disciples.

He said there,

I tell you,

it is easier

for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

than for a rich person

to enter

the kingdom of God.

That's the context

behind that statement.

And do you recall

the response

of the disciples

in verse 25?

They were greatly

astonished,

Matthew says,

and they asked,

who then can be saved?

If the rich

can't do enough

almsgiving,

then who can?

And Jesus is destroying

this type of thinking,

this earning favor

before God,

thinking apart from

the perfect life,

death,

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

So,

that is the observance.

That's what they're doing

in this day.

And second,

we see the prohibition.

Jesus says,

sound no trumpet

before you,

as the hypocrites

do in the synagogues

and in the streets.

It would seem

that they held parades

when they were coming

to the temple

to give their money.

People would look at them

and praise them

for their good doing.

And Jesus tells us,

thirdly,

what their intent is.

That they may be praised

by others.

That they would be

seeking the approval

of others.

The building up

of others.

That they would please

praise men.

And what is the reward

for this?

Fourth,

Jesus says,

truly I say to you,

they have received

their reward.

And what is that reward?

The praise of men.

what a paltry reward.

What an insignificant reward.

And it's such a shame

in our culture

that what we seem

to worship most

is celebrity.

Not intelligence.

Not good doing.

There are people

who are famous

for being famous

in our culture.

this is an astonishing

thing.

All of the acclaim.

All of the praise.

You have people

on shows,

talent shows,

weeping.

This is the dream

of my life.

That what?

That for a moment

people would praise me.

That I would be

the next

America's whatever.

insignificant reward.

Paltry

compared to the reward

of heaven.

Who cares

if people like us

if we're not

pleasing God?

So this is a

declaration

of

judgment.

Truly I say to you,

they have received

their reward.

And we'll see

some repetition

of that

very

phrase.

Look then though

at the beginning

of verse 3

at the better

observance.

Jesus says,

but when you give

to the needy.

So give,

and we talked

some weeks ago

about giving

and the necessity

of giving,

so we're not going

to spend a lot

of time on

that very topic.

But we are meant

to give.

We are meant

to recognize

that all good

things come

from God.

When you begin

to realize

that the blessings

that God

has given you

are meant

for you

to turn around

and bless

others

and that

that is good

for you,

that that duty

is married

with delight,

this will be

a turning point

in your life

in America.

When you actually

begin to wrap

your brain

around this fact

that God

doesn't give you

things just

for you,

but for others

which is for

your good.

That you might

gain more

of Him

in the process.

So when you

give to the

needy,

do not let

your left

hand know

what your

right hand

is doing.

And clearly

this is an

exaggeration.

This is not

a possible

act to do.

Jesus is trying

to help us

understand

that this

should so

be done

in a way

that we're

not being

praised

by men.

See if you

can get

the left

hand of your

body to not

know what's

happening

with the

right hand

of your

body.

Jesus is

saying do

it in

that way.

Do it

in a way

that is

fully fixed

on pleasing

the Lord

and not

men.

So that

your giving

may be

in secret.

And then

there's this

better reward.

And your

Father who

sees in

secret

will reward

you.

This is the

reward we

want.

This is what

we're seeking

after.

as followers

of Jesus

Christ.

If that is

an astounding

thing to

you,

but why?

Why would I

seek the

reward of

heaven and

not the

reward of

earth?

Then you

have not

tasted and

seen the

goodness of

God.

If you've

beheld God

in his

glory,

this should

ignite you.

You should

come to

life at the

thought of

heavenly

reward.

At putting

off reward

for now,

for reward

for later,

ought to

make you

go,

yes.

I don't

want to

be found

as these

people.

I don't

want Jesus

to say

of me,

of my

life,

truly I

say to

you,

you've

already

received

your reward.

I want

to lay

it up

for later

because it

is better

later.

He gives

us another

example,

another

illustration.

So secondly,

do not

pray like

the

hypocrites,

but rather

look to

heavenly

reward.

Verses

5 and

8.

And there's

a repetition

in the

pattern here.

So he gives

a couple of

instructions,

but you see

the pattern

once again,

these six

points.

Beginning of

verse 5 and

the beginning

of verse 7.

And when

you pray.

So certainly

not teaching us

not to pray,

but he's

teaching us

to pray

in a very

particular

way.

So first

we see

this observance

and when

you pray.

And then

we see

the prohibition.

How are we

to not

pray then?

We must

not be

like the

hypocrites,

for they

love to

stand and

pray in

the synagogues

and at

the street

corners.

They love

to go out

in the

public

places

seeking

the praise

of men.

This is

what they're

hoping for.

Look at

how holy

I am.

And we're

also not

to heap

up empty

phrases as

the Gentiles

do.

As those

outside

the family

of God,

we're not

to heap

up empty

phrases as

the Gentiles.

And you

can see

the intent

then,

thirdly,

that they

may be

seen by

others,

and the

Gentiles

think that

they will

be heard

for their

many

words.

And the

reward again,

truly I

say to

you,

they have

received

their

reward.

But then

Jesus,

once again,

gives us

a better

observance.

A better

observance.

But when

you

pray,

go into

your room

and shut

the door

and pray

to your

Father

who is

in secret.

We have

been,

by the

sacrificial

work of

Jesus Christ,

who intercedes

for us,

drawn into

a relationship

with God.

Here Jesus

calls him

our

Father.

What a

glorious thing

this is.

At the

almighty of

heaven and

earth,

the one who

spoke all

things into

existence,

will have

a conversation

with us.

This should

be massively

humbling.

And once

again,

if it doesn't

seem massive

to you,

that you

could go

into your

room and

shut the

door and

spend time

with God

in prayer,

then you've

not tasted

and seen

the goodness

of God.

You have

not understood

the vastness

of his

power and

his might.

You have

a small

view of

God.

He's not

just the

guy that

you go

hang out

with.

He's the

God of

the universe

and yet

he's called

our Father.

I love,

and we'll

talk about

next week,

Lord willing,

the opening

of the

Lord's

prayer is

our Father

in Heaven.

Wraps

all that

up together.

Our

Father

in Heaven.

And I

have learned

things about

God's loving

kindness towards

me as a

father in

becoming a

father.

And I can't

help but be

moved when my

kids want to

come and talk

with me in the

way that they

climb up on

my lap and

they sit.

And as an

imperfect

father, a

very imperfect

father, my

attention is

riveted on

them.

God does

this with

us.

So we can

go into our

room and we

can shut the

door and we

can pray to

our Father

who is in

secret.

Does this

mean that we

cannot pray

publicly?

No.

It does not

mean that.

Many have

made that mean

that.

It does not

mean that.

It just

means that we

should be

careful about

the intent

of our

public

prayers.

It's good

for us when

we gather

together.

I would

even suggest

necessary for

us as we

gather together

that we

pray together.

But as

someone comes

to lead us

in public

prayer, we

should be so

careful about

the intent.

Am I

leading us in

prayer because

I want us to

be pleasing to

God as we

pray together

or because I

am concerned

about what

you'll think

of me in

my praying?

We see

public prayer

happening in

the Scripture.

I just want

to give you

one example.

Acts 1

Acts 1:14

verse 14.

The disciples

are waiting.

Jesus has

said, wait

for me.

Wait for my

power to

come.

And what

do we find

them doing

in an

upper room?

All these

with one

accord were

devoting

themselves to

prayer together

with the

women and

Mary the

mother of

Jesus and

his brothers.

They were

together and

they were

praying together.

People were

praying out

loud together

in this

place and

we should

do the

same.

But we

should be

very careful

the intent

of what we

do when

we pray

publicly.

We also

see in this

better observance

Jesus simply

says, do not

be like them.

And who is

he referring

to?

He's referring

to these

Gentiles,

right, that

heap up

empty phrases,

thinking that

they'll be

heard for

their many

words.

And does

this mean

that we

cannot pray

long?

prayers?

Many will

take the

Lord's

prayer and

recite it.

And I'm

okay with

the recitation

of the

Lord's

prayer.

I don't

think that's

particularly

sinful.

However,

Jesus doesn't

say pray

this.

He says

pray then

like this.

This is a

model for

your praying.

But some

will advocate

the recitation

of this because

it's brief.

We should

keep things

brief because

he says don't

be like the

Gentiles.

Heap up

many words.

So is that

what it

means?

No.

But we

should not

pray long

prayers because

we think that

lengthy prayers

are a mark

of holiness.

Even when I'm

by myself,

right, in that

time of

closed-door

secret prayer,

I should not

think of

myself,

wow, can I

pray?

Look at the

words I can

spill out

before God.

And certainly

in our public

praying together,

we shouldn't

heap up

words and

words and

words upon

words because

people will

think we're

so holy

for how much

we have

to say.

How can I

make this

claim to

counterpoint

what some

would say

here?

Jesus

prayed long

prayers.

Luke 6,

Luke 6:12

verse 12,

Luke says,

in these days

he went out

to the mountain

to pray,

and all

night he

continued in

prayer to

God.

It would be

very silly to

think that he

recited the

Lord's Prayer

over and

over and

over again.

Many words

poured out

to God in

those times

of prayer

with him.

And then

Jesus says

there will

be a

better reward.

A better

reward.

And your

Father who

sees in

secret will

reward you.

So we're

looking to

the heavenly

reward to

the eternal

reward.

And Jesus

also says,

for your

Father knows

what you

need before

you ask

him.

So it

means reward

for now

as well.

His presence

and his

power in

our lives.

And the

third

illustration.

It says,

do not

fast like

the hypocrites,

but rather

look to

heavenly

reward.

Do not

fast like

the hypocrites.

And I

think we

will spend

some time

on fasting

in some

coming weeks.

But briefly

look again

the observance.

And when

you

fast.

Again in

verse 17,

but when

you

fast.

I think

this is a

practice that

many in

this room

have never

done and

probably

misunderstand.

But the

assumption here

is that we

will.

As we'll be

part of

our

following

of

Jesus

Christ

will be

times of

fasting

in our

lives.

But he

issues a

prohibition.

Do not

look gloomy

like the

hypocrites

for they

disfigure

their faces.

They would

literally put

on makeup

to look

pitiful.

And what

he's saying

to us here

is that you're

not doing

this to be

seen by

others.

I've had

people who

are fasting

tell me

they're

fasting and

then tell me

they probably

shouldn't have

told me that

they were

fasting.

He's also

not prohibiting

that.

Like, oh, I

shouldn't have

said that.

Like, my

fasting is

supposed to be

so secretive

that no one

can possibly

know that

I'm fasting.

No, he's

getting that

intent.

Why are you

doing the

thing that

you're doing?

Right?

Is it for the

praise of

others or

is it to

please God?

So we're

prohibited here

by Jesus to

not look gloomy

like the

hypocrites, for

they disfigure

their faces and

the intent that

their fasting

may be seen

by others.

And once

again, this

repetition, their

reward, truly I

say to you, they

have received

their reward.

But then he

gives to us the

better observance,

but when you

fast, anoint your

head, wash your

face, make

yourself look

nice, presentable

to those around

you, that your

fasting may not be

seen by others,

but by your

father who is

in secret.

And then the

better reward.

And your

father who sees

in secret will

reward you.

So you see how

all of these,

these 17 verses

are aiming us

back at verse

1.

And this

strong warning,

this beware of

practicing your

righteousness before

other people in

order to be seen

by them.

for then you

will have no

reward from your

father who is in

heaven.

So we ought not

give or pray or

fast or do

anything

hypocritically,

seeking the praise

of man, but

should rather do

everything to

please God and

the reward that

is given by him

and found in

him.

I hope that

you will join

me in continued

self-examination

in our devotion

to God for

our good and

his glory as

we work in

this text more

in the following

weeks.

As we look more

at what is the

right way to go

about praying,

I think we'll

spend two or

three weeks there

and how ought

we also

fast.

Let me close

this morning

with a quotation

from Thomas

Brooks who was

a 17th century

Puritan preacher.

It was on your

bulletin the last

two weeks,

but I just didn't

feel like I could

put it on there

one more time.

So if you

happen to have

an old bulletin

you could read

along.

If not,

listen carefully.

He wrote this,

which I love.

Remember this,

that your life

is short,

your duties

many,

your assistance

great,

and your reward

sure.

Therefore,

faint not,

hold on and

hold up in

ways of well-doing,

and heaven

shall make

amends

for all.

Let's pray

together.

Thank you.