Matthew 6:26

Matthew 6:26

In the last 10 verses of Matthew chapter 6 Jesus told us to not be anxious about food, water, or clothing; and He told us several reasons why we do not need to be anxious about such things. In verse 25 Jesus tells us not to worry because of the great difference between the true meaning of life and our material needs. Later in the gospels Jesus will say that a person’s life does not consist of the things that he does possess. He would also explain to the Pharisees that it is much more important what comes out of a person from their heart and innermost thoughts, than what goes into a person in the form of food.

What is important about you is not your physical appearance, but your spiritual condition. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God sees the heart. It is not who you are, but what you are. It is your character that counts. It is not the clothing that you put on your body that is so important, but the actions that your body performs that is critical. And so Jesus said in verse 25, "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than clothing." Don’t worry about the basic necessities of life because God has promised to provide them to you, and because they are so unimportant anyway compared to what is really important about life.

In Matthew 6:26 Jesus said, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?" Jesus often used lessons based upon the world around him. Almost everything holds some spiritual application or meaning. In this passage Jesus used birds and flowers to teach us not to worry. Elsewhere in the Gospels, He used almost everything that came His way to teach us. He used an open door, a fish, a coin, a well of water, a piece of cloth, the wind and the sea, a father’s love for a wayward son, a fig tree, and the blind eyes of a beggar. Here Jesus tells us to simply watch the birds of the air, and let them teach us about life. If we learn the lesson that the birds can teach us, it will help to keep us from worry and anxiety. God cares about the birds and He cares about us. When a bird finds something to eat, it is God who provided the food. The bird used its abilities to see and to hunt for food, but it is God who provided it. When you see a bird land in a field or on a lawn and find food, you can be sure that God is there with that bird, helping it. In a very similar way, you can be assured that God will help you, when you make an effort to find a means for your material support in this world. You have probably heard the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” The saying is true, as long as ‘helping oneself’ includes trusting in God and asking for His will to be done.

Humans are sometimes hunters, but we are also farmers. There is nothing wrong with hunting for food, but those who hunt for the joy of killing God’s creatures are a long way from appreciating life the way that it was meant to be. God helps all the creatures of the earth. It is man who destroys. God created all of the animals for a purpose, and one of the reasons that He created the birds was to teach us that He is well able to take care of us also. According to Jesus, we can watch the birds of the air, and learn to not worry.

In verse 27 of Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit unto his stature?" Worrying is counter-productive. We cannot accomplish anything by worrying. If our goal is to accomplish something, worry will actually detract from our ability to succeed. Most of the things that people worry about never happen anyway. Even if they did, to worry would not help. Instead of worrying, we should take action to correct the problem, and we should trust in God to help us.

In verse 26 Jesus told us to learn from the birds. Now in Matthew 6:28-30 He teaches us to learn from the flowers. He said, "And why do you worry about clothing. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" There may be nothing in the universe as beautiful as a flower or a field of flowers. Poets and artists have recognized this. Several years ago Lady Bird Johnson started a project of having wild flowers planted along the highways of Texas, and some of the scenes can almost take your breath away for their beauty. At many special occasions we give flowers in order to make the moment more special: at weddings we give flowers to reflect the joy of the occasion, on Valentine’s Day we give flowers to express our love, at funerals we give flowers to comfort our hearts. Jesus said that it is God who designed the beauty of all these flowers, and we do not need to worry because the same God will see to it that we are adequately clothed according to His will for us.

Jesus told us not to worry, because worry is the absence of faith. We know how much God is pleased by faith. A great chapter in the Bible about faith, Hebrews chapter 11 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him."

We are saved by means of faith, and then it is God’s will that we live by means of faith. We should be able to trust in God in every circumstance to supply every need. To do anything less is to fail at faith. Every human has the ability to find faith, if they look in the right place. Jesus is called the author and finisher of our faith. Initially faith is a gift that comes to us when we repent of our sins and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Ephesians chapter 2:8 says, "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." From the point of salvation our faith can grow and be strengthened by reading, studying, thinking about and putting into practice the Bible. Romans says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

In the teaching on worry, that Jesus gives in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus was somewhat disappointed by the lack of faith in those to whom He was speaking, because He said in verse 30 "O you of little faith." Later in the Gospels Jesus would ask, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Maybe the rapture will be a rather insignificant event because perhaps there will be few believers on the earth to be raptured.

In Matthew 6:31 and 32 Jesus said, "Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or With what shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things." In this verse Jesus gives us two more reasons to not worry. He says, "your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things." God knows what we need and He is going to take care of us. This is the same reason that Jesus gave in verse 8 for not praying with vain repetitions when He said, "For your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him."

Another reason to not worry is also given here in verse 32 when Jesus said, "For after all these things do the Gentiles seek." The word "Gentiles" is a common term used in the scriptures for unbelievers. Those who do not know God have no capacity to trust in God, and it is very natural to expect that they will concentrate on the fulfilling of their needs. If you are a believer you must be careful or you will find yourself being motivated for the same reasons as the unbelievers.

In the study of human motivation, we can observe that human beings have a very strong urge to find the fulfillment of their basic needs. Take away the supply of someone’s basic needs and you may find a very desperate individual, highly motivated to see that his needs be fulfilled. Sometimes the fear and anxiety of losing such things will motivate an individual to do things that he or she would never have done: had they not been motivated by fear. Abraham Mazlow studied this phenomenon because it helped explain how so many people in Nazi Germany could have gone along with the Holocaust and other abuses of the Nazi government. Don’t look so critically at them. How many of you have compromised your beliefs in order to make sure that your employment or chance for advancement is in no way threatened? But Jesus said that His followers should put away such fears.

In Matthew 6:34 Jesus said, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall worry about its own matters. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The final key idea that Jesus gives on how to avoid worry is to make an emphasis on today. If we allow our thoughts to stray into the future too much, we will be more prone to worry about the future. We can at least be certain about today. And Jesus reminds us that the desire to do what is right and avoid evil should be our primary motivation, and not the acquiring of material possessions.

The central verse in this passage is Matthew 6:33, and by the way, it is a great verse to memorize and to use as a source of comfort and security: "But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." It is a great verse to memorize because it reminds us of what our priorities need to be and of the eternal vigilance and provision that God has for us.

In the first 6 verses of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus teaches us about the judgment of others and the discernment of others. In verse one He said, "Judge not, that you be not judged." The word "judge" as used in this verse means to criticize, find fault with, and condemn. One thing that is common about all humans, no matter what is their race, gender, age, or social status: we are all sinners. We all have our faults. It sometimes is much too easy for us to condemn others and to forget that we are no better than they.

Jesus told us to not condemn others or we also will be condemned. This is very similar to what He said about forgiving in Matthew 6:15, "For if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." In Matthew 7:2 Jesus said, "For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again." Another way of saying this last phrase is: "The measure that you give will be the measure that you get." This is the great and immutable law of retribution. This law of retribution is very similar to the golden rule. The golden rule says to do unto others as you would have them to do unto you. Jesus says here that as you do unto others it will be done unto you. For every action there is a reaction: a predictable reaction.

This teaching in Matthew Chapter 7 should be a reminder to us to not be judgmental of others. It should also help us to not be revengeful, because not only does it apply to us; but it also applies to others. If someone treats you in a way that they ought not, don’t take it personally because they probably treat others the same way. If they are wrong, they are going to suffer for it. You can be sure of that.

In Matthew 7:3-5 Jesus said, "And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold a beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye." Jesus tells us that one way to avoid judging others is to learn to properly judge ourselves. Our emphasis should always be: how can we improve and correct ourselves, and not how can we improve or correct others. When we are critical of others, very often we have been guilty of similar things ourselves; and if not we still have been guilty of other things. Everyone has faults and weaknesses. You may not have the same weaknesses as someone else, but you are also a sinner compared to the perfect law of God.

We are not supposed to judge others, but we are supposed to judge ourselves. Anyone who aspires to be a follower of Jesus should analyze himself on a regular basis to look for faults that need to be corrected, sins that need to be repented of, and bad habits that need to be broken. First Corinthians 11: 31-32 says, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." If you do this properly, and judge yourself the way this passage tells you to do, you will not have the arrogant attitude or the time to be judging others.

When we come to know the Lord as our Savior, He begins to work on us; to improve our character, to increase our faith, and to make us more capable than we were yesterday, last month, or last year. With each one of us there is a lot of work to be done, and the Lord does not try to correct every one of our faults all at once. You may be able to identify several faults that someone else has, but you do not know which one the Lord is working on at any particular time with that individual. Don’t be so quick to judge. Your relationship with the Lord is entirely dependent upon His mercy just like theirs is. Remember that God is the judge.

In Matthew 7:6 Jesus said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." Jesus used some very strong words to describe some people on this earth. He called them dogs and swine. These are terms that are used to describe how far away from God some people have gone. Jesus will teach us a little bit later in this chapter the fact that most people on the earth do not know and serve God, and for some of them; it is because they do not want God in their life. They are selfish and stubborn, just like Pharaoh during the time of Moses.

When the Lord told us in verse 1 of Matthew chapter 7 to not judge others, He meant to not condemn others. But we do need to discern the spiritual attitude of others. We need to discern that if someone does not want God, then we should not waste precious words on them. There is really only one message for poor, lost sinners and that is to repent and turn to Jesus before it is too late. Those who oppose and resist God will not understand or appreciate most of the wonderful teachings of the Bible. They are not meant for them anyway. They are meant for God’s children. After Jesus rose from the dead, He said to Peter, "If you love me, feed my sheep." The goal of the believer should not be to teach everyone, but only to find and teach those who want to hear. Those who do not want to hear have set their sail and chosen their destiny. May God have mercy on their souls.

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