Matthew 6 INTRODUCTION

DAY 40

Date: 2-23-25

The KING Speaks His Heart, part 2

Matthew Chapter 6; Introduction

* Everything with an asterisk and is italicized and purple is my own added words and thoughts and are not part of the actual verse or quote.

Pray

Introduction to Chapter 6

Looking at it in its context.

The author of our Holman Commentary calls Matthew chapter 6 “The KING Speaks His Heart, part 2,” and he starts out with quoting Leo Tolstoy:

“Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.”

In short, hypocrisy is the one word used by Jesus, more than any other, to describe the Pharisees. 

May it never be true of us. 

Our author identifies Matthew 5:20 as a thesis, or summary statement for the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:20 says,
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV 1984) 

On pg 76 our author says, in the “In A Nutshell” section at the bottom of the page, he  references that Thesis, or summary statement.

 It says,
“Matthew presents several distinctions that support the thesis of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:20). He (*meaning Jesus) contrasts (*3 things) 

1. religious masquerades and genuine spirituality, (*meaning unrighteousness vs. genuine righteousness; see Matt 6:2)
2. those who serve money and those who serve God, and (*see Matt. 6:24 and Luke 16:13-15) 
3. those who worry about providing their own needs and those who trust in God’s provision.” (*see Matt. 6:19-21 and Matt. 6:25-33) (Holman Commentary)

I think this verse works well as a summary statement for the Sermon on the Mount, as the word “righteousness” is an important keyword, not of the Sermon, but of the rest Matthew as well as the entire New Testament. In fact I think this verse is a key verse in understanding the core of the entire bibles teaching. We cannot be right, or get right with God, apart from our saving faith in Christ. We just cannot live a righteous life with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

In general chapter 5 talks about external righteousness. This can be seen in the six example sections of Murder, Adultery, Divorce, Oaths, Eye for Eye and Love Your Enemies. While the whole of the Sermon, at it’s core, is about the heart – the heart of Christ for His people, and about the true heart of the law and of Christianity, these six examples tend to focus mostly on external righteousness, which does start in the heart, but normally manifests itself externally (but, not always!)

Then as we come to chapter six, we will see a shift to more of a focus on internal righteousness, which also starts in the heart, but manifests itself more internally (again, not always, but generally.) Wheras Jesus used 6 examples in chapter 5, He uses 5 examples in chapter 6 to illustrate His teaching. These 5 examples that we will be looking at in the next 5 weeks, are:

1. Giving
2. Prayer
3. Fasting
4. Treasures and
5. Worry

Jesus introduces and summarizes chapter 6 in the first verse, Matthew 6:1, which says, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (NIV 1984)

That is the summary verse for chapter 6 and half of chapter 7.

Just as the word “righteousness” is the key word in the Matt 5:20 summary statement, so also is the word righteousness the keyword in the the first verse of chapter 6.

Loving God, and loving our neighbor, is the very heart of Christianity. Jesus has been teaching so far in chapter 5 that all the law and the prophets should be understood and interpreted in light of “Loving God and our neighbor.” Everything points to that end. That is the heart of the Gospel, and why Jesus came, and why Jesus died on the cross to rescue us from sin and eternal damnation. 

This is what it means to be righteous. This is what it means to be Christian. 

In both chapters, 5 & 6, Jesus teaches on righteousness, and in both chapters he also contrasts the type of hypocritical righteousness the Pharisees exhibited with the genuine righteousness that He, Jesus, lived out Himself, and what He expects from us.

In chapter 5, we see Jesus exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in their TEACHING (i.e., “you heard is was said, but I tell you), and in chapter 6, Jesus exposes the hypocrisy in the PRACTICE, or ACTIONS (the way they lived).

“Your” acts of righteousness, “my” acts of righteousness are the acts of the flesh, not the acts of the Spirit within us. 

Isaiah says in Isaiah 64:6 “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;“

Jesus said in John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

Paul says in Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,”

And again, in Galatians 5:16-18, Paul says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”

You may wonder why I bring up the Pharisees (which includes the scribes and teachers of the law) so much. The short answer is that they are an important part of Jesus’ teaching for at least two reasons:

1. They  were a huge part of Jesus’ earthly ministry and
2. Sadly, they are a good example of how NOT TO LIVE.

And remember, some of them did eventually get saved! So, Jesus, in confronting the Pharisees so often throughout Matthew (and all the Gospels), is actually LOVING HIS ENEMIES!

So, since the word righteousness is so important, let’s do a little word study on it. 

Word Study: RIGHTEOUSNESS

English Dictionary Definition

the quality of being morally right or justifiable: (dictionary.com)

Acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin. 2. a : morally right or justifiable a righteous decision. Merriam-Webster

Let’s switch over to the OliveTree Bible Study App. My all time favorite app.

The Greek word for righteousness in Matt 5:20 and 6:1 is δικαιοσύνη, which I can’t pronounce, and the Greek transliteration is dikaiosynē.

Dictionary Definition 

G1466 δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē, n. [91] [√ 1472]. righteousness, what is right, justice, the act of doing what is in agreement with God’s standards, the state of being in proper relationship with God:– righteousness (78), justice (3), right (3), what is right (3), itS (1), justified (1), righteous (1), that is right (1)

This word, in the New Testament, is also very closely related to our English words just, justice, justify, and justification.

Now, let’s look at some Bible verses in the NT that have the word righteousness. 

This is just a sampling 

Matthew 3:15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 6:1 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.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

(Talking to the chief priests and the elders of the people) Matthew 21:31-32 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Luke 1:69-75 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (this refers to Jesus and His geneology, which we study back in chapter 1) (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), … to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

(The word Justified at the end of this verse is the same Greek root word as the word “righteousness” in the beginning.)

John 16:8 When he comes (the Holy Spirit), he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

RIGHTEOUSNESS in Romans

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 3:21-26 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 4:3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:4-6 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

Romans 4:13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Romans 6:16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (*Obedience leads to righteousness)

Romans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Romans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

Romans 9:30-32 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.

Romans 10:3-4 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Romans 10:6-10 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (*The word justified in this verse is, in the original Greek, the same EXACT word as righteousness: dikaiosynē)

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…

And my favorite 

1 Timothy 6:9-11
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plun ge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Paul’s Charge to Timothy

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 

So, now what do you think of this word, RIGHTEOUSNESS?

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Notes:

* Everything with an asterisk and is italicized and purple is my own added words and thoughts and are not part of the actual verse or quote.