Matthew 6 Commentary
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The duality of the Christian walk comes to the fore strongly in this chapter. The kingdom is of heaven. The reward is from the Father; He is in heaven. And we are encouraged to invest in heaven.
At the same time, our interactions with the world are all physical and in real-time. Our need for bread, forgiveness, and guidance are all physical. We pray using a human language with human objectives like a need for protection. But we pray to our Father who remains unseen and in Heaven.
The hero of this chapter is the Father. He is in heaven and rewards benevolence. He sees what is done in secret. Our prayers are directed to Him. He remains unseen and is the recipient of our worship and works of righteousness, exclusively. He is the only master to serve.
Chapter 6 is headlined by several key aspects of the kingdom of heaven. You live them out here and now. The much-talked-about reign of justice and righteousness is no longer a future occurrence.
Think of a perfect home. The father knows the needs of the children. Children don’t have to tire themselves asking endlessly. They don’t have to beg. They shouldn’t worry about physical provisions. Their preoccupation need not be money or the perceived good things in the world. There are no examples here. This is reality! Don’t worry about your food tomorrow! Instead, be concerned for your righteousness!
Indeed, this is an upside-down kingdom! Everything we have known and grown up to believe in is thrown out of the window without mercy! Money. Don’t serve it. Don’t crave it. And if at all you must have it, ask, “Is it right before my Father in Heaven?” The question of how much is there for you shouldn’t exist and you immediately know you have overstepped! Ponder these facts!
Yet there is a place, a time, and a form for requests. The form is what we have come to know as the Lord’s prayer. It is a recognition of the fact that the saint still interacts with a world of needs while at the same time living the abundance of the riches of the Father’s house.
The saint’s life at its perfect level is exactly the Son’s life. The Son walked and became exhausted and was in need of rest. At the time same, the Son was full of heavenly grace and surrounded by a heavenly retinue – in full gear!
Everything here is simple yet clearly and confusingly advanced – too advanced for our human ears! Just try to keep quiet after doing a good act – then you know we need help big time!
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