v1-4: True devotion is preferred before ritualism; divine approval better than human reward. True Christianity involves a personal relationship with "your Father," and this phrase appears seven times through to v18; whether giving, or praying, or fasting, we do it for our Father. This loving devotion is to Him and for Him, and not to be seen by men. Yet this is also the divine reward, as in v4, 6, 18; John 14.23; 1 Tim 6.6.

When Jesus teaches about giving, about prayer, about fasting, He does not command these things, but assumes His followers will do them;

• this is more powerful than a command;
• this is what followers of Jesus will do;
• this is characteristic of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Someone put it this way; 'Help those who aren't likely to help you in return, and do so even if nobody is watching.'

In contrast, the hypocrites seek human approval and praise; this is all their reward.

v5-15: Prayer; an essential mark of the follower of Jesus; Acts 9.11.

v5-6: Be secret; Jesus discourages attention-seeking, and encourages personal communion with God, Ps 91.1, before whom we can and must be open and honest. There is a rebuke from those who seek glory for themselves, and therefore deny God His rightful glory.

The word 'reward' is better translated as 'flourish' or 'blossom.' There is an implication of organic growth.

v7: Be specific; Jesus refers to meaningless prayers, vain repetitions, many words; don't do it!

v8: Be simple; Jesus' model prayer discourages childish ramblings, and encourages childlike faith. Our Father knows what we need before we ask, and prayer reminds us of our needs, and of our dependence upon Him, and of His power to meet our needs. Yet prayer is not a 'shopping list' of our concerns, but rather a communion with the loving Father; our requests flow from that, with a confidence that He already knows, and therefore has heard the cry of our hearts.

'Hence Christ also, when he would have us to pray with godly boldness, puts this word “Father” into our mouths…' (John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ) From this point, NT prayers are most frequently addressed to God as Father.

Here is praise (v9-10), provision (v11), pardon (v12), protection and power (v13).

v9: God's name hallowed, set apart, 1 Pet 3.15; He is holy and He is worthy.

v10: Even when we know something to be God's will, we are encouraged to ask for it; this helps us to submit to God's will for us; He is Sovereign. Our confidence is that, ultimately, His will comes to pass.

v11: We trust God for our physical needs; the Jew earned money daily, and bought bread daily, see v34. Here is daily dependence upon God, and daily provision from God; this was clearly seen in that culture. Our scheme of monthly salaries and weekly shopping may disguise these things, but the prayer remains true for us also. He still provides.

v12: The truth that God forgives, and our sins are offences against Him, see Gen 39.9; Luke 15.18.

‘it is so as to a forgiving spirit, or a disposition to overlook and forgive injuries. Christ gives it to us both as a negative and positive evidence; and is express in teaching us, that if we are of such a spirit, it is a sign that we are in a state of forgiveness and favour ourselves; and that if we are not of such a spirit, we are not forgiven of God; and seems to take special care that we should take good notice of it, and always bear it on our minds.’ (Jonathan Edwards¸ Religious Affections)

v13: Since sin is serious, it is important that we are kept from temptation, Rom 13.14; He protects us from evil; we need a holy walk.

v14-15: The Lord's words are clear; we experience forgiveness only as we forgive others. "If we are not giving away forgiveness, we are not going to receive any ourselves" (Terry Virgo, The Tide is Turning.) ‘You have not enjoyed God’s unmerited forgiveness if you are unable or unwilling to respond in kind towards others.’ (Steve Timmis)

v16-18: The need for fasting; the faithful Jew is a fasting Jew, Ezra 8.21-23; Neh 9.1; Esth 4.16. The teaching here, consistent with that for giving and praying, is to hide the obvious appearance of fasting, so that others do not notice. Those who seek to attract attention make a sad face; should not fasting produce joy!

v19-34: True focus; issues of purity.

There is singleness of purpose, of desire, of devotion; the Lord demands a full and exclusive commitment; we see that the world's alternatives are quite distinct. Linked with this is the command to trust, and not to worry; having prayed about our "daily bread," we must leave all things in His hands.

v19: Treasures on earth; human reward, physical gain. "For yourselves," essentially a selfish attitude. Such things have no lasting value, as moths and rust and thieves take their toll. Such things deteriorate, and have no lasting value, and bring no godly influence.

v20: The command is to store up treasures in Heaven, fixing our hearts and thoughts on things above, Col 3.1-2; and this cannot be taken away.

v21: See Prov 23.7, margin.

v22: Jesus refers to the healthy (or single) eye, meaning one who is generous, whose focus is set on eternity, and therefore is generous towards the poor in the ‘here and now.’

v23: In contrast the man with the unhealthy eye is selfish, ignoring the needs of those around him.

v24: What, or who, do we give our lives to? 

'The NIV translates Mammon as 'money,' but the KJV reproduces the spirit of the original more accurately by retaining the word 'mammon,' which we may this interpret as the personal name of a false god, rather than a general term for 'money' or 'riches.' Mammon is a principality ... it is an evil spiritual force, established as a demonic cultic ruler.' (David Devenish, Demolishing Strongholds) No wonder Paul describes greed as idolatry (Col 3.5).

v25: "I tell you," the Lord's gracious command; but He is also firm, for we do tend to worry. We must honour Christ by obeying His word also.

The basic necessities of life are not to be a burden to us, and we must not seek security in such things, but to look to the Lord to provide. There is a pattern in scripture of God providing food and clothing; Gen 28.20, where Jacob trusts God to provide all he needs; 1 Tim 6.8, where Paul teaches that we have contentment in our basic needs being met.

'Read the whole passage, but note that 'life' is important, not negated. Note that the 'body is important, not negated. The heavenly Father - who knows we need clothing, food, and so on - also knows our other needs in the whole of life in this earth, as He prepaes for us an eternity that will be completely fulfilling. He is telling us to put Him and His kingdom - His glory, His person, and His will for us - first in our lives, and the other areas of need will be supplied by Him. (Edith Schaeffer, Afflictions)

v26: The illustration of the birds; we are of more value than they. The birds do not sow nor reap nor store up; this is not a command to do these things, but to have total confidence in our Father who provides.

v27: Our worrying can bring no benefit to us.

v28-30: In the same way, we must trust God to clothe us; again, to worry is to fail to trust.

Paul teaches that, with food and clothing we can be content, 1 Tim 6.8.

v31: Summarising the preceding teaching; do not worry about food and drink, nor about clothing.

v32: A further lesson; the pagans, or Gentiles, or unbelievers, seek these things; we must be different, and learn to trust our Father.

v33: The key is to set our hearts on the things of Christ, and then all these things will be given to us. As we give proper priority to the Lord, other things will fit into place.

v34: Jesus' closing thought; do not worry about tomorrow either; we can safely leave that issue with the Father.