Matthew 6:16-34

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 "¹Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. ²Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17 "But you, when you fast, ³anoint your head and wash your face

18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your ⁴Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 "⁵Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20 "But store up for yourselves ⁶treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21 for ⁷where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "⁸The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

23 "But if ⁹your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 "¹⁰No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot * serve God and ¹¹wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25 "¹²For this reason I say to you, do not be ¹³worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 "¹⁴Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27 "And who of you by being ¹⁵worried can ¹⁶add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why are you ¹⁷worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29 yet I say to you that not even ¹⁸Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30 "But if God so clothes the ¹⁹grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ²⁰You of little faith!

31 "Do not ²¹worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for ²²your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and ²³all these things will be added to you.

34 "So do not ²⁴worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Lent

Images for Matthew 6:16-34

Cross References 24

1. Isaiah 58:5
2. Matthew 6:2
3. Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 12:20
4. Matthew 6:4, 6
5. Proverbs 23:4; Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:21, 33; Luke 18:22; 1 Timothy 6:9, 10; Hebrews 13:5; James 5:2
6. Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33; 1 Timothy 6:19
7. Luke 12:34
8. Matthew 6:22, 23: {Luke 11:34, 35}
9. Matthew 20:15; Mark 7:22
10. 1 Kings 18:21; Luke 16:13; Galatians 1:10; James 4:4
11. Luke 16:9, 11, 13
12. Matthew 6:25-33: {Luke 12:22-31}
13. Matt 6:27, 28, 31, 34; Luke 10:41; Luke 12:11, 22; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
14. Job 35:11; Job 38:41; Psalms 104:27, 28; Matthew 10:29f; Luke 12:24
15. Matt 6:25, 28, 31, 34; Luke 10:41; Luke 12:11, 22; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
16. Psalms 39:5
17. Matt 6:25, 27, 31, 34; Luke 10:41; Luke 12:11, 22; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
18. 1 Kings 10:4-7; 2 Chr 9:4-6, 20-22
19. James 1:10, 11; 1 Peter 1:24
20. Matthew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Matthew 16:8
21. Matt 6:25, 27, 28, 34; Luke 10:41; Luke 12:11, 22; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
22. Matthew 6:8; Philippians 4:19
23. Matthew 19:28; Mark 10:29; Luke 18:29; 1 Timothy 4:8
24. Matt 6:25, 27, 28, 31; Luke 10:41; Luke 12:11, 22; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7

Footnotes 14

[a]. Lit "distort their faces", i.e. discolor their faces with makeup
[b]. Or "healthy;" or "sincere"
[c]. Or "evil"
[d]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship
[e]. Or "stop being worried"
[f]. Lit "soul"
[g]. Lit "heaven"
[h]. Lit "cubit" (approx 18 in.)
[i]. Or "height"
[j]. Or "continually seek"
[k]. Or "the kingdom"
[l]. Or "provided"
[m]. Lit "worry about itself"
[n]. Lit "Sufficient for the day is its evils"