Matthew 6:1-34 King James Version Bible

Summary and Message of Matthew 6 – Righteous Acts of Devotion and The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:1-35 King James Version Bible emphasizes the importance of sincere, heart-based righteousness over outward displays of piety meant to impress others. Jesus teaches that religious practices like giving, prayer, and fasting should be done with the right motives—seeking God’s approval rather than human praise.

He also stresses the importance of prioritizing heavenly treasures over earthly ones and trusting God for provisions. The chapter calls believers to a life of genuine devotion, focused on God’s Kingdom and characterized by trust, humility, and wholehearted worship.

Summary of Matthew 6 – Giving, Praying, Fasting, Treasures in Heaven, and Worrying

Giving to the Needy (Matthew 6:1-4)

Jesus instructs His followers to give to the needy with the right motives, in secret, and warns to not give for public recognition and applause. Instead, believers should give knowing that God, who sees what is done in secret, will reward them.

• Hypocrisy: Doing good deeds to be seen by others is hypocritical and seeks human approval rather than God’s.
• True Generosity: Genuine acts of charity are done quietly and for God’s approval, reflecting true compassion and humility.

Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15)

Jesus addresses the proper attitude and approach to prayer – sincere, humble, and emphasizing a personal relationship with God, opposed to hypocritical and repetitive prayers meant to impress others.

• In Private Prayer: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” Jesus provides a model prayer, known as the Lord’s Prayer, that includes reverence for God, submission to His will, daily dependence, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil and temptation.
• The Lord’s Prayer:
  Our Father: Acknowledging God’s relational and sovereign nature.
  Hallowed be Your Name: Reverence for God’s holiness.
  Your Kingdom Come: Seeking God’s rule and reign.
  Daily Bread: Dependence on God for provision.
  Forgiveness: Acknowledging our need for forgiveness and extending forgiveness to others.
  Deliverance: Seeking protection from evil and temptation.

Fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)

Jesus teaches fasting should be done like giving and praying. It should be done discreetly as to not draw attention to oneself, ensuring that the act remains between the individual and God, and not for admiration from others. Fasting is a private discipline between the believer and God, and He will reward sincere fasting.

Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-24)

Jesus contrasts the fleeting nature of earthly treasures with the enduring value of heavenly treasures. He does this by teaching that true value lies in storing up treasures in heaven through righteous living and godly priorities. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

• Temporary vs. Eternal: Earthly treasures are temporary and subject to decay and theft, whereas heavenly treasures are eternal and secure.
• Heart’s Focus: One’s heart will be where their treasure is, so focusing on heavenly treasures aligns the heart with God’s purposes.
• Serving Two Masters: Jesus emphasizes that one cannot serve both God and money (mammon). A divided loyalty leads to spiritual conflict.

Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:25-34)

Jesus teaches about trusting God for daily needs and not being consumed with worry or be anxious about material needs. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

• God’s Provision: Jesus points to God’s care for birds and flowers as evidence of His provision for His creation, reassuring believers of their greater worth and God’s provision for them.
• Prioritizing the Kingdom: Jesus urges seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, promising that all necessary things will be provided as well.
• Daily Trust: Encouragement to live one day at a time, trusting God for each day’s needs and not being anxious about the future.

Matthew 6:1-34 King James Version Bible

Giving to the Needy
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Prayer
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Treasures In Heaven
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Do Not Worry
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.