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Matthew 6:25-34

The multitude of Jews listening to Jesus were doing so out of a desire to ensure they would enter into the
kingdom of heaven. But their religion of Judaism was a false light, leading them in a false way - by which
they would never arrive at their desired destination.

Jesus has been urging the Jews to stop treasuring the earthly - including their worldly religion - and to start
genuinely pursuing the God they claimed to be their Father. The last point that Jesus had made to them
concerning this is that they could not be devoted to two masters - they must choose between their pursuit of
things in the material realm, and their pursuit of God.

The question is, what did they really treasure in their hearts? The heart of a person is revealed by what he
occupies himself with; what he is concerned with - or even further, worries about. As Jesus continues, we
find that He is exhorting the Jews not to worry about things in their lives - that is, the living of it.

We continue in verse 25.

[Matthew 6:25-34]

So we see that Jesus is talking about the necessities of life on earth, for people. And what does He say to
the Jews, about those things? Don’t do what? Don’t worry about them. In fact, Jesus uses the Greek word
for “worry” six times, in this passage! What does the number six represent, in Scripture? The number for
man.

Now, I don’t think the number is meant to be significant, here; but I do think that when it comes to worry,
Jesus has man’s number. Mankind is prone to worry about things; to be anxious; to fret.

Worry is a particular kind of fear. Now if you think about it, worry is something that you do in the present,
but it virtually always concerns the future, or at least, something you don’t know at present, yet.

Worry is basically the “What if’s?” of life. Now, “What if’s” have not yet come to pass; or at least, “What
if’s” are unknown to us. They may be so; they may not be. If they are, they are; and if they’re not, they’re
not; so why do people worry about them?

Simply put, people like to feel they are in control of things; and they are certainly not in control of things
that haven’t happened yet. But can they be - in control of the future? No; and that is part of what Jesus has
to say.

But Jesus says much more than that. He’s not just telling the Jews to stop worrying about their life; He’s
showing them to start doing something, in place of that. Instead of just providing the obvious answer, let’s
see how it unfolds in the passage, beginning back in verse 25.

v. 25 I want you to notice the first word, here: “Therefore”. In the Greek, it means on account of this, or
for this reason. For what reason?

This refers back to what Jesus had just been saying, in verse 24. Because you can’t devote yourself to both
God and mammon - riches, or material things - for this reason, don’t worry about your life - the essentials
of it - food, and clothing.
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What exactly does Jesus mean, by that? Again we ask, was Jesus suggesting that the Jews stop earning a
living? No. Was He saying, don’t have something saved, for a future need, in life? No again.

It’s very important to absorb that Jesus is saying, don’t worry about your life. The idea is that if the Jews
worry about their lives - about having enough - they will become fully engaged in that occupation - of
worrying. After all, what is really “enough”? They could always have more, right?

It becomes an endless cycle, of worrying, and acquiring - or trying to acquire - and there’s never any
satisfaction, to be had, there. But it will lead to them devoting all of their time, and effort, and attention,
and concerns to this life.

They will enslave themselves to the master, Mammon. And since you can’t be a slave of two masters, this
means that they will have chosen not to devote themselves to God - as their Lord. They cannot pursue
both.

We see in verse 25 that Jesus gets into some specifics, of life on earth - some basic necessities. He
mentions eating and drinking - the things that are necessary to take in, to sustain physical life - to keep it
going, on and on - provision.

And Jesus also mentions another fundamental need - clothing, to cover the body. It’s interesting that
Matthew uses the Greek word for the human body here, and not the physical body - the flesh. Clothing is
considered fitting for humans, in society. And it also serves as protection for their bodies.

Then Jesus poses a very interesting question: “Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing?” Of course they are. The life is more than the food which sustains it; the body is more than the
clothes that cover it.

But what exactly was Jesus getting at? He’s pointing out that their physical needs are only one aspect of
their life; and He’s implying, it’s a relatively minor aspect. They should not be overly anxious about such
relatively minor concerns. To emphasize this, Jesus draws on some examples from nature.

v. 26 This “look” in the Greek is a searching look, in order to learn; not a casual glance. It’s as if Jesus
said to the Jews, “Watch what the birds do”. The “birds of the air” here refers to wild birds; birds, in
nature. Birds don’t sow seed, reap grain, or gather a harvest in the barn - but look how your heavenly
Father feeds them.

God produces their food - through His natural creation. And then the bird gathers the food, that God
provided - that’s the bird’s part. The bird just receives from God; the bird depends on God, to feed him.
What does this picture? Trust.

Now, who is it that sows, and reaps, and harvests? People do that; people like the Jews worked, in order to
produce and store up their food. Is that wrong? No; that’s generally the way it goes, for mankind. And
Jesus is not advocating that men stop working, or storing up food; after all, we could say that the bird
works too - at gathering, right?

This shows us Jesus intends a different point to be brought out, here. The point is that God provides for all
of His creation, in various ways. If the bird can trust God to make that provision, can the Jews do so, also?
After all, Jesus says, you are of more value than the birds.
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Why is a man more valuable than a bird? A bird is part of the animal creation - a soul, housed in a body,
spoken into existence by God, from the dust of the ground - an earthly being.

Human creation is on an entirely different level. A man is a soul of spirit being, housed in a body. In the
beginning, that body was formed of the dust of the ground by God Himself; that soul of spirit being was
breathed into the first man by God Himself.

As a spirit being of humanity, man is of more value than a bird. It is especially the spiritual aspect of man
that makes him so. But the man is of even greater value than this - for he has the potential to become a son
of God - a heavenly being.

The analogy Jesus makes is simple. If God provides food for the birds, will He not ensure that His precious
creation of mankind is provided for, all the more? The Jew is not to worry about his life, but to trust God,
to make provision for him.

Having considered the value of man, Jesus next points out the value of worrying.

v. 27 Now, a cubit was considered to be the length of a man’s forearm; 18-22 inches. One cubit would be a
lot to add to one’s stature! This makes it evident that this is not what Jesus means. The Greek word for
“stature” can refer to height, but normally it means age. The cubit is simply being used here to represent
the extension of life beyond the allotted lifespan.

Who determines the length of your life? God does. Solomon wrote that there is a time to be born, and a
time to die (Eccl 3:2). You have a birthday, right? Did you choose to be born? No. And likewise, you
have a death day - a day which God has already determined, when your earthly course is done; and that day
cannot be changed, either.

You can’t add one day to your life; one minute; one second. This means you cannot extend your life; no
matter how much you exercise, or juice, or take vitamins, or think positive thoughts.

Since you can’t add a minute to your life, does this mean you shouldn’t take care of your body? No. It
needs good food and exercise, to be well, while it is here. Since you can’t subtract one minute from your
life, does this mean you’re free to abuse your body? Of course not. That would be sin.

But the point that Jesus was making to the Jews, which is good for us to remember as well, is that
constantly worrying about your life will not extend it. Instead, it will just serve to waste the lifespan that
God has determined for you - by filling it with the fruitless occupation of fretting - and trying to control that
which you cannot control.

For the unbelieving Jews, continual worries about the earthly life could wind up being a fatal distraction -
keeping them from receiving the very Life they need, to live forever. Jesus will later tell a parable which
shows that the cares of this world can choke out the Word of God, planted in a heart, so that it doesn’t bear
the fruit of eternal life (Matt 13:22).

Jesus draws another example, from nature, as He considers worrying about clothing.

v. 28-30 We worry about what we will wear on a given day. But the common people in Jesus’ day were
worried about having enough clothing - just as they were about having enough food. Most people had very
little beyond the basic necessities, and worked to meet those needs, day by day.
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But just as Jesus told the Jews not to worry about food, He says, don’t worry about clothing, either; stop
being preoccupied, with these relatively minor concerns. His example from nature, which in the NKJV is
translated “lilies”, is a common name for a flower; a field flower would mean a wild flower; one that
springs up naturally.

A field of wild flowers is certainly a breathtaking sight. There may have been such flowers all around the
Jews, as they reclined on the hillside, listening to Jesus. You can just imagine them picking one of those
flowers and considering it, as Jesus spoke.

It hardly mattered what variety it was; anyone who has taken the time to study a flower closely finds it to
be nothing less than astonishing, in its beauty and detail. And that’s just the way the flower grows; the
flower doesn’t work at it.

It grows the way it does based on the design that God has implanted, in its seed. It is a design that exists
for the Creator’s purpose: of displaying beauty to men, who themselves have been designed by God to
appreciate and love beauty. And Jesus points out that these wildflowers are more gloriously attired than
even Solomon, in all his royal splendor.

But on the other hand, wildflowers are notoriously short-lived; here today, gone tomorrow. And when their
little span of life is complete, and they wither in the field, men collect the dead remains, and use it as fuel
for their cooking fires. Their beauty is but for a moment, and then they meet their ignoble end.

The Jews would recall that Isaiah wrote similarly, of the wildflowers. Turn to Isaiah chapter 40. This is
actually a prophecy concerning the end-times, when Israel will receive Jesus as her Messiah.

[Isaiah 40:6-8]

So in Isaiah’s prophecy, what are the wildflowers likened to? To people; specifically, men in the flesh (v.
6). Men are born in a body of flesh; a perishable body. For a short time - a fleeting moment of that life -
that body blooms, in the beauty of youth.

But then what happens - ever so quickly? It withers; it fades. Like a hot wind upon a field of flowers, the
LORD breathes His determined lifespan upon each of those flesh bodies - each with their time to die.

At the end of verse 8, we see that the LORD gave Isaiah a word of hope, concerning this dismal prospect.
What does it say? But - the word of our God stands forever. What is the word of God - His word, to
mankind? It is the gospel: life forever, as a glorified son of God - through faith in Christ.

Peter quoted this passage of Isaiah in his first letter. Turn to First Peter chapter 1. Peter wrote mostly to
believing Jews, who had been dispersed through persecution.

[First Peter 1:22-25]

v. 22 To “obey the truth” is another way of saying “believe”. These Jews had believed into Jesus as their
Messiah.

v. 23 All men were born of the corruptible seed of Adam; those who have believed into Jesus have been
born again, of the incorruptible Seed, Christ - it is He who lives and abides forever - He is “the Word of
our God” who “stands forever”.
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v. 24-25 This is the Septuagint version, a little different than the Hebrew. The last thing Peter adds in verse
25 makes it clear that the Word here does not refer to the written word, but to Jesus as the Word made flesh,
who tabernacled among men (Jn 1:1-14).

The Jews listening to Jesus that day would also know this. Like the wildflowers, their time on earth was
short - but through the Word of their God, their Messiah, they had the prospect of living forever. So the
reference that Jesus made to wildflowers and the grass of the field would have drawn their minds to Isaiah,
and back to gaining entrance into God’s eternal kingdom.

[Return to Matthew 6]

Looking again at verse 28, we see that Jesus indicates that the wildflowers neither toil nor spin; that is, they
don’t work to make their covering. Who does that? People do; like the Jews. They shear sheep, wash the
wool, spin it into yarn, and then weave it, in order to produce their clothing.

Not the wildflowers. They just grow, and as they do, God covers them with their splendid clothing. Does
this mean the Jews weren’t to work, to clothe their bodies? Of course not; Jesus certainly didn’t mean that.

What He was showing once again is that the Jew could depend on God, to make provision for him - for
food for his life; for clothing for his body; for all his earthly needs.

The Jews worried because they were counting upon themselves, to make their own provision - and to make
sure there was enough. If they would instead trust their heavenly Father to provide for them, this would
free them to pursue the things of Him.

At the end of verse 30, Jesus addresses the Jews as “you of little faith”. Now, this tends to make us think,
“well, it seems they had a little faith”. But the term is not used that way. It means to lack the faith needed
to trust God, in the situation concerned.

What is that situation, here? The Jews did not trust God, with their lives. Jesus was essentially saying that
the Jews were faithless; they had never entrusted their lives to their heavenly Father.

And Jesus had just spoken of the grass, having withered, and being thrown into the fire. Surely the Jews
would have made the connection. If they are but flesh, and remain occupied with pursuing their lives on
earth, then that will be their destiny - for eternity.

For this reason, Jesus indicates, the Jews needed to stop pursuing the course they were on.

v. 31-32 In verse 31, the verb “saying” reflects continuous, or repeated action. The idea is worrying that
consumes the thoughts; having the mind regularly preoccupied with the concerns of this life.

Jesus points out to the Jews that the Gentiles live that way. And certainly, the Jews would be the first ones
to agree that the godless Gentiles had no interest in the true and living God; that they were devoted to a
full-out pursuit of Mammon.

But were the Jews living any differently? They claimed God to be their heavenly Father; they prayed to
Him in their synagogues, asking Him to “give us this day our daily bread”, or the like; but where was their
trust in Him? Did they really believe He was there, and ready to meet all their earthly needs? Their
worrying spoke otherwise; they were faithless.
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But as long as they continued to occupy themselves with their worldly needs, they would fail in their
pursuit of what they really needed; really, desperately needed; their heavenly need.

So this is how Jesus encouraged them.

v. 33 The Jews were complacent about the spiritual, and anxious about the material. Jesus was showing
them that their concerns were just the opposite of what they needed to be. Jesus will later say to the Jews,
“What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Matt 16:26).

Notice that Jesus did not say, seek first the kingdom of God, and then seek what you need in this world. He
was not prioritizing their needs. Jesus was telling the Jews to wholeheartedly seek their heavenly need; to
make that the full focus in their lives; to devote themselves entirely to pursuing God, drawing nearer and
nearer to Him, step by step, by faith.

But they could only do this if they, concurrently, trusted in God to meet their material needs - and Jesus
assured them, “all these things shall be added to you”; not promising them affluence, but earthly provision;
not what they want, but what they need - as determined by their heavenly Father.

And notice also that Jesus didn’t only say, seek first the kingdom of God; He added, “and His
righteousness”. Did you catch that? His righteousness.

The Jews were trying to gain entrance into the kingdom based on their own righteousness, by the Law.
Jesus has shown them the futility of that. The key to the kingdom of God is having God’s righteousness.
God’s perfect righteousness is what fits the subjects for His kingdom, for the rule of holy God.

But how is the Jew to get God’s righteousness? The very same Law, which condemned the Jew as a sinner
unfit for the kingdom, shows the Jew how to obtain this righteousness.

Turn to Romans chapter 10. Paul was a Jew who tried to come to God on the basis of his own
righteousness, and failed. But he passed along what he discovered about righteousness. One has to receive
God’s - by faith.

[Romans 10:1-4]

v. 1-3 The righteousness of God has to be imputed to men, which God does through union with Christ, by
faith.

v. 4 “the end of the Law” means the goal or purpose of it. This is referring to the ceremonial Law - the
sacrifices and the Tabernacle service - which reveal Christ as the substitute, the Sin Bearer for men - the
only way for them to be made righteous.

[Return to Matthew 6]

We’ve also seen that from the beginning of this discourse, Jesus has been showing the Jews how to obtain
God’s righteousness, which fits them for God’s kingdom - beginning with the recognition that they were
sinners - which leads to a hungering and a thirsting for righteousness (Matt 5:3, 6).
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But even in His most recent words to the Jews, Jesus has been endeavoring to lead the Jews into the
righteousness of God’s kingdom - as He urges them to pursue the things of heaven. I wonder if the Jews
were deeply considering the things that Jesus said? - If they were allowing His words to penetrate, to the
very spirit of their being?

By worrying, man cannot add one cubit to his lifespan, can he? (v. 27) But by trusting in God, a man can
extend his life into eternity.

Is not the life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (v. 25) Man’s life is of so much more
value than the earthly - his spirit being has the potential to go on forever, as a son of God. And likewise his
body - it has the potential to be glorified, as the eternal dwelling place, for that ever-living spirit being.
That’s a place where the glory of God will radiate out, in all of His beauty and splendor - far greater than
that of Solomon - or the wild flowers (v. 29)! And that glory will be seen, forever.

The Jews toiled to produce their food, to sustain their life; and they labored to make their clothes, to cover
themselves. And when they weren’t working, they were worrying - about meeting those needs.

But Jesus directed them to learn from other, lesser members of the creation (v. 26, 28) - to just trust and
receive from their Creator for their earthly needs.

This will free them to pursue their vital spiritual need instead - for which they must fully trust in God’s
work, on their behalf - receiving His provision of Christ, not through their own work, but by faith, and faith
alone - receiving His righteousness; receiving His protection from death. They must learn to trust and
receive for life; and for eternal life.

Jesus concludes.

v. 34 Maybe this is where the expression comes from, don’t borrow trouble from the future! But I think
that was not actually Jesus’ point. To worry about tomorrow - which you have no control over - does not
leave you free for today - which you do have control over - some. Today, you have control over the
choices you make.

Turn to Luke chapter 12. Luke records a story Jesus told the Jews of a man, whose every thought was
about tomorrow. He was a rich man - but was just as concerned as anyone else, about earthly provisions.

[Luke 12:15-21]

v. 15 Covetousness is wanting what you don’t possess; wanting more and more.

v. 16-21 Now, some might say, what’s wrong with this? The man labored to produce a crop; and now he’s
upgrading structures on his property to contain all that his work yielded. There’s nothing wrong with those
things, in themselves. But this man was already rich, in this world (v. 16). Yet he devoted all of his earthly
time to trying to securing his future - in this world. And it turned out to be all the time he had.

Meanwhile, what he didn’t know was that his time on earth was finished; and he had never secured for
himself the one thing he really needed - treasure in heaven. All that he valued would be left behind; and all
that was of eternal value was now beyond his reach - for he had never sought it, while on earth - the only
time, when he could. He was a fool, wasn’t he?
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What if tomorrow never came? What choice would you wish you had made, today? I can tell you this - for
the one who has never chosen to put his faith in Jesus as his Lord, when “tomorrow” arrives - and he is no
longer part of time, on earth, for he has died - that would undoubtedly have been the one choice he wished
he had made.

Therefore, to the Jews, Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness - devote yourself to
it entirely. It’s the single choice they must make today, which would secure all their tomorrows - for
eternity.

Reading: Matthew 7:1-6; Rom 1:16-2:29; 1 Cor 5:9-6:4; Luke 7:36-50; Acts 15:1-29.