Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus then shared about “murder, adultery and swearing” as He told His disciples, “Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.” Jesus went on to say, “You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow of you turn not you away. You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? do not even the publicans so. Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”, and in chapter six and verse one of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples, “Take heed that you do not your alms before men” where we read:
Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:
otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
The verse reads, “Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:” Matthew began with the words, “take heed” which means “attend to one's self, give attention to, hold and cleave to a person or a thing” “that you do not your alms” which means “do not produce, make ready, prepare and render the disciples' mercy, pity, charity and benefaction” “before men” which refers to “in front of and in the presence of people whether male or female”, “to be seen” or “to be beheld, looked upon, viewed attentively and contemplated” “of them” which means “by the people whether male or female”. Jesus instructed His disciples not to “give” in a manner that other people see them.
The verse goes on to say, “otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew added the word, “otherwise” which means “whether or in no way or not at all” “you have no reward” or “the disciples do not have wages, hire or fruit” “of your Father” which means “belonging to the disciples' progenitor and originator who is God” “which is in heaven” or “that is in the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”. The reason the disciples were to “give in secret” was because there would be “no reward” from God in Heaven if they “gave” to be seen by men.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see the “eternal benefit” to “giving” in a way that others do not see it. God is watching when we “give”, and if we bestow gifts upon others only to be known for doing so, God withholds His “reward”. God desires a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and as we consider Jesus' words in this verse, let us examine our hearts and discover why we “give” in the manner we do.
Next time we begin a new chapter and see Jesus tell His disciples, “when you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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