Matthew 6:25-33
25 ‘Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the
air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And
can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And
why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you,
even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore
do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What
will we wear?” 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for
all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew
structures verses 25-33 to highlight the pointlessness of one’s worry and the
provision of God. The construction of almost every phrase lifts up the
comparison between people, “you,” and the object of “your” worry.
I have confession
to make, however. I worry about the passage of time. It seems like it goes so quickly. I am not one to worry about such matters. It
is just another year. Still, I worry. I
worry about how time keeps slipping away.
I worry that life is too busy. Sometimes, it is forced upon me by
circumstances. Sometimes, I keep it that
way intentionally. If I do that, I might
not have to spend time with myself and maybe have to learn or change.
I worry because I want more. It seems like I have so much. I have a beautiful home and family. I have nice cars and a good life. Yet, there is always more I could have, like
more clothes, a better computer, and other electronic gadgets which would make
life more interesting, if not easier.
I worry about our nation. Enough
said on that.
You see how it works? Worry crowds
out all the reasons I could have for praising and giving thanks. I can focus on these kinds of things, and it
will lead me on a downward spiral.
25 "Therefore (“for this
reason” NASB), stressing the
connection this verse and the previous one, stressing that the question of
which master one has will lead to a life of worry. I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing? Followers of Jesus are not to consider the
necessities of life as identical with the purpose of life. This statement
begins to show the re-evaluation of a life serving a different master: not
material goods and money, but God (cf. vv. 19-21). In fact, when I read this
question of Jesus, I hear him telling us to slow down, to not spend so much
time worrying about what we possess, or how well our careers are going, and get
on with what is genuinely important in life. Carl Jung has said that one third
of the people he had as patients had no specific cause of suffering, but rather
experienced something more vague: the senselessness and emptiness of their
lives.[3] Is there more to life than eating, sleeping,
working, raising families, as important as what these are? 26
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Each starved bird seems to refute Jesus. If we add to that the
famines and wars, Jesus seems soundly refuted.[4]
Yet, is this the way to read Jesus here? The notion of Father is important to
Jesus, including here, as God is Father by showing care for the creation,
thereby bringing the Father within the realm of goodness as well. Among the
attributes of divine love is that the goodness of the Father leads to care for
all creatures.[5]
The point of the comparison is simple: If the Father can feed these birds, then
the Father can feed “you.” This argument from a minor point to a major point is
common in Greco-Roman rhetoric, and this part of the Sermon on the Mount will
repeat it (cf. vv. 28, 30, 32). Are you
not of more value than they? This may sound presumptuous or simplistic. One
should read it as neither. It is a way to reinforce this comparison from the
lesser to the greater and to show God’s care for all creatures, humans
included. 27 And can any of
you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?[6]
The point is that one can achieve nothing by worrying. Jesus reiterates
this question of control in the next three comparisons. First, 28 And why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of
these. Thus, God not only provides the minimum for creation, the Father
also can provide more than the wealthiest, most glorified monarch can (cf. I
Kings 10 for descriptions of Solomon’s wealth). Money cannot compete with the
glory of creation, which does not even work (toil or spin) to produce its
beauty; beauty is a gift from God. Jesus uses the hyperbole of the situation,
adding time or height to a person, to show that the control over life, over
food, over clothes and over money that humans think they have is entirely an
illusion (cf. the introduction to this passage in Luke 12:13-21). 30 The second comparison of
these three is intentionally parallel to the first. However, if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow one throws
it into the oven, will God not much
more clothe you? Jesus at least seems to suggest that humanity has only
ethical problems to face and no economic problems. Yet, is that his point? Not
only is nature more beautiful than clothing that money can buy, nature’s beauty
is even fleeting. This produces another argument from the lesser to the greater,
as humans, fortunately, experience greater longevity than the grass of the
field. Therefore, they have no reason to doubt that God will care for them as
well. Even so, the accusation at the end of this verse raises doubts for the
audience --you of little faith (oligopistV). Matthew often uses this phrase
to describe the actions of the disciples. After he calms a storm, Jesus
asked his disciples, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith” (Matthew 8:26)
and continues to describe the doubt or questioning of the disciples in this
manner (cf. 14:31; 16:8). Oligopisto is
where fear and doubt meet faith. The doubts of the disciples and the doubts of
those who heard these words of Jesus may register as fear. After all, the words
of this passage do not make sense on the surface. How can Jesus compare humans
to birds, lilies and grass? If humans did not work, how would they eat, drink
or wear clothes? (6:31; cf. 6:25). Faith as trust in God will not call forth
necessities of life out of thin air, but it will direct us toward a just vision
of life in which we have what we need rather than are being enslaved to needing
what others have. How can Jesus compare humans to birds, lilies and grass? If
humans did not work, how would they eat, drink or wear clothes? However,
throughout the passage, the problem is not with the “property” or “wealth” of
having food and drink to nourish the body or clothing to cover it — but with
the idea of identifying life itself with the necessities of life. Yet people
who mistakenly confuse these necessities of human life with the purposes of
life consume themselves with “worry.” Such worry indicates a deficit of trust
(“you of little faith,”) that God cares for humanity, just as God cares for the
rest of creation — from the “birds of the air” to the “lilies” and “grass of
the field.” So are human beings to adopt the patterns of “the birds of the air”
and no longer “sow nor reap nor gather into barns” and let God feed us like
animals who survive on what they find within their environment? Are we to
“neither toil nor spin” to have clothing and instead adopt the mindlessly
natural state of plants in the field? Of course not. Life is about striving,
about working toward something. The issue, in the end, is: To what are we
devoting our efforts? 31
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or
'What will we wear?' 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all
these things. This statement may have less of a basis in what the Gentiles
actually did with their time and more of a function of what boundaries needed
to be drawn around the community. In order to “serve God” (v. 24), this
community could not seek after the things which would serve Mammon (money)
(v.24).
Most of us have,
at one time or another asked ourselves a dangerous question. A question might come to us while we are
driving home from work, or getting ready for bed, or sending the kids off to
school, or retiring from what has been our job for many years. You may even lead a happy life. Yet, the question still comes to you: "Is this all that there is?" Jesus is asking that type of question here.
In fact, your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. Showing they were also not to become ascetics. The question
is not whether food, drink and clothing are important. The question involves
whom we trust to provide these things. Thus, it involves the question of what
we will need to form our identity, what we will need to integrate into the self
that God wants to form in us. God knows our destiny,
and what we need to fulfill that destiny.[7]
We also learn what the knowledge of God means, speaking here of the divine
presence and knowledge of the needs of the creatures God has made.[8]
If we think of the theological notion of the preservation of creation, we have
here a particularly intensive expression, suggesting that God sees to the
special needs of each creature.[9]
The anxiety
described here fixes on the self and leads to the concern expressed here. Jesus
thus opposes this fixation upon self with concern for the reign of God.[10]
For Jesus the goodness of the Creator and the paternal care of God are an
answer to the human tendency to be anxious.[11]
Based upon these verses, it rules out the possibility of any creature having
less significance for God, as if it could be just a means to the higher ends of
the divine government of the world. Every creature is an end in the work of
creation, and therefore an end for world government as well. The care of God
extends to the relations of the parts to each other.[12]
Jesus addresses
the saying to those who are preoccupied with day to day existence rather than
with political or apocalyptic crises.
Jesus believed that God would provide for human needs. Jesus depicts the providence of God who cares
for all creatures -- birds, lilies, grass, and human beings. Fretting about food and clothing does not
produce food and clothing. Serene
confidence that God will provide undergirds Jesus' lifestyle as an itinerant,
without home or bed, without knowing where the next meal will come from. This complex of sayings is consistent with
other sayings on wealth. Many ancient
sages taught that life consisted of more than eating and clothing.
Let us admit that
one takes a great risk in preaching from this passage. In reality, how can we
help caring for our lives? How can we model ourselves on the birds of the air
and the lilies of the field? How can we seek the first the reign of God and
divine righteousness in the assurance that food, drink, and clothes will be
added to us? How is it all possible?[13]
We can realize the absolute quality and seriousness of the divine command if we
remember the important place that such statements as we find in verse 25 and 32
hold. We are simply not to be anxious or fearful. The anxiety and fear so
strongly forbidden reveal that instead of going forward in confidence and hope,
we have allowed ourselves to have the burden that can slow us down, looking
upon a threat that confronts us, and by the considerations that one lets this
threat obtrude on one. Anxiety is a little fear, while fear is great anxiety.
Anxiety deals with the things of this world that we can more or less envision.
It focuses upon questions we have our future in this life. The anxious person
longs for certainty in a world that will never be such. Anxiety and fear are
the opposite of what the New Testament envisions as freedom. Fear and anxiety
can determine what we do now, and thus, restricts our freedom of action. What
we see in the future means for us that we are free for the present, even while
we can only actually live in the present. It means we are not facing the truly
essential. We have not advanced to that real love. We have permission to act,
rather than hold ourselves in anxiety or fear over future possibilities. We are
not a prisoner or slave to what we envision.[14]
Further, from one perspective, such as advice as we find in verses 25 and 32
undermine the basis of the economy, without even seeking to replace it with
anything else. This advice shakes “the basic pillars of all normal human
activity in relation to the clearest necessities of life.”[15]
The command for Sabbath rest has its basis here. Followers of Jesus are not to
be anxious about life, food, drink, clothing, or the morrow. “Do not be
anxious, do not worry” refers to the distress, burden, or tension that humanity
accepts as inevitable but which one really inflicts upon oneself arbitrarily by
believing that on has to speak the essential and decisive word in this matter
by one’s own achievements in affirmation of one’s existence. One assumes
responsibility to regulate the future envisioned in one’s own work. Yet, the
real Father, by feeding the birds and clothing the lilies of the field, shows
how graciously and mightily the Father cares for each person. This type of
anxiety must cease. Anything done in anxiety is not done right as such.[16]
The Heidelberg Catechism, question 26, says, “In whom I therefore trust, not
doubting but He will care for my every need of body and soul, and turn to good
all the evil that He sends me in this vale of woe, seeing that He can do this
as an almighty God, and therefore will
do it as a faithful Father.”[17]
Our anxiety has no basis, and is empty and futile, because our Father indeed
knows what we need.[18]
This teaching of Jesus is not just a parable or picture of the divine order of
creation. God orders the history of created beings in relation to the history
of the covenant. We have here the true theme of the Christian doctrine of
providence.[19]
33 Nevertheless, strive first for the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. The
“giving” of these things is the same word as the potential “adding” of height
or time to one’s life. Thus, what is impossible for humans in this discussion
can be accomplished by God, who gives “all things.” If we took God as seriously
as Jesus suggests, we would have undivided devotion to the rule of God rather
than undivided devotion to earthly goods.[20]
The type of anxiety about Jesus has concern would see if we took God this
seriously. Soren Kierkegaard tells the story of the candidate to the
ministry. He "first" seeks a
royal position as a pastor, but to get there he must "first" pass
examinations, "first" the candidate's and then the Seminary, then he
must have a wife so he "first" gets engaged and finally, after he
"first" bargained for his salary, stands in the pulpit and preaches
on the text, "Seek 'first' the kingdom of God." The bishop was present and was impressed by
the sound doctrine he proclaimed.
Kierkegaard's comment: "But it did not seem to the Bishop that in
this instance a correspondence between speech and life would be
desirable."[21] Jesus is offering a strong challenge to us.
The liberation that comes in personal history, regardless of meaningful and
powerful, is never the end of the ways of God, for the concern of God is for
the rule of God, which should also be the concern of the Christian.[22]
The summons to subordinate all concerns to seeking the reign of God implies a
conversion to God.[23]
The call of Jesus that we should commit ourselves totally to the rule of God
was the orientation of his ministry.[24]
The uniqueness of the God who comes to rule excludes all competing concerns. If
one is open to this rule, God already comes with this divine rule.[25]
The issue in the end is: Are we, like those still not reconciled with God (the
“Gentiles”), striving for these material things as if they were the sole
purpose of life? Or are we striving “for the kingdom of God and his
righteousness,” a realm of justice in which not only we ourselves but all of
God’s creation is nurtured and sustained? If we take care of all people and all
of creation, “all these things will be given to [us] as well.”
This passage walks a fine line between apathy
and perfectionism, and between living in and out of this world. Instead of
declaring that material goods do not matter, Jesus proclaims that one should
see God, the Master, as the who can provide the “things” that are necessary
(for an extension of this idea, see Matthew 25:31-46, where the focus has shifted
from receiving “things” to giving these “things” to others). Rather than
exhorting people to withdraw from the world as ascetics, God “knows” that these
things are essential for survival, but they are only secondary to seeking God’s
kingdom and righteousness (cf. Matthew 7:7). In this way, Jesus transforms our
vision of both money and God, in order that we, rightly seeing, may rightly
serve.
[1]
Verses 25-33 are from the source Q.
[2] (Ulrich
Luz, Matthew 1-7, 402-403).
[3] (Modern
Man in Search of a Soul)
[4] (Ulrich
Luz, Matthew 1-7, 402-403).
[5]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
I, 259)
[6] As
the NRSV text note says, one can also translate this verse, “Can any of you by
worrying add one cubit to your height?”
[7]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
III, 640)
[8]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol
I, 379)
[9]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 35)
[10]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 249)
[11]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 129)
[12]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 53)
[13]
Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.2 [65.2]
470)
[14]
Barth (Church Dogmatics II.2 [37.3]
597-599)
[15]
Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.2 [64.3]
178)
[16]
Barth (Church Dogmatics III.4 [55.3]
554)
[17]
Barth (Church Dogmatics III.1 [40]
39)
[18]
Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.2 [65.2]
469)
[19] (Church Dogmatics III.3 [48.3] 40)
[20] (Schweizer,
Matthew, 164)
[21] Kierkegaard,
Attack Upon Christendom, 208-209
[22]
Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.6]
654)
[23]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 311)
[24]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 329)
[25]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Vol.
II, 330)
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