Matthew 6:2
Progressive Relationship Required Donations Matthew 6:1-4 4 | Trumpet Blowers | Matthew 6:2 “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). “Therefore” is the opening word of our verse. It is a translation of the Greek word “oun.” “Oun” indicates that we are to see what Jesus said as an application of the proposition present in the opening statement (Matthew 6:1). The heart of God sources all expressions of righteousness, a direct re-emphasis of the Sermon on the Mount’s premise. The Kingdom person is a merger with the Divine person. My helpless nature unites with His Divine nature to form a new creature. There is no expression of self-centeredness within this merger. The righteousness demonstrated is sourced by the character of God. Anyone not merged with the Spirit of Jesus will accomplish acts of righteousness in the spirit of self-acknowledgment. When self is recognized, that pays the righteousness deed in full. There is nothing beyond this payment. The first righteousness deed to be discussed is “a charitable deed.” In the proposition (Matthew 6:1), Matthew uses the Greek word “dikaiosyne,” the Greek term for “righteousness.” Now in our passage, he uses two Greek words, “poieo eleemosyne.” This phrase translated “do almsgiving” is technical in the New Testament language and expresses that almsgiving is first or high priority as a ritual required by the Torah. It is not merely a social obligation but directly connects to God’s desires, an expression of righteousness. Therefore, to the Jews, almsgiving was the most sacred of all religious duties. The Jews used the same Hebrew word (tzedakah) for righteousness and almsgiving and considered “giving alms” and “righteousness” as the same. To give alms was to gain merit in the sight of God and even facilitated the forgiveness of past sins. The Jewish community did not have social security or welfare. Caring for the needy and poor was not the responsibility of government or church organizations but individual citizens. When harvesting, they were not to gather the field’s edge or return to the area for what they missed (Leviticus 19:9-11), leaving that for the needy and poor. In the Old Testament, God is the protector of the poor (Psalms 12:5). God has always delighted in acts of mercy and generosity. “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you” (Lev. 25:35). God’s people were continually reminded in the Psalms, Proverbs, and prophetic writings to be considerate of and generous to the poor, whether fellow Israelites or Gentile strangers. Jehovah God was very specific in His instructions about caring for the poor and needy. There was never to be a poor or needy brother within Israel’s territory that the people did not provide with what he needed. God based His command on the fact that the Israelites were in poverty without land, and He provided for them. They, in turn, were “not to harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother” (Deuteronomy 15:7). God recognized that “the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land'” (Deuteronomy 15:11). Since this has such a high priority in the heart of the Trinity God, it is natural that it would be first in the list of righteous deeds. While this may be understandable in the Old Covenant, what is its place in the new level of the New Covenant. Jesus just finished giving six illustrations that elevated righteousness far beyond the requirements the Jews had ever considered. What will He do with the righteous deeds of almsgiving? Presumption “when you do” Jesus did not intend that His discussion of righteous deeds discourage anyone from doing them. He did not give a negative statement about the activity but focused on the proper motive. Jesus assumed the Kingdom person would do charitable deeds. He does not introduce this passage with “if” but “when,” indicating it is something He expects us to do. Jesus is not a motivational speaker trying to increase the activity of almsgiving. It is significant that “you do your charitable deed” is a translation of two Greek words, “poieo eleemosyne.” “Poieo,” translated “do,” is contrasted with “prasso.” “Poieo” is used consistently in connection with trees “bearing” fruit. The focus of the “doing” action is on the action’s motivation or cause, coming from the actor’s nature. “Prasso” is routine or an action flowing from duty or necessity. It is the difference between the artist painting a masterpiece and a barn painter. The Kingdom person will undoubtedly do charitable deeds because God’s nature possesses him. Now we return to the premise of the Sermon on the Mount. We must see Jesus’ sermon in light of the premise. We are helpless, “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). In this state of total inability, the Father fills us with the comfort (Spirit of God) of Himself (Matthew 5:4). When who I am and who He is merges, He creates a new creature. This new entity becomes an expression of God’s nature and character. The helplessness of humanity becomes the platform for the expression of the heart of God. God’s heart is never selfish; He never focuses on Himself. He approaches every situation with the driving desire to help. He always operates within the boundaries of the cross style. Jesus assumes that such a person will not need a lecture about the necessity of charitable deeds. God does not need to legislate the righteous act of caring for others. No one needs to keep account of how much and how many. There is no competition with others in giving more or servicing better. It is merely a spontaneous action flowing forth from the individual’s inner heart merged with the Spirit of Jesus. We do not need “pep talks;” we need a merger. We do not need additional rules; we need God to fill us with His heart! Jesus proposed the merger at the beginning and the end of His ministry. Matthew presented the final words of Jesus on this earth in “The Great Commission.” Determined by prior appointment, Jesus met His disciples at the base of the mountain in Galilee. He declared Himself as One who had been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Based upon this authority, He commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). In this statement, “Go” is not a command. “Make disciples” is in the imperative mood and is Jesus’ command. We are to simply assume that when we merge with God’s nature, we will go! When we are in the merger, His urging us to “go” is not necessary. However, since we are going, we need instruction. It is the picture of a person who rushes out the door, hurries on their way with Jesus yelling instruction as they “go.” You and I must not judge our Christian condition by righteous activities accomplished. Do not fall into the trap of comparing yourself with others. The passion within us determines our spiritual temperature. Do we think like Jesus? Does His heartbeat within us? Are our righteous deeds an expression of His passion because we have merged with Him? When we do a charitable deed, is it accompanied by the flowing love of the Father? Does the individual receiving the charity receive more than an object or gift? Do they experience the heart of God? Perspective “may have glory” While the passage assumes you and I will continue with charitable deeds as a high priority to accomplish righteousness deeds, now Jesus wants to instruct us. We must not view charitable deeds from the perspective of man but of God! Jesus said that the hypocrites do charitable deeds “that they may have glory from men.” The Greek word translated “glory” is “doxazo,” sometimes translated as “praise” or “honor.” The undercurrent of the word’s meaning must always be present in every translation. This essential meaning is “perspective.” What does a person think is worthy of praise? Their perspective determines it. What one person may praise another may think is ridiculous. Praise comes from the value system or inner heart of the individual. The same is true with “honor.” What does a person honor as valuable and meaningful? Their “perspective” determines it. Man’s perspective of man must not determine our charitable deeds. If we do so, we will only do deeds held as valuable and essential in man’s eyes and not God’s. It becomes very apparent in the Scriptures that what man thinks is worthwhile does not correspond with the value system of God’s heart. Man honors those things which have little or no honor from God. Jesus highlighted this in a heated debate with the leaders of Israel. He reminded them that He came in the name of the Father, and they did not honor Him. Others came in their name, and all honored them. “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God” (John 5:44)? Jesus accused them of having a closed group that established their values. They honored their traditions, but they did not receive Him when He did not embrace those traditions—their value system was determined by their perspective. In the closing week of Jesus’ life, He gathered with His disciples in Jerusalem. After a long debate with the leaders of Israel, Jesus intended to leave. The disciples began to act as agents for the chamber of commerce. They pointed to all the buildings in Jerusalem with great praise and honor. The temple was their spiritual security. They knew the presence of God was with them because of the temple. From their perspective, their temple became the essence of their security. Jesus marveled at them and said, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 2″:2). Their perspective was wrong; therefore, they honored the wrong thing. What would they do when there was no temple? Had they limited the presence of God to a building? At the same time, Jesus insisted His disciples come with Him. He took them back in the shadows of the temple. He told them something significant was about to take place. At that moment, a poor widow came slowly into the temple area. She was watching to see if anyone was paying attention to her. Quietly she slipped up to the offering box and gave two mites. As quickly and quietly as she came in, she then left. Jesus could not praise her enough, expressing to the disciples how great her gift was. But the disciples were not impressed. What impressed them was the rich man whose gift was extravagant. Jesus told them, “Truly I say to you that the poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (John 21:2). What Jesus called “glory” is not the same as the disciples. The issue of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on “perspective.” The Kingdom person has the perspective of God’s heart. This person merged with God’s nature has his helpless nature fused with the Divine. In this intimate unity, the Kingdom person becomes the expression of the Father. What He honors, we honor. We feel as He feels; we desire what He desires; we think as He thinks! We have His perspective. We do not determine our charitable deeds by what will impress others. They are an expression of the sacrificial heart of God indwelling us. What the world applauds as generous is an expression of the self-centered heart. Jesus calls us to a new level, the heart of God. Incredibly, the root word for “charitable deed” (eleemosyne) is “mercy” (eleos). Mercy is the expression of the Trinity God’s nature and heart. Jesus pleaded with the Pharisees, who held so dearly to their oral traditions. He told them what God stated in the Old Testament, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Matthew 12:7). The reference to sacrifice was that established by God Himself. God was not against the sacrificial offerings; He had not changed His mind. But the importance, honor, or value of the sacrifice was the wonder of “mercy.” Any charitable deed accomplished without God’s extended mercy does not receive the glory of God. It is not from His heart! Phony “the hypocrites do” Jesus contrasted the charitable deeds done by a Kingdom person with the charitable deeds done by hypocrites. We must understand this from the perspective of the Sermon on the Mount’s premise. In absolute helplessness, we are unable to accomplish any righteous deed, including a genuinely charitable deed. While we may be able to do the deed’s physical actions, the deed’s essence is missing, the heart of God. The presence of God’s Spirit must permeate the physical activity. It is an expression of His life, which has the texture of His being. When we do the physical activity of a charitable deed without His presence, we are hypocritical. The individual who does a charitable deed may appear to be giving, but without the sourcing of the Spirit of God, he intends to receive. He sounds the trumpet in the synagogues and the streets, for his real intent is to receive the honor, praise, and glory of men. He is a hypocrite, for he appears one way when he is another. He establishes himself on the pedestal of his self-value and calculates how much he will receive. He selects the situation for his charitable deed, where he will receive the greatest applause. He may give from a sense of duty. Driven by this duty, he performs the charitable deed to the maximum of perfection, but the one thing he never gives is himself. He is helpless and cannot risk giving any resources he has. Every deed he performs, he does from the view of “what can I get.” Thus, his actions appear one way but are another, hypocritical. What a phony! Jesus did not isolate this to a donation to the food pantry or a generous gift to compassionate ministries. He intended this in the six illustrations to describe the Kingdom person (Matthew 5:21-48). When someone insults us, how does a Kingdom person respond? They do a charitable deed by using the opportunity as a platform to touch the insulting person with Jesus (Matthew 5:39). When an evil individual wants to take everything another has, how does the Kingdom person respond? They do a charitable deed by giving them Jesus (Matthew 5:40). When someone takes advantage and compels service, how does a Kingdom person respond? They do a charitable deed. They do not just do what is required but extend the opportunity to share the Spirit of Christ (Matthew 5:41). When the needy want something, how does the Kingdom person respond? You do not just give them what they want, but what they need. We cannot do this without the life of God sourcing the deed (Matthew 5:42). If a person does not do this, Jesus says, “They have their reward.” The Greek word “apecho” is translated as “have.” It is a commercial term for receipt in full. The reward, all that we accomplish, is contained within the praise and applause of others. The only deed that has value is the deed flowing from and sourced by the merger of my helplessness and God’s nature. When He is doing something through a helpless individual, redemption flows in and through the deed. Otherwise, we have wasted our time with the righteous deed, destroying ourselves with our hypocrisy. Everything that Jesus does not source, we must consider “sin,” regardless of how good it appears. I must be His, filled with Him, merged with His life, and sourced by His Spirit!