[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 7 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
16 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.
In this central section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses three traditional acts of religious piety: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Mt 6:1-18). In a post-70AD setting—after the destruction of the Temple—these acts could still be practiced without temple sacrifices, which helps explain why Matthew gives them such attention. Matthew’s rhetoric can use exaggeration and sharp contrasts in order to form disciples’ behavior; it can be misunderstood if read as a straightforward portrait of whole groups and their motivations.
Jesus states the governing principle at the start: “take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them” (Mt 6:1). That line has a real tension with Mt 5:16, where good works are to be visible so that those who see them may give glory to the Father. The issue here is not whether good can ever be noticed. The issue is intention. When religious devotion is performed for the purpose of being seen, the act is redirected away from God and toward human approval. Scripture repeatedly warns against this kind of “fear of others” that displaces fear of the Lord (cf. Prov 29:25).
Jesus begins with almsgiving. Giving to the poor was firmly embedded in Israel’s faithful piety (cf. Deut 15:11; Tob 12:9). Jesus’ warning—“do not blow a trumpet before you”—may be a metaphor for ostentatious giving, or it may allude to trumpet-shaped receptacles in the Temple treasury that would sound when coins were thrown in. Either way, the point is the same: public display becomes the aim, and “reward” is reduced to human praise (Mt 6:2). Jesus calls such performers “hypocrites,” a term rooted in the idea of an actor—someone presenting a face or mask to the world. His countermeasure is deliberate secrecy: “do not let your left hand know what your right is doing” (Mt 6:3). The giving is directed to God alone, who “sees in secret” (Mt 6:4), and this fits the biblical pattern that the Lord looks beyond outward appearance to the heart (cf. 1 Sam 16:7).
Jesus then turns to prayer. The concern is not public prayer as such—Scripture assumes corporate worship and prayer together (cf. Acts 2:42; 1 Tim 2:1-2). The concern is prayer as display: those who “love to stand and pray” where they can be seen (Mt 6:5). Jesus prescribes a hiddenness that protects sincerity: “go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret” (Mt 6:6). This also protects prayer from becoming a tool for self-presentation.
Jesus adds a second warning: “do not babble like the pagans” who think they will be heard because of “many words” (Mt 6:7). Pagan prayer can be viewed as an attempt to move an ill-disposed—or at best neutral—deity into a favorable attitude. Jesus contrasts that with the disciple’s vision of God: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6:8). This aligns with broader biblical teaching that God’s fatherly knowledge and care precede our speech (cf. Ps 139:1-4; Isa 65:24). The point is not to manipulate God by volume, repetition, or length, but to approach Him with simplicity, humility, and sincerity, trusting His generous readiness to give what is good (cf. Jas 1:17).
Finally, Jesus returns to fasting. In Israel, fasting was a familiar religious practice, often linked with mourning or communal repentance (cf. 1 Sam 7:6; Neh 1:4), though the Law required it in a prescribed way on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:31). Many practiced it more frequently in later Jewish life. In the Gospels, fasting appears in more than one setting. Jesus says his disciples do not fast while the bridegroom is with them, but they will fast afterward (Mt 9:14-15; cf. Mk 2:18-20; Lk 5:33-35). Yet Jesus himself fasts (Mt 4:1-2), and he teaches fasting as a normal practice of discipleship: “When you fast…” (Mt 6:16-18). After Easter, the Church is also shown fasting as part of its common life and decision-making (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23).
The problem here, again, is performance. Jesus warns against looking gloomy “so that they may appear to others to be fasting” (Mt 6:16). The external display becomes the point. His remedy is secrecy and an ordinary appearance: “anoint your head and wash your face” (Mt 6:17), with anointing suggesting joy rather than mourning (cf. Ps 104:15). The fast is directed “to your Father who is hidden” (Mt 6:18), not turned into a public signal.
Across all three practices, Jesus is forming a single habit of life: acts directed to God should stay directed to God. The Father who sees what is hidden is not portrayed as a surveillance figure, but as the true Father in heaven, before whom disciples live a filial relationship. That is why the passage’s language about being “repaid” should not be reduced to earning points. It echoes the deeper biblical theme that what is hidden now will one day be made manifest by God in His own order and time (cf. Lk 12:2-3).
Lord, give me a sincere heart before You. Teach me to give, to pray, and to fast with a quiet fidelity that seeks Your will, not human notice. Amen.
___________________
Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Mt 6:1-8; 16-18.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, Matthew, pp. 17-18.
- New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), Matthew, pp. 644-645, para. 37, 38, 40.
- Navarre Bible: St. Matthew’s Gospel, pp. 65-66.
- Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), Matthew, p. 922.
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century (2020), Matthew, pp. 1184-1185.
Comments