Take heed that ye do not your {1} alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no {a} reward of your Father which is in heaven.

(1) Ambition makes alms vain.

(a) This word reward is always taken in the scriptures for a free recompense, and therefore the schoolmen fondly set it to be answerable to a deserving, which they call merit.

People's New Testament

6:1 The Sermon on the Mount (cont'd)

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 6:

The Right and Wrong Way of Righteousness. Charity Not for Show. Our Alms-Giving Not to Be Sounded with a Trumpet. Prayer Not to Be Offered for Public Praise. The Model Prayer. Fasting to Be in Secret. Impossible to Serve God and Mammon. Trust in the Heavenly Father. The First Aim of Life.

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen. The Common Version is wrong in using the word alms, and the Revised Version right, in using righteousness. The Savior condemns ostentatious piety, and then he singles out three illustrations of his meaning. The Christian is not forbidden to practice righteousness before men, but to make it his object to be seen.

Wesley's Notes

6:1 In the foregoing chapter our Lord particularly described the nature of inward holiness. In this he describes that purity of intention without which none of our outward actions are holy. This chapter contains four parts, The right intention and manner of giving alms, ver.1 -
4. The right intention, manner, form, and prerequisites of prayer, ver.5 - 15. The right intention, and manner of fasting, ver.16 - 18. The necessity of a pure intention in all things, unmixed either with the desire of riches, or worldly care, and fear of want, ver.19 - 34. This verse is a general caution against vain glory, in any of our good works: All these are here summed up together, in the comprehensive word righteousness. This general caution our Lord applies in the sequel to the three principal branches of it, relating to our neighbour, ver.2 - 4: to God, ver.5, 6: and to ourselves, ver.16 - 18. To be seen - Barely the being seen, while we are doing any of these things, is a circumstance purely indifferent. But the doing them with this view, to be seen and admired, this is what our Lord condemns.

King James Translators' Notes

alms: or, righteousness

of your: or, with your

Scofield Reference Notes

Margin alms

Or, righteous acts. The word refers to religious externalities. These may be seen of men, but that must not be the motive.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 6

Sermon on the Mount-continued.

Mt 6:1-18. Further Illustration of the Righteousness of the Kingdom-Its Unostentatiousness.

General Caution against Ostentation in Religious Duties (Mt 6:1).

1. Take heed that ye do not your alms-But the true reading seems clearly to be "your righteousness." The external authority for both readings is pretty nearly equal; but internal evidence is decidedly in favor of "righteousness." The subject of the second verse being "almsgiving" that word-so like the other in Greek-might easily be substituted for it by the copyist: whereas the opposite would not be so likely. But it is still more in favor of "righteousness," that if we so read the first verse, it then becomes a general heading for this whole section of the discourse, inculcating unostentatiousness in all deeds of righteousness-Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting being, in that case, but selected examples of this righteousness; whereas, if we read, "Do not your alms," &c., this first verse will have no reference but to that one point. By "righteousness," in this case, we are to understand that same righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, whose leading features-in opposition to traditional perversions of it-it is the great object of this discourse to open up: that righteousness of which the Lord says, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:20). To "do" this righteousness, was an old and well-understood expression. Thus, "Blessed is he that doeth righteousness at all times" (Ps 106:3). It refers to the actings of righteousness in the life-the outgoings of the gracious nature-of which our Lord afterwards said to His disciples, "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples" (Joh 15:8).

before men, to be seen of them-with the view or intention of being beheld of them. See the same expression in Mt 5:28. True, He had required them to let their light so shine before men that they might see their good works, and glorify their Father which is in heaven (Mt 5:16). But this is quite consistent with not making a display of our righteousness for self-glorification. In fact, the doing of the former necessarily implies our not doing the latter.

otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven-When all duty is done to God-as primarily enjoining and finally judging of it-He will take care that it be duly recognized; but when done purely for ostentation, God cannot own it, nor is His judgment of it even thought of-God accepts only what is done to Himself. So much for the general principle. Now follow three illustrations of it.

Almsgiving (Mt 6:2-4).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:1-4 Our Lord next warned against hypocrisy and outward show in religious duties. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving alms. Take heed of it. It is a subtle sin; and vain-glory creeps into what we do, before we are aware. But the duty is not the less necessary and excellent for being abused by hypocrites to serve their pride. The doom Christ passes, at first may seem a promise, but it is their reward; not the reward God promises to those who do good, but the reward hypocrites promise themselves, and a poor reward it is; they did it to be seen of men, and they are seen of men. When we take least notice of our good deeds ourselves, God takes most notice of them. He will reward thee; not as a master who gives his servant what he earns, and no more, but as a Father who gives abundantly to his son that serves him.