The Sermon On The Mount Pt.5:Seek Ye First...
This week, we'll continue looking at the sermon on the mount, and pick it up at Matthew 6:25-34, and this week we'll pay particular attention to the teachings of Jesus as they relate to the problems of worry and doubt, and how to counteract their crippling effects on our life...
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
In verse 25, Jesus begins to lay out His case against the cares and worries of this present world taking over our minds. He uses the phrase "take no thought" three separate times in this section of the sermon, and it simply means that we are not to devote any of our conscious energies to these things. In the original Greek text, the phrase "take no thought" is translated "me merimnate", literally, "Be not in care", and so, in other words, these are not issues that we are to become preoccupied with or anxious about. We are not to allow them to become our focus. In other words, a mind that is content in the knowledge that God will provide is a mind that will not become disquieted about these worldly things.
Jesus tells us in verse 26 to behold the birds, to take note of the fact that although they put forth no effort to sow, or to reap, to gather, or to store, that God in his infinite mercy makes sure that they have food to eat. Jesus then asks the question, "Are ye not much better than they?", and of course, we know that we are of much greater value to God than the birds, as Jesus tells us in Luke 12:7..."even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." But, do we have as much faith in God's provision as the birds do? They never seem to be worried about where their next meal will come from, and it would seem, although they may be simple in nature, that they have an underlying faith, and perhaps, we can all learn a valuable lesson from them. Just as we are told to "behold" the birds in the previous verses, we are told to "consider" the lilies of the field in verse 28, and the fact that, like the birds, they toil not, but Jesus goes on to say "that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Verse 30 tells us that, if God so clothe the grass of the field, that is here today, and tomorrow is burned in the oven, why would He not therefore clothe us? As beautifully arrayed as the lilies are, surpassing all artificial human grandeur, they are but temporary. Will God's own dear children, whose souls are eternal, then be left destitute or naked? Certainly not.
Verses 31 and 32 reiterate the command of Jesus that we "take no thought", wondering what we shall eat, or drink, or be clothed with, because we are told that these temporal things are what the Gentiles seek after. The Gentiles, as pagans and idol worshipers, only sought after those things that fulfilled their momentary, fleshly desires. Jesus here elevates his disciples up above these worldly concerns, and comforts us by making sure that we are aware that "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Such a blessed assurance is imparted as Jesus ensures us that God is aware of our needs, and that He will provide for us.
And so, we come to the main point of this section of the sermon, and, arguably, the main point of the entire sermon on the mount, as Jesus sums up all these thoughts in a beautiful way..."But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." A simple statement, but so far reaching and comprehensive in nature at the same time. Earlier Jesus told us that we were to "take no thought" about where our food, or shelter, or clothing, would come from, and here, He gives practical application of this lesson, namely, if we will first seek to be pleasing to God, and seek for His righteousness, all these temporal things will be given to us. Perhaps not in abundance, but wealth is not what we were promised, provision is what we were promised. We are told in Hebrews 13:5 to..."be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And this needs to be enough for us, to know that we are loved and cared for. How much our outlook, and our life in general, would be changed if we could only take this great truth to heart, and know that the best way to be comfortably provided for in this life is to keep our focus on eternal life. If we could shift our focus from the "work to pay bills, and work to buy food" mentality, to an "I am loved, and I am provided for by God" mindset, the stresses of our day to day lives would lose their power over us. They would then have no way of causing any further turmoil in our minds. How freeing it is to simply rest in the provision of the Lord!
We close out the chapter with verse 34..."Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Just as surely as each day brings with it its own particular set of challenges and problems, it is self defeating for us to be anxious, or worried, about tomorrow, as this will only serve to add to our troubles. We must understand that the devil is indeed very real, and the more that we seek to live a life that is pleasing to God, the more the devil will seek to tear us down. We will be faced with heartache, temptation, and stress, but let us never forget that we have in Jesus an ally who can never be defeated. He has given us His word that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. Let us then be ever mindful of His provision and His love, and let us lean on Him for strength in times of trouble. Led by His Spirit, and strengthened by His mighty hand, may we go forth with a renewed sense of confidence in His unfailing love for us!
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
In verse 25, Jesus begins to lay out His case against the cares and worries of this present world taking over our minds. He uses the phrase "take no thought" three separate times in this section of the sermon, and it simply means that we are not to devote any of our conscious energies to these things. In the original Greek text, the phrase "take no thought" is translated "me merimnate", literally, "Be not in care", and so, in other words, these are not issues that we are to become preoccupied with or anxious about. We are not to allow them to become our focus. In other words, a mind that is content in the knowledge that God will provide is a mind that will not become disquieted about these worldly things.
Jesus tells us in verse 26 to behold the birds, to take note of the fact that although they put forth no effort to sow, or to reap, to gather, or to store, that God in his infinite mercy makes sure that they have food to eat. Jesus then asks the question, "Are ye not much better than they?", and of course, we know that we are of much greater value to God than the birds, as Jesus tells us in Luke 12:7..."even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." But, do we have as much faith in God's provision as the birds do? They never seem to be worried about where their next meal will come from, and it would seem, although they may be simple in nature, that they have an underlying faith, and perhaps, we can all learn a valuable lesson from them. Just as we are told to "behold" the birds in the previous verses, we are told to "consider" the lilies of the field in verse 28, and the fact that, like the birds, they toil not, but Jesus goes on to say "that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Verse 30 tells us that, if God so clothe the grass of the field, that is here today, and tomorrow is burned in the oven, why would He not therefore clothe us? As beautifully arrayed as the lilies are, surpassing all artificial human grandeur, they are but temporary. Will God's own dear children, whose souls are eternal, then be left destitute or naked? Certainly not.
Verses 31 and 32 reiterate the command of Jesus that we "take no thought", wondering what we shall eat, or drink, or be clothed with, because we are told that these temporal things are what the Gentiles seek after. The Gentiles, as pagans and idol worshipers, only sought after those things that fulfilled their momentary, fleshly desires. Jesus here elevates his disciples up above these worldly concerns, and comforts us by making sure that we are aware that "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Such a blessed assurance is imparted as Jesus ensures us that God is aware of our needs, and that He will provide for us.
And so, we come to the main point of this section of the sermon, and, arguably, the main point of the entire sermon on the mount, as Jesus sums up all these thoughts in a beautiful way..."But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." A simple statement, but so far reaching and comprehensive in nature at the same time. Earlier Jesus told us that we were to "take no thought" about where our food, or shelter, or clothing, would come from, and here, He gives practical application of this lesson, namely, if we will first seek to be pleasing to God, and seek for His righteousness, all these temporal things will be given to us. Perhaps not in abundance, but wealth is not what we were promised, provision is what we were promised. We are told in Hebrews 13:5 to..."be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And this needs to be enough for us, to know that we are loved and cared for. How much our outlook, and our life in general, would be changed if we could only take this great truth to heart, and know that the best way to be comfortably provided for in this life is to keep our focus on eternal life. If we could shift our focus from the "work to pay bills, and work to buy food" mentality, to an "I am loved, and I am provided for by God" mindset, the stresses of our day to day lives would lose their power over us. They would then have no way of causing any further turmoil in our minds. How freeing it is to simply rest in the provision of the Lord!
We close out the chapter with verse 34..."Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Just as surely as each day brings with it its own particular set of challenges and problems, it is self defeating for us to be anxious, or worried, about tomorrow, as this will only serve to add to our troubles. We must understand that the devil is indeed very real, and the more that we seek to live a life that is pleasing to God, the more the devil will seek to tear us down. We will be faced with heartache, temptation, and stress, but let us never forget that we have in Jesus an ally who can never be defeated. He has given us His word that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. Let us then be ever mindful of His provision and His love, and let us lean on Him for strength in times of trouble. Led by His Spirit, and strengthened by His mighty hand, may we go forth with a renewed sense of confidence in His unfailing love for us!
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