Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, and about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?
27 And which of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure [cubit] to his stature or to the life span of his life?
28 And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
29 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you men with little faith?
31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek after all these things; and your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.
33 But seek for (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom, and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right], and then all those these things taken together will be given you besides.
34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient. for each day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34). [Amplified Bible].
Uncompromised Trust (6:25-34).
25 "Therefore," in light of the alternatives set out (vv.19-24), Jesus instructs his disciples not to worry about the physical necessities, let alone the luxuries implied in the preceding verses. Far too often our entire existence focuses on such things. The argument goes from the greater to the lesser: God has given us life and a body, both admittedly more important than food and clothing, will he not also give us the latter?
26 To worry about food and drink is to have learned nothing from the natural creation, which testifies to God's providence. The point is not that the disciples need not work-birds do not simply wait for God to drop food into their beaks-but that they need not fret. They may further strengthen their faith by remembering that God is in a special sense their Father and that they are worth far more than birds ("you" is emphatic). Here the argument is from the lesser to the greater.
27 Worry is more likely to shorten life than to prolong it, and ultimately such matters are in God's hands (cf. Luke 12:13-21). To trust him should be enough.
28-30 "Lilies of the field" (v.28) may be any of the wild flowers so abundant in Galilee. Jesus' point is a little different from the first illustration about birds: flowers neither toil nor spin. The point is not that Jesus' disciples may opt for laziness but that God's providence and care are so rich that He clothes the grass with wild flowers that are neither productive nor enduring. Even Solomon, the richest and most extravagant of Israel's monarchs, was not arrayed like one of these fields. Jesus closes with the thought that the root of anxiety is unbelief.
31-32 In the light of God's bountiful care, the questions posed in v.31 are unanswerable. Worse, they are essentially pagan. Jesus' disciples must live lives qualitatively different from those of people who have no trust in God's fatherly care and no fundamental goals beyond material things.
33 In view of vv.31-32, this verse makes it clear that Jesus' disciples are not simply to refrain from pursuing temporal things as their primary goal in order to differentiate themselves from pagans. Instead, they are to replace such pursuits with goals of far greater significance. To "seek first [God's] kingdom" (see Matthew 3:2, 4:17) is to desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God. It is to pursue the things already prayed for in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10).
To Seek God's "righteousness" is not, in this context, to seek justification; rather, it is to pursue righteousness of life in full submission to the will of God, as prescribed by Jesus throughout this discourse (see Matthew 6:1). for any other concern to dominate one's mind is to stoop to pagan fretting. Within such framework of commitment, Jesus's disciples are assured that all the necessary things will be given them by their heavenly Father.
34 Worry over tomorrow's misfortunes is nonsensical, because today has enough to occupy our attention and because tomorrow's feared misfortunes may never happen. Furthermore, today's grace is sufficient only for today and should not be wasted on tomorrow. If tomorrow does bring new trouble, there will be new grace to meet it.
[NIV BIBL COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].
[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com]
JESUS IS LORD.
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?
27 And which of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure [cubit] to his stature or to the life span of his life?
28 And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
29 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you men with little faith?
31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek after all these things; and your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.
33 But seek for (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom, and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right], and then all those these things taken together will be given you besides.
34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient. for each day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34). [Amplified Bible].
Uncompromised Trust (6:25-34).
25 "Therefore," in light of the alternatives set out (vv.19-24), Jesus instructs his disciples not to worry about the physical necessities, let alone the luxuries implied in the preceding verses. Far too often our entire existence focuses on such things. The argument goes from the greater to the lesser: God has given us life and a body, both admittedly more important than food and clothing, will he not also give us the latter?
26 To worry about food and drink is to have learned nothing from the natural creation, which testifies to God's providence. The point is not that the disciples need not work-birds do not simply wait for God to drop food into their beaks-but that they need not fret. They may further strengthen their faith by remembering that God is in a special sense their Father and that they are worth far more than birds ("you" is emphatic). Here the argument is from the lesser to the greater.
27 Worry is more likely to shorten life than to prolong it, and ultimately such matters are in God's hands (cf. Luke 12:13-21). To trust him should be enough.
28-30 "Lilies of the field" (v.28) may be any of the wild flowers so abundant in Galilee. Jesus' point is a little different from the first illustration about birds: flowers neither toil nor spin. The point is not that Jesus' disciples may opt for laziness but that God's providence and care are so rich that He clothes the grass with wild flowers that are neither productive nor enduring. Even Solomon, the richest and most extravagant of Israel's monarchs, was not arrayed like one of these fields. Jesus closes with the thought that the root of anxiety is unbelief.
31-32 In the light of God's bountiful care, the questions posed in v.31 are unanswerable. Worse, they are essentially pagan. Jesus' disciples must live lives qualitatively different from those of people who have no trust in God's fatherly care and no fundamental goals beyond material things.
33 In view of vv.31-32, this verse makes it clear that Jesus' disciples are not simply to refrain from pursuing temporal things as their primary goal in order to differentiate themselves from pagans. Instead, they are to replace such pursuits with goals of far greater significance. To "seek first [God's] kingdom" (see Matthew 3:2, 4:17) is to desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God. It is to pursue the things already prayed for in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10).
To Seek God's "righteousness" is not, in this context, to seek justification; rather, it is to pursue righteousness of life in full submission to the will of God, as prescribed by Jesus throughout this discourse (see Matthew 6:1). for any other concern to dominate one's mind is to stoop to pagan fretting. Within such framework of commitment, Jesus's disciples are assured that all the necessary things will be given them by their heavenly Father.
34 Worry over tomorrow's misfortunes is nonsensical, because today has enough to occupy our attention and because tomorrow's feared misfortunes may never happen. Furthermore, today's grace is sufficient only for today and should not be wasted on tomorrow. If tomorrow does bring new trouble, there will be new grace to meet it.
[NIV BIBL COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].
[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com]
JESUS IS LORD.
Thank you so much I am wild awake looking for Gods guidance and I came across your text message that had this post. God Bless you and continue to spread his words in love
ReplyDeleteDonna
Amen! Praise God! You're welcome Donna. I hope and pray that you were and are encouraged by the Word of God and the video. Thank you for your encouragement. May God continue to bless and keep you in His loving care always. JESUS IS LORD.
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