Matthew 6 Bible Study: Giving, Prayer, Treasure, and Trust

Matthew 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, found in the middle of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. It covers how to practice faith in secret rather than for applause: giving to those in need, praying, fasting, storing up treasure, and letting go of anxiety about daily needs. People read it because it includes the Lord’s Prayer and because its direct teaching on money, worry, and sincere devotion still speaks clearly to ordinary life.

Matthew 6 Summary

The chapter opens with a warning against doing good deeds to be noticed. Jesus contrasts the showy religion of public display with a quieter devotion that is seen by the Father alone, and he repeats that pattern for giving, praying, and fasting. Then the focus moves to the Lord’s Prayer as a model for speaking with God, followed by the reminder that forgiveness received from God should shape forgiveness given to others.

From there the chapter turns to the heart. Jesus says that where a person’s treasure lies, the heart follows, and that no one can serve both God and money. The final section addresses worry about food, clothing, and tomorrow, pointing to the Father’s care for birds and wildflowers and calling listeners to seek God’s kingdom first. The chapter ends with the sober words that each day has enough trouble of its own.

Background and Setting

The Gospel of Matthew is traditionally attributed to Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, though most scholars treat the author as unnamed and date the Gospel to roughly the 70s to 90s AD. It was written in Greek and was likely aimed at a community of Jewish and Gentile believers who knew the Hebrew Scriptures well. Its teaching is framed as a new and fuller reading of God’s law.

Chapter 6 sits within the Sermon on the Mount, which runs from chapter 5 through chapter 7. Chapter 5 sets out the character of the kingdom, and chapter 6 shows how that kingdom life looks in private worship and daily decisions. The chapter prepares the way for chapter 7, which closes the sermon with warnings about judgment and the call to build on the rock.

Matthew 6 Section by Section

Verses 1-4: Giving Without a Spotlight

1 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, 4 so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:1-4 (WEB)

Jesus begins with a basic test of motive. Acts of mercy are not wrong in themselves, but they can be turned into a performance meant to win admiration. He says that a person who gives this way has already received the only reward they will get. The alternative is to give so quietly that even one’s closest companion would hardly notice.

The picture of a hand that does not tell the other hand is vivid on purpose. It suggests generosity that is so ordinary and unforced that it does not need to be announced. The promised reward comes from the Father who sees what is done in secret, which places the weight of recognition on God rather than on the crowd.

Verses 5-15: Praying as Honest Conversation

5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:5-6 (WEB)

The same concern for sincerity applies to prayer. Jesus contrasts praying to be seen with praying in a private place where the Father is the only audience. He does not forbid public prayer, but he rules out prayer whose real aim is reputation. Prayer is meant to be an actual meeting with God, not a stage.

7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.

Matthew 6:7-8 (WEB)

Jesus then warns against empty, repetitive speech, as though God needed to be persuaded by volume. The reason to pray is not to inform the Father of anything, since he already knows what his children need. Prayer is trust spoken aloud, and it can be simple.

9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’

Matthew 6:9-13 (WEB)

The Lord’s Prayer follows as the model. It begins with the holiness of God’s name, moves to the coming of his kingdom and the doing of his will, and then turns to daily bread, forgiveness, and protection from temptation. Its order teaches that God’s honor comes first and human need is brought to him with confidence.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:14-15 (WEB)

Jesus then explains the prayer’s point on forgiveness. Receiving God’s pardon and extending it to others are linked, so that a heart kept closed toward someone who has wronged us shows that it has not truly grasped what it has been given. This is one of the sharpest sentences in the chapter and is worth reading slowly.

Verses 16-18: Fasting Without a Show

16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; 18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18 (WEB)

Fasting was a common practice of devotion, and Jesus treats it the same way as giving and praying. Those who make their hunger visible to win praise have their reward in full. The one who fasts in private, washing the face and tending to the body as usual, receives a reward from the Father who sees in secret.

The point is not that fasting should be hidden for its own sake, but that it should point toward God rather than toward the admiration of others. Private devotion protects the heart from turning worship into a display.

Verses 19-24: Treasure, Vision, and Divided Loyalty

19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 (WEB)

Here Jesus shifts from actions to desire. Earthly treasure decays and can be taken, while treasure stored in heaven is secure. The sentence about the heart is central: what a person values most gathers their attention and affection, so the question of where to store treasure is really a question of where the heart rests.

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Matthew 6:22-23 (WEB)

The image of the eye as the lamp of the body teaches that a person’s inner outlook shapes everything else. A clear, generous way of seeing fills life with light, while a grasping or envious gaze darkens the whole person. Jesus is describing the inner direction of a life.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.

Matthew 6:24 (WEB)

The chapter ends this section with a choice: no one can serve two masters. Wealth can become a rival lord, demanding loyalty and shaping decisions. The verse does not deny that money is needed, but it insists that God must be the one whom we finally serve.

Verses 25-34: Anxiety, Birds, Lilies, and the Day’s Trouble

25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? 27 “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?

Matthew 6:25-27 (WEB)

Jesus turns to the worry that fills so many days. He points to the birds, who are fed without sowing or storing, and asks whether the listeners are not worth far more. Worry adds nothing to the length of a life, and it steals from the trust that the Father knows his children’s needs.

28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, 29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

Matthew 6:28-30 (WEB)

The wildflowers of the field are given as another lesson. They do not labor for their beauty, yet God clothes them with care. If that is so, the followers of Jesus can trust that their own needs will be met, and the rebuke to “you of little faith” is gentle but firm.

31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

Matthew 6:31-34 (WEB)

The chapter closes with the command to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first. That priority does not promise an absence of hardship, but it reorders the heart so that daily needs are received as gifts. The final line reminds the reader that each day has enough trouble of its own, and that tomorrow can be left in God’s hands.

Key Themes in Matthew 6

• Sincere devotion: Giving, praying, and fasting are meant to be done for the Father who sees, not for the approval of people.
• The Lord’s Prayer: Jesus gives a pattern that places God’s name and kingdom first and then brings daily needs and forgiveness before him.
• Forgiveness: Those who have been forgiven by God are called to forgive others, and the two are closely connected.
• Treasure and the heart: What we value most shapes our desires, so storing up treasure in heaven matters more than accumulating earthly wealth.
• Trust over anxiety: The Father who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies knows what his children need and invites them to seek his kingdom first.

Lessons From Matthew 6 for Today

Consider a person who volunteers at a food pantry and feels the pull to mention it in every conversation or on social media. Matthew 6 asks whether the joy of helping is enough, or whether the desire for recognition has crept in. A simple practice is to give or serve without announcing it and to thank God quietly for the chance to help.

Think of someone lying awake over a bill, a job, or a child’s health, running through every possible outcome. Jesus does not dismiss the concern, but he asks the worrier to bring the need to the Father and to focus on the day in front of them. Writing the day’s most pressing task on paper and handing the rest to God can be a concrete way to live this out.

Questions for Reflection

• Where in your life might you be doing good in order to be seen, and how could you practice it more quietly this week?
• What does your prayer life look like when no one else is watching, and what would change if you spent more time in that private place?
• Is there a person you are still holding back from forgiving, and what would it cost to release that debt?
• What do your calendar and bank statement suggest that you treasure most, and does that match what you say matters?
• Which worry is taking up the most space in your mind right now, and what would it look like to hand it to the Father today?

A Prayer From Matthew 6

Father in heaven, you see what no one else sees, and you know the needs I have not yet spoken. Teach me to give, pray, and fast for your eyes alone, and free me from the hunger for applause. Shape my heart around the treasure that lasts, and gently loosen my grip on the things that cannot follow me. Help me forgive others as I have been forgiven, and quiet the worry that tells me you have forgotten me. Let your kingdom come in my home, my work, and my worries today. Amen.

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