Matthew 6:1

My Notes

What Does Matthew 6:1 Mean?

Matthew 6:1 opens the central section of the Sermon on the Mount — Jesus's teaching on the three pillars of Jewish piety: almsgiving (v. 2-4), prayer (v. 5-15), and fasting (v. 16-18). This verse provides the governing principle for all three.

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men" — the marginal note reveals a textual variant: some manuscripts read "righteousness" (Greek dikaiosynēn) rather than "alms" (Greek eleēmosynēn). "Righteousness" is likely the original reading, making this a general principle about all acts of piety, not just charitable giving. The Greek prosechete (take heed, beware, pay attention) is a warning — this is a real danger, not a theoretical one.

"To be seen of them" — the Greek pros to theathēnai autois (for the purpose of being observed by them) uses theaomai, the root of "theater." The danger is turning acts of devotion into performances. The audience changes the nature of the act. The same prayer prayed to be seen by people and prayed to be heard by God is, in Jesus's framework, two fundamentally different activities.

"Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven" — the Greek misthos (reward, payment, wages) from the Father is forfeited when human approval becomes the goal. Jesus isn't against rewards — He mentions them repeatedly. He's against misidentifying the audience. When you perform for people, people's approval is your entire compensation. It's paid in full. There is nothing left from the Father.

The principle is stark: every act of devotion has an audience, and the audience determines the reward. Pray for people to see, and their admiration is your payment — full and final. Pray for God to hear, and His response is your payment. You choose your audience. You receive accordingly.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Jesus says performing devotion for a human audience means you've already received your full reward. Where in your spiritual life might you be unconsciously performing for people rather than for God?
• 2.The Greek root of 'to be seen' is the word for theater. What spiritual 'performances' do you put on — and what would it look like to stop?
• 3.Jesus isn't against rewards — He promises them from the Father. How does the distinction between human approval and divine reward reshape how you approach giving, prayer, or fasting?
• 4.The instruction is to do devotion 'in secret.' What feels different about practicing your faith when no one is watching? Is it harder or easier — and what does that reveal?

Devotional

Every act of devotion is a performance. The question is: who's in the audience?

Jesus says it that directly. When you give, pray, or fast to be seen by people, you've already received your reward. The admiration of the crowd — the reputation, the recognition, the nod of spiritual approval — that's your payment. All of it. In full. And there's nothing left from the Father.

The Greek word for "to be seen" is the root of our word "theater." Jesus is naming what most of us do instinctively: we turn our spiritual practices into performances. We pray a little louder when someone might hear. We mention our giving in ways that happen to let people know. We signal our fasting with just enough visible suffering to communicate devotion without saying it outright.

Jesus doesn't say these performances are hypocritical because the people doing them are consciously faking. He says they're hypocritical because the audience has been switched. You started with God and ended up performing for people. The act looks the same from the outside. But the interior has been rerouted, and the reward goes to whoever was actually watching.

This verse recalibrates every spiritual habit. Before you pray, give, fast, serve, or worship, ask: who am I doing this for? If the honest answer is "partly for God and partly because I want people to see" — that's the part Jesus is warning about. The partly-for-people percentage is paid in full by people's response. The Father pays only for what was aimed at Him.

The discipline this verse demands isn't doing less. It's doing the same things with a different audience. Secretly. Quietly. For the Father who sees in secret. And who pays accordingly.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture