Jesus calls us to live a kind of life that is different from what the typical person of the world exhibits. It is a life from a different origin, based on a different foundation, activated by different motives, and having a different goal than the lives of people who have no interest in Jesus. When someone accepts the Gospel and surrenders himself to Jesus' lordship, these differences must become so obvious that they distinguish him in any group. In the sixth chapter of Matthew it is noteworthy that Jesus is stressing this essential feature of His impact on the lives of His disciples.
First (v.2), He urges His disciples not to give alms "as the hypocrites do." Whereas they distribute aid to the poor to win public recognition and plaudits, Jesus requires Christians to help others in God's name and unto God's glory because they love God and His unfortunate creatures. Then (v.5) He teaches His followers not to pray "like the hypocrites." Their corrupt attitudes shape their praying to have its impact upon people who will respond with praise. In contrast, Christians are to direct their prayers unto God alone with no view toward what men will think of how or what they utter.
Again in reference to prayer (v.7), Jesus instructs His disciples not to pray "as the Gentiles do" who "heap up empty phrases." They engage in lengthy prayers filled with formulaic expressions designed to gain God's attention. To the contrary, Jesus' disciples must be simple and direct in their appeals to the Father, since He already "knows what you need before you ask Him." God is attracted to our humility, sincerity, and abiding trust in Him far more than to the length and eloquence of our prayers.
In the matter of fasting (vs. 16-18), again Jesus urges His devotees to be not "like the hypocrites." Rather than put on a show to attract admiring attention, the Christian who desires to fast must give no outward indication of it, except to God.
In the balance of the chapter (vs. 19-34) Jesus draws an extended contrast between the common lust for material wealth and the Christian's higher esteem for the real wealth that is beyond the reach of thieves, the canker of rust, and the destruction of moths. Or to express it somewhat otherwise, He distinguishes between the universal human trust in material things and the Christian's exceptional confidence in the personal care that his heavenly Father manifests in his daily experience. That this contrast in the human response to the physical world is really what Jesus has in mind is evident in His parenthesis (v.32), "For the Gentiles seek after all these things."
The case rests here in Matthew 6 that Jesus intends to build individuals who submit their lives to Him as people who are very different from the mass of unyielding humanity about them. The object is not to produce the external oddity that misguided religionists have adopted to promote and perhaps maintain their distinction. It is rather to attain a uniqueness based on internal, intrinsic traits that emanate from the deepest recesses of the soul and mold quality personalities.
This acute distinction, however, must not breed arrogance, pride, or self-righteousness within Christians. In fact, freedom from such base dispositions is an integral part of the unusual difference of the Christian life, for another major emphasis of Jesus in this chapter is unfeigned humility. It is human to take pride in one's achievements, to elevate one's self by his successes above those who accomplish less. But it is Christian (as opposed to just "human") to do good for God's sake, devoting all praise and glory with sincere humility to the Father.Those who have not seen the vision of the Christian character that Jesus projects in this chapter do not yet know what Christianity is all about.
