Matthew 6:2

“Whenever therefore you do give on behalf of the poor,”

The first example put forward is that of giving alms, that is, that of taking care of the needs of the poor, and of widows and orphans, and of the needy, by giving gifts to be used on their behalf. It was one of the better aspects of Judaism that among the Jews there was a genuine effort made to help the poor, of whom there were many. Such situations of poverty arose through disability, misfortune, age, or the circumstances of life. Indeed the Jews recognised that the Law had laid great stress on this. The third year tithe was to be set apart for the poor and needy (Deuteronomy 14:28), the gleaning from the fields had to be available to them (Leviticus 19:9; Deuteronomy 24:19)), they could eat what they needed at a given time from the crops and the fruit as they grew (Deuteronomy 23:24), the crops of the seventh year were at their disposal (Leviticus 25:6), necessary loans were not to be refused to them (Deuteronomy 15:7), and so on. The motive behind these laws was commendably carried forward in Jewish teaching. Thus by the time of Jesus regular collections were made for the poor by ‘collectors' from the synagogue to which regular residents were expected to give recognised amounts, and many would give over and above what was required. The giving of alms described by Jesus here is thus giving on top of that. (No one would get special credit for the regular normal giving). But the point is that such extra giving should not to be publicised and drawn attention to, but should be in secret. It should come from the goodness of the heart, and as a result of their love for God, not with the purpose of gaining human esteem.

‘Do not sound a trumpet before you,

As the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,

That they may have glory of men.

Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full.'

The picture is vivid. A trumpeter is seen as being sent on ahead in order to draw attention to the gift. The blowing of rams' horns was common at particular feasts, and at fasts, but while giving was a part of the fasts, there is no evidence connecting the blowing of the rams' horns directly with giving. Nor need there be, for this ‘blowing of the trumpet' is not necessarily to be seen as having actually happened. Even the most blatant hypocrite would hardly go this far. The scene is intended to be ridiculous. They are crying, ‘look at me and what I am giving'. It is a deliberate caricature. It is Jesus' vivid way of illustrating His point. For the point is that men can make their giving so obvious to all that they may just as well blow a trumpet so as to draw men's attention to it. Such ostentatious giving is the activity of ‘hypocrites', that is, of men who put on a pretence of righteousness, of those who behave like play-actors. They are putting on the act of being generous and godly, but in fact are simply out to let everyone know what they are giving, and thus by it are trying to buy themselves prestige. Their generosity and godliness is thus a pretence. The word ‘hypocrite' occurs thirteen times in Matthew. He wanted it to be known that there was nothing that Jesus was harder on than hypocrisy, the pretence of being what they were not, something of which we are all to some extent guilty. For we all like to give the impression that we are better than we are. And possibly even worse are those who try to make out that they are ‘ever so humble', who are humble and secretly proud of it

‘In the synagogues or in the streets.' These were the popular places where collectors would be gathering such funds, and would be places where there would be many people to observe what they were doing, and who it was who made their gifts. We can contrast them with the woman who crept into the Temple and out again, not wanting to be noticed. And she got her wish. No one at the time noticed, apart, of course, from God (Mark 12:41).

‘That they may have glory of men.' Their real aim is that men will think how wonderful they are. And they may well achieve their aim. But they may be sure of this. They will therefore have had their reward. They will not receive any credit from God, nor will it contribute towards their spiritual blessing. Their giving will not reveal true righteousness because it will simply be a matter of making a payment in order to buy glory. There is nothing good about that. It is a simple business transaction of a rather distasteful kind.