Matthew 6:16

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. MOREOVER, WHEN YE FAST - referring, probably, to private and voluntary fasting, which was to be regulated by each individual for himself; though in spirit it would apply to any fast. BE NOT, AS THE HYPOCRITES, OF A SAD COUNTENANCE: FOR THEY DISFIGURE THEIR FACES - [ afanizousin (G853)] - literally, 'make unseen;' very well rendered "disfigure." They went about with a slovenly appearance, and ashes sprinkled on their head. THAT THEY MAY APPEAR UNTO MEN TO FAST. It was not the deed, but reputation for the deed which they sought; and with this view those hypocrites multiplied their fasts. And are the exhausting fasts o...

He again returns to the former doctrine: for, having begun to rebuke vain ostentation in alms and prayer, he laid down, before proceeding farther, the rule for praying in a right manner. The same injunction is now given to his disciples about _fasting, _which he had formerly given about _prayers _and _alms, _not to be too solicitous to obtain the applause of spectators, but to have God as the witness of their actions. When he bids them _anoint their head, and wash their face, _his language is hyperbolical: (448) for Christ does not withdraw us from one kind of hypocrisy, to lead us into another. (449) He does not enjoin us to counterfeit splendor, or exhort us to temperance in food in such a manner, as to encourage the luxuries of ointments and of dress: but merely exhorts us to preserve moderation, without any thing new or affected;—in short, that the fastings, in which we engage, shoul...

16-18 Religious fasting is a duty required of the disciples of Christ, but it is not so much a duty itself, as a means to dispose us for other duties. Fasting is the humbling of the soul, Psalms 35:13; that is the inside of the duty; let that, therefore, be thy principal care, and as to the outside of it, covet not to let it be seen. God sees in secret, and will reward openly....

Verse Matthew 6:16. _WHEN YE FAST_] A fast is termed by the Greeks νηστις, from νη _not_, and εσθειν _to eat_; hence fast means, a _total_ _abstinence from food for a certain time_. Abstaining from _flesh_, and living on _fish, vegetables_, c., is no fast, or may be rather considered a burlesque on fasting. Many pretend to take the true definition of a fast from Isaiah 58:3, and say that it means _a fast from sin_. This is a mistake there is no such term in the Bible as _fasting from sin_; the very idea is ridiculous and absurd, as if _sin_ were a part of our _daily food_. In the _fast_ mentioned by the prophet, the people were to divide their bread with the hungry, Isaiah...

MOREOVER, WHEN YE FAST - The word “fast” literally signifies to abstain from food and drink, whether from necessity or as a religious observance. It is, however, commonly applied in the Bible to the latter. It is, then, an expression of grief or sorrow. Such is the constitution of the body, that in a time of grief or sorrow we are not disposed to eat; or, we have no appetite. The grief of the “soul” is so absorbing as to destroy the natural appetites of the “body.” People in deep affliction eat little, and often pine away and fall into sickness, because the body refuses, on account of the deep sorrow of the mind, to discharge the functions of health. “Fasting, then, is the natural expression of grief.” It is not arbitrary; it is what every person in sorrow naturally does. This is the foundation of its being applied to religion as a sacred rite. It is because the soul, when oppressed and...

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 6:1 _The_ _relation of our Lord and his disciples to the religion of the day _(_continued_);_ vide _Matthew 5:17, note. (_b_) Our Lord turns from cases which could be directly deduced from the Law to those which belonged only to recognized religious duty. Of these he instances three: alms (Matthew 5:2), prayer (Matthew 5:5, Matthew 5:9), fasting (Matthew 5:16). It is, indeed, true

MOREOVER WHEN YE FAST,.... This is to be understood, not so much of their public stated fasts, and which were by divine appointment, as of their private fasts; which, with the Jews, were very frequent and numerous, and particularly every Monday and Thursday; see Luke 18:12 in which they affected great severity, and is here condemned by Christ: BE NOT AS THE HYPOCRITES, the Scribes and Pharisees, OF A SAD COUNTENANCE; who put on very mournful airs, and dismal looks; made wry faces, and distorted countenances; banished all pleasantry and cheerfulness from them, so that they looked quite like other men than they really were; FOR THEY DISFIGURE THEIR FACES; not by covering them out of sight, by putting a veil over them, as some have thought; but they neglected to wash their faces, and make them clean, as at other times; and not only so, but

Matthew 6:1. _Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven._ The motive which leads a man to give, will form the true estimate of what he does. If he gives to be seen of men then when he is seen of men he has the reward he sought for, and he will never have any other. Let us never do our alms before men, to be seen of them. Matthew 6:2. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself sha

REWARD That is, the praise of men....

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The Better Righteousness.(Matthew 6:1 .) 2. Kept in the World; Single-eyed; Trusting God.(Matthew 6:19 .)_ Our Lord said: “For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 5:20). This righteousness He had taught in His confirmation and expansion of the law, but now He speaks of something higher still. He makes known the motive of this true righteousness, which the heir of the kingdom is not alone to possess but also to practice. The motive is in all to act in the presence of the Father. The first eighteen verses of the sixth chapter shows this in a threefold relation. First, in rel