Matthew 6:17

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; BUT THOU, WHEN THOU FASTEST, ANOINT THINE HEAD, AND WASH THY FACE - as the Jews did, except when mourning (); so that the meaning is, 'Appear us usual'-appear so as to attract no notice....

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 6:17. _ANOINT THINE HEAD AND WASH THY FACE_] These were forbidden in the Jewish canon on days of fasting and humiliation; and hypocrites availed themselves of this ordinance, that they might appear to fast. Our Lord, therefore, cautions us against this: as if he had said, _Affect_ nothing - dress in thy ordinary manner, and let the whole of thy deportment prove that thou desirest to recommend my _soul_ to God, and not thy _face_ to _men_. That factitious mourning, which consists in putting on black clothes, crapes, c., is utterly inconsistent with the _simplicity_ of the Gospel of Christ and if practised in reference to spiritual matters, is certainly forbidden here: but sin is so common, and so boldly persisted in, that not even a _crape_ is put on, as an evidence of deploring its influence, or of sorrow for having committed it....

BUT THOU WHEN THOU FASTEST, ANOINT ... - That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress. The Jews and all neighboring nations were much in the habit of washing and anointing their bodies. This washing was performed at every meal; and where it could be effected, the head, or other parts of the body, was daily anointed with sweet or olive oil. In a warm climate, exposed to the great heat of the sun, this practice conduced much to health, preserved the skin smooth and tender, and afforded a most grateful sensation and odor. See Mark 7:2; James 5:14; Mark 11:13; John 12:3....

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

BUT THOU, WHEN THOU FASTEST,.... Christ allows of fasting, but what is of a quite different kind from that of the Jews; which lay not in an outward abstinence from food, and other conveniences of life, and refreshments of nature; but in an abstinence from sin, in acknowledgment and confession of it; and in the exercise of faith and hope in God, as a God pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin; wherefore cheerfulness, and a free use of the creatures, without an abuse of them, best became such persons. ANOINT THINE HEAD, AND WASH THY FACE; directly contrary to the Jewish canons, which forbid these things, with others, on fast days: "On the day of atonement, (say i they,) a man is forbidden eating and drinking, וברחיצהובסיכה "and washing and anointing", and putting on of shoes, and the use of the bed.'' And the same were forbidden on other fasts: in anointings, the head was anointed fi...

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

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

THE FULFILLED LAW IN RELATION TO THE LIFE OF THE PHARISEES. Mt. only, though the digression on Prayer (Matthew 6:7) has parallels in Lk. MATTHEW 6:1 is a general warning; three aspects of the mechanical righteousness that is done are given in detail in the following verses. Beneath the apparent contrast with Matthew 5:16 is an underlying unity. MATTHEW 6:2. ALMSGIVING. This practice was not enjoined in the Law; it was a work of supererogation earning special merit (Tob_12:9; Tob_14:11). Trumpets were sounded at public fastings in time of drought; services were held in the streets (_cf._...

THE REWARD MOTIVE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (Matthew 6:1-18) When we study the opening verses of Matthew 6:1-34, we are immediately confronted with one most important question-- What is the place of the reward motive in the Christian life? Three times in this section Jesus speaks of God rewarding those who have given to him the kind of service which he desires (Matthew 6:4,; Matthew 6:18). This question is so important that we will do well to pause to examine it before we go on to study the chapter in detail. It is very often stated that the reward motive has no place whatsoever in the Christian life. It is held that we must