Mat 6:19-34 | TNotes

6:20 ^a treasures in heaven: This was a common image for Jews of Jesus’ day; doing God’s commands became virtually equivalent to accumulating treasures with God. The context (6:19 ^b; Luke 12:33 ^c) suggests that Jesus primarily had acts of charity in mind.
6:22 ^d Your eye is like a lamp: It gives light to the body and so enlightens the entire person.

• Healthy means morally healthy, with simple, wholehearted devotion to God (6:24 ^e). Here it connotes generosity.
6:24 ^f The term for money (traditionally mammon) is an Aramaic term for profits or material possessions. Since God tolerates no rivals, Jesus repeatedly warns of the danger of accumulating riches (13:22 ^g; 19:16-30 ^h; 26:14-16 ⁱ; 27:3-10 ^j; 28:11-15 ^k), which can be an idol (see Eph 5:5 ^l; Col 3:5 ^m). We must trust God to meet our needs (Matt 4:3-4 ⁿ; 6:8 ^o, 11 ^p, 25-34 ^q; 7:7-11 ^r; 10:9-14 ^s; 14:15-21 ^t; 15:32-38 ^u), and the community of disciples is to be mutually supportive (6:2-4 ^v; 10:40-42 ^w; 19:21 ^x; 23:23-24 ^y; 25:31-46 ^z; 26:6-13 ^aa; 27:57-61 ^ab).
Summary for Matt 6:25-34: 6:25-34 ^ac Jesus taught an anxiety-free existence of simple trust in God for provisions. Jesus’ disciples had abandoned all (4:18-22 ^ad; 9:9 ^ae; 10:5-14 ^af); Jesus gave them comforting reassurance that God would provide for their needs.
6:26 ^ag Jesus’ logic progresses from lesser to greater: If the Father tends to birds (the lesser), and the disciple is far more valuable to him (the greater), then he will certainly tend to the disciples’ needs (see also 10:29-31 ^ah).
6:30 ^ai Little faith results from the failure to understand one’s value to God and the extent of God’s providential protection.
6:32 ^aj unbelievers (literally Gentiles): Those who fail to know God and follow his will (see also 20:19 ^ak).

• your heavenly Father already knows: Prayer does not inform God about needs; it expresses trust in his provision.
6:33 ^al Here Jesus gives the positive alternative to worrying. Single-minded commitment to God and seeking his reign through Christ (see 6:19-24 ^am) must be the primary concern of Jesus’ disciples.