NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER SIX

Part I (con’t)

We find that in a school established by Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha it was taught: “Whoever dispenses part of his possessions and does so with kindness, is delivered from the punishment of the burning pit. Picture two sheep crossing a river, one shorn and the other not shorn; the shorn one gets across, the unshorn one does not.”¹ To put it another way, to more you share with others of what God has blessed you with, the less burden you will have to carry as you make your way toward eternal life. When applied to our aims and goals in life, it makes a lot of sense, but seems so hard to adopt as a way of sharing. One of the worst things any Christian can become known for is to be known as a hoarder and not a helper.

But here is the mindset that Jesus encountered, spoken by one Rabbi: “If a man says, I offer a few pennies for charity in order that my children may live and in order that though my giving I may merit the future world, may he still be considered as a righteous man? – There is no contradiction; this statement applies only to Israelites.”² Another Rabbi adds even more: “All the charity and kindness done by the heathen is counted to them as sin, because they only do it to magnify themselves.”³ This same Rabbi basis his assumption on the same concept as the previous one: “…in order that my son may live, or that I may merit the future world.” And anyone who does the same “is completely righteous.” ⁴ And in the footnotes it states that in respect to this person’s action, notwithstanding his selfish motives, he is completely righteous.⁵ No wonder Jesus was so upset at this display of self-righteousness by these givers at the expense of the receivers. He did not want His followers to practice such false humility. So He gives the following instructions:

Verse 2: “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites.”

This idea of what we may call today a “Food Pantry” for the homeless or disadvantaged was established already in Moses’ day. God tells His people: “At the end of every three years, you must gather one-tenth of your harvest for that year. Store this food in your towns. Keep this food for the Levites, because they don’t have any land of their own. Also keep this food for the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. This will provide enough for them to come and eat all they want. If you do this, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”⁶ Later, God gives His reasons for this, something that Jesus also quoted⁷: “There will always be poor people in the land. That is why I command you to be ready to help your brother or sister. Give to the poor in your land who need help.”⁸ And in a Jewish apocryphal work we read: “To all those who practice righteous giving, contribute from what you already own, and do not let your expression indicate that you are doing so begrudgingly. Do not turn your face away when you see anyone who is poor, and the face of God will not be turned away from you.”⁹ Further on we read: “Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is righteous giving.”¹⁰

So Jesus was not preaching some new liberation theology, but simply qualifying what they have already been taught, and telling His disciples not to make a big deal out of helping others like the hypocrites do. Even today in many church organizations, money raised for charity or world missions is done with grandeur and often giving out prizes and rewards to those who contribute. That may be fine for some, but according to the teaching of Jesus, don’t look for any reward from your heavenly Father for your giving because you’ve already received it from your fellow man.

Here is another teaching that was taught by Rabbis over the years: “If a man marks of a corner of his field and says: This much of the harvest is for a certain poor man that I know, he is thereby granting it to him. But other Sages say, he must not reserve it, but give it to the first poor man that comes along.”¹¹ When the Psalmist was talking about those who reverence and respect the Lord, he complimented them: “They freely give to the poor. Their goodness will continue forever. They will be highly esteemed.”¹² In other words, their kind deeds will bring them notice, they do not need to bring notice to their kind deeds. King Solomon agreed. He says that any honor due to an individual who acts kindly to those in need will come from the Lord.¹³ That is certainly far better than receiving the accolades of man. But Isaiah cautions those who are so willing to give to the poor and needy, that true charity begins at home.¹⁴ That way, whatever you do above and beyond what is needed at home will be to your special credit.¹⁵

In the early fifth century, a bishop in Northern Italy named Chromatius spoke out against believers who broadcast their good deeds in order to get attention. He said: “Jesus taught that the work of justice is to be done not for the sake of humans but for the sake of God. Now we are also instructed that we should not blow the trumpet when we perform acts of charity. That is, we should not broadcast what we do, because it is not the mark of a devout mind to do any of the works of God in order to anticipate the glory of human praise. Many people, you see, make a donation for the use of the poor in order to reap from the gesture the human praise and the renown of their contemporaries. The Lord shows that they have received the reward of their work in this world. For as long as they seek the glory of this world, they lose the reward of the heavenly promise.”¹⁶ This does not mean that a church or organization cannot let people know about such a ministry in order for them to participate if they so desire. But the accomplishments of such good work should not be trumpeted in order for those who are heading the operation to receive personal praise for the good work being done.

But our Lord had sharp words for the hypocrites who did such giving for all the wrong reasons, “When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get.

Solomon had a neat way of expressing this same thought. He says: “Many men are willing to brag about their own loving-kindness and good ways but what about when it comes to being faithful?”¹⁷ The problem with these hypocrites is that they were only moved to give and be benevolent when there was something in it for them that would bring them praise. They had no interest investing in something for which there was no guaranteed accolades. The prophet Isaiah contrasts this with how God is still willing to help even in the worst of circumstances and to the worst of kind.¹⁸ Jesus was not alone in his objection to giving with such fanfare. In the teachings of the Rabbis we read: “Collectors for the communal charity fund do not collect by publicly calling out for donations. Rather, without any pomp and circumstance they put what they collect in their pockets and then distribute it around town where it is needed most.”¹⁹ Often when such things were taught, it was because the opposite was happening. British scholar John Gill tells us that one Jewish scholar states: “A man who distributes to the poor must not do so in order to receive any praise from them for his help, nor to receive accolades from others for his charitable work.”²⁰

In the incomplete work on Matthew by an anonymous author during the early Church period that we referenced before, we find this commentary: “Every act or speech through which one boasts in good works is like a trumpet. Consider one who performs an act of kindness when he sees someone present but does not do so when no one is there. He is like a trumpet, because through this act his boasting is broadcast. Likewise, consider one who performs an act of kindness when someone asks him to do so but does not do it when no one asks. This bad habit is a trumpet. Again, consider one who gives something of value to an upper-class person, should he see one, a person who is able to reciprocate. But to the lowly and to the poor chained by sufferings, he gives nothing. This too is a trumpet, even if he acted in secret, as long as he did it to seem praiseworthy (first, because he did it; second, because he did it secretly). The very act of concealment trumpets his charity. Whatever this man did, thanks to which he stands out or desires to stand out … that is a trumpet. The very act of kindness, although it actually happened, trumpets itself. Therefore it is not so much the place or the act, but rather the intention, that is to be kept secret.”²¹

Verse 3: Jesus continues with His teaching: “So when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and He will reward you.”

When it comes to the left and right hands, early Church preacher Chrysostom does not think that Jesus is speaking here of a person’s literal hands. Rather, he believes that this is a spiritual metaphor meant to exaggerate the point He was trying to get across. Says Chrysostom: “Here again His enigmatical meaning is not of the hands, but He has expressed the thing hyperbolically. As thus: If it can be, says He, for yourself not to know it, let this be the object of your endeavor; that, if it were possible, it may be concealed from the very hands that minister. It is not, as some say, that we should hide it from wrong-headed men, for He has here commanded that it should be concealed from all.”²² Given the comprehension factor of today’s thinking, I would say that the left and and right hand are representative of intention and implementation. For instance, if you see a person on the street corner with a sign asking for food, you can point to a restaurant close-by or ask them to get in and take them to the nearest one to buy them a meal. While your intention is to find out why they are in such a pitiful situation, your implementation is to give them nourishment while you listen to their story. In such case, you may also consider yourself as the right hand while the person you are helping is the left hand.

The prophet Jeremiah had a similar word from the Lord in his day when he says: “But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do.”²³ So when we give we should do so with the idea in mind that God is watching us, and He will see to it that we are rewarded for the good things we do. But I like the way the Lord puts it to Jeremiah: “Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay. Those who cheat to get money are like that bird. But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money. At the end of their lives, it will be clear that they were fools.”²⁴

When it comes to ministers who might be fooled into doing things just for the applause or pats on the back they might get, Samuel had a warning for them.²⁵ In the same context, among the Jews there was a difference between giving a gift out of love, and giving to charity. John Gill tells us that in one Jewish commentary they say: “He that gives a gift to his friend out of love, may make it known, but not if it was by way of donation.”²⁶ In our modern society we can put it this way: if you go to the store at Christmas time to buy a gift for someone, don’t let them know until you give it to them. And if you put money in the Salvation Army kettle or give it to a beggar at the intersection, then keep it to yourself, you don’t need to brag to everyone. Unfortunately, it appears that in Jesus day the Pharisees and others were making a big deal out of giving to the poor and underprivileged.

This concept of giving anonymously was clearly illustrated in the Temple. The Jews tell us: “There were two charity chambers in the Temple, one was referred to as the chamber of the discreet donors, and the other was referred to as the chamber of vessels. One was for money, and the other was for donated goods”²⁷ But both were made available for anonymous givers. One was used to help the poor and the other to help the Temple for upkeep. Giving anonymously was espoused by many high ranking Rabbis. For instance, one of them stated: “A man who gives charity in secret is greater than Moses our Teacher, for of Moses it is written, ‘For I was afraid because of the anger aid the wrath,’²⁸ and of one who gives charity secretly it is written, A gift in secret subdues anger²⁹.”³⁰ So we can see here that some givers gave with ulterior motives.

One of the early church bishops in northern Italy, Chromatius, who we referenced earlier, had this to say about keeping our good works in the proper focus: “If something is to be accomplished according to the teaching of the Lord, then the right hand of the just must not know what the left is doing. That is, in order to labor religiously and faithfully, we should not boast in the sight of sinners and unfaithful people.”³¹ In other words, it is alright for the world to see believers help feed the hungry, give a home to the orphaned or homeless, provide medical services to the underprivileged, etc., but there is no need to do it in such a manner as to gain attention or get applause. Nor should we broadcast that the real intent is to share the gospel of Christ in order to heal their spiritual wounds, being merciful, kind and generous will communicate the gospel message our Lord intended.