Texts in Conversation
The language in Matthew 6 assumes that charitable giving is already being practiced, following established Jewish tradition such as found in the book of Tobit. In Matthew, Jesus' focus is to prevent this from becoming a means of gaining public honor.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Tobit 12:8
Deuterocanon
6 Then he called them both privately, and said to them, Bless God, and give him thanks in the sight of all that live, for the good things which he has done to you, to bless and praise his name. The words of God show forth to all men with honour and do not be slack to give him thanks. 7 It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but to confess and reveal the works of God. And confess them with honour. Do the good, and evil shall not find you. 8 Better is prayer with truth, and alms with righteousness than riches with unrighteousness; it is better to give alms than to lay up gold: 9 almsgiving does deliver from death, and it purges away all sin. They that do alms shall be fed with life; 10 they that commit sin and unrighteousness are enemies to their own life.
Date: 225–175 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Matthew 6:3
New Testament
1 “Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward! 3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward!
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The 'you' is singular (see on 5:28). While some in Jesus' day believed almsgiving earned merit (Tobit 12:8-9; Sirach 3:30; 29:11-12; compare SBK in loc.), ostentation, not merit theology, is the point here. Jesus assumes his disciples will give alms: 'When you give to the needy,' he says, not 'If you give to the needy' (compare 10:42; 25:35-45; 2 Cor 9:6-7; Phil 4:18-19; 1 Tim 6:18-19; James 1:27). Rabbinic writers also warn against ostentation in almsgiving (compare SBK, 1:391ff.): the frequency of the warnings attests the commonness of the practice ..."
Frank Ely Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Pickering & Inglis, 1984), 163.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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