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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 6

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! 6 But whenever you pray, go into your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.⁠ And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 7 When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles because they think that by their many words they will be heard.⁠ 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 So pray this way: “Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,⁠ 10 may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.⁠ 11 Give us today our daily bread,⁠ 12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.⁠ 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.⁠ 14 “For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.⁠ 15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins. 16 “When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting.⁠ I tell you the truth, they have their reward! 17 When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and devouring insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal.⁠ 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven,⁠ where moth and devouring insect do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.⁠ 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body.⁠ If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.⁠ 23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!⁠ 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.⁠ 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.⁠ Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?⁠ 26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?⁠ 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.⁠ 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Philo, On the Birth of Abel 1:22 and Matthew 6:20

Classical · New Testament

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Summary

Philo contrasts heavenly treasuries that store permanent blessing with earthly stores that store temporary blessing. In Matthew, Jesus follows this Jewish tradition, comparing earthly wealth with treasure kept in heaven.

Passages

Philo, On the Birth of Abel 1:22

Classical · De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini
22 And with her, as her closest friends, walk bold cunning, and rashness, and flattery, and trick, and deceit, and false speaking, and false opinion, and impiety, and injustice, and intemperance, and she advances in their midst like the leader of the company and, marshalling her band, speaks to her mind as follows: 'My good friend, the treasuries of all human blessings and stores of happiness are in my power (for divine blessings are all in heaven), and apart from them you will find nothing. 23 'If you will live with me, I will open all these treasures to you and give you their most unsparing use and enjoyment for ever. And I want to tell you in advance how many good things I have stored up there, so that if you are so inclined you may choose of your own accord to live happily, and if you refuse, you will not be declining them out of ignorance. 'I have in my power perfect relaxation, and exemption from all fear, and tranquillity, and a complete absence of all care and labour, and an abundant variety of colours, and most melodious intonations of the voice, and all kinds of costly foods and drinks, and plentiful varieties of the sweetest scents, and continual loves, and sports such as require no teacher, and connections no one will ever inquire into, and speech with no shade of reproof in it, and actions that never need to be accounted for, and a life free from anxiety, and soft sleep, and abundance without any feeling of satiety.
20–50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Philo, On the Birth of Abel

Matthew 6:20

New Testament
18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and devouring insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and devouring insect do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... In his Allegorical Interpretation Philo contrasts God’s treasuries of good things with the storehouses of evil things (3.34.104-105). While God opens his treasuries for those who live virtuously, his storehouses of evil things are sealed, that is, he refrains from immediate vengeance against the sinners to give them time for repentance (ibid. 106). A similar use is evident in On the Birth of Abel, where Divine blessings are said to be stored up in heavenly treasuries to be bestowed upon those who live virtuous lives. Virtues are also associated with “treasures” in his tractate On the Virtues, where they are presented as accessible to everyone who seeks them ..."
Catherine Hezser, Finding a Treasure: The Treasure Motif in Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman Narratives in the Context of Rabbinic Halakhah and Roman Law (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019), 295–325.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Philo, On the Birth of Abel 1:22 and Matthew 6:20

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