Matthew 6 – Kingdom Priorities: Prayer, Trust, and True Righteousness

Overview: The Heart of True Devotion

🔹 Timeframe: Midway through the Sermon on the Mount.

🔹 Setting: A mountainside, where Jesus teaches the multitudes.

🔹 Theme: True righteousness is seeking God in secret, trusting Him fully, and letting go of worry.

Key Takeaways

🔑 Righteous acts should be done for God, not human recognition.

🔑 Prayer is about relationship, not repetition.

🔑 God provides for those who trust in Him.

🔑 Seeking the Kingdom first removes anxiety

Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment in Matthew 6

In Matthew 6, Jesus’ teachings connect deeply with Old Testament patterns, prophetic themes, and foreshadowing of His Kingdom. His words echo God’s eternal principles, fulfilled in Christ and pointing to future realities.

📖 The Lord’s Prayer Reflects Old Testament Themes

📖 Matthew 6:9-13 – “After this manner therefore pray ye…”
🔎 Each part of the Lord’s Prayer has deep prophetic roots:

• “Our Father which art in heaven” – Recognizing God as King, echoing Isaiah 63:16 – “Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.”
• “Thy kingdom come” – A future reality prophesied in Daniel 2:44, where God’s Kingdom destroys all others and stands forever.
• “Give us this day our daily bread” – Echoes Exodus 16:4, where God provided daily manna, foreshadowing Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35).
• “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” – Mirrors the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10), where debts were forgiven—a foreshadowing of the New Covenant in Christ.

📖 Trusting in God Echoes Israel’s Wilderness Journey

📖 Matthew 6:25-30 – “Behold the fowls of the air… Consider the lilies of the field…”
🔎 Jesus’ command to trust in God for provision parallels Israel’s dependence on Him in the wilderness:

• Manna (Exodus 16:4) – Israel had to trust God daily for food, just as believers today must trust Him daily for provision.
• Water from the Rock (Exodus 17:6) – Just as God provided in unexpected ways for Israel, He still does for His people.
• Clothing that did not wear out (Deuteronomy 8:4) – A direct sign of God’s faithfulness in providing even small necessities.

📖 Matthew 6:33 – “Seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added unto you.”
🔎 This echoes Solomon’s request in 1 Kings 3:11-14:

• Solomon sought wisdom first, and God granted him both wisdom and material blessings.
• Jesus teaches that seeking God first brings all else into alignment.

📖 Heaven vs. Earthly Treasures in Prophetic Perspective

📖 Matthew 6:19-21 – “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
🔎 This reflects a recurring biblical theme:

• Proverbs 11:4 – “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.” Earthly wealth fails, but spiritual investments last.
• Isaiah 55:2 – “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?” God’s provision is better than material wealth.
• Luke 12:16-21 (Parable of the Rich Fool) – Storing earthly riches while neglecting eternal matters is spiritually dangerous.

🔎 The fulfillment is twofold:

• Present fulfillment – Those who invest in God’s Kingdom now experience His provision and spiritual riches.
• Future fulfillment – In the eternal Kingdom, earthly treasures will be worthless, but heavenly investments will be rewarded (Revelation 22:12).

📖 Serving God or Mammon – A Repeated Prophetic Warning

📖 Matthew 6:24 – “No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
🔎 Throughout Scripture, people are warned about choosing between God and material wealth:

• Joshua 24:15 – “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
• 1 Kings 18:21 – Elijah asked Israel whether they would serve God or Baal.
• Malachi 3:8-10 – God rebuked Israel for robbing Him by hoarding wealth instead of trusting Him.

🔎 Jesus is reinforcing the age-old decision: will we trust in God or wealth?

📖 Prophetic Parallel to the Final Kingdom Separation

📖 Matthew 6:22-23 – “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light… but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.”
🔎 This separation of light and darkness foreshadows:

• John 3:19-21 – Light vs. darkness—those who follow Christ vs. those who reject Him.
• Matthew 25:31-46 – The sheep and goats—those who live for God vs. those who live for self.
• Revelation 22:5 – The final New Jerusalem where no darkness remains.

🔎 In prophetic fulfillment, those with ‘single vision’ (seeking the Kingdom) will dwell in eternal light. Those blinded by materialism will face darkness.

Additional Insights:

🔹 Jesus fulfills Old Testament patterns, showing how God’s principles are timeless.
🔹 Kingdom principles are eternal—what Jesus teaches will last beyond this life.
🔹 The final separation between those who serve God vs. serve the world is a prophetic theme that runs from Genesis to Revelation.

🚀 Are we living with an eternal perspective? Are we choosing heavenly treasures over earthly gain?

📜 Jewish Giving & Prayer Traditions – Public displays of piety were common, but Jesus emphasized private devotion.

📜 Roman Economy & Anxiety – The economy was unstable, leading to worry about daily provision—Jesus offers a better way.

📜 Rabbinic Teachings on Wealth – Some taught wealth was a sign of God’s favor, but Jesus emphasized heavenly riches over earthly gain.

💡 Final Reflection: Kingdom Focus Over Worry

Matthew 6 challenges us to live for the unseen, trust God wholeheartedly, and let go of anxiety. True faith seeks God first, knowing He will provide all we need.

📌 Are we doing righteous acts for God or human approval?
📌 Do we seek the Kingdom first, or do we worry about life’s necessities?
📌 Are we storing treasures in heaven or clinging to earthly wealth?

🚀 Jesus calls us to radical trust—are we ready to live by faith?

Giving to the Needy
Mat 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. 
Mat 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. 
Mat 6:3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 
Mat 6:4  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 

The Lord’s Prayer
Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 
Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 
Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 
Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

Fasting
Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 
Mat 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 
Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 
Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Do Not Be Anxious
Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 
Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 
Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 
Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.