Giving That God Rewards | Matthew 6:2-4
Jesus presents three specifications of the giving that God rewards: (1) give mercifully; (2) give secretly; and (3) give expectantly. This sermon is part 2 of "Messiah's Reward," Bryan Craddock's series on Matthew 6 & 7.
When I was 16, I spent the summer working at a swim school. The pool was surrounded by tall walls, but there was no roof. So, while we were in the pool, we could hear traffic going by on the busy street outside. One day there was a loud screech of tires followed by a huge crash. My friend jokingly said, “I wonder if that was your truck.”
When we got off work a half hour later and walked out, we discovered that it was my truck. Some other 16-year-old peeled out on a turn and lost control of his dad’s sports car. He rammed into the back of my truck and pushed it into another vehicle parked in front of mine. My insurance company decided that my truck was beyond repair, a total loss.
Some people buy wrecks like that and rebuild them, but they’re never the same. They rattle with parts that don’t fit right. The frame might not be straight. So, they look off-kilter going down the road. Legally, they can only be resold with a salvage title.
As Christians, we are like those salvaged vehicles. Everyone in this fallen world has been wrecked by sin. We are all a total spiritual loss. But Jesus paid the price to buy us back from the junkyard. When we believe in him, he rescues us and gets us on the road, heading in the right direction. However, a lot of things in our lives--our attitudes, motivations, and habits--can still be out of alignment. So, even our attempts to do good can be off kilter.
Thankfully, Jesus keeps working on us. One day we will see him and be like him. But until then we need to cooperate with him. Paul reviews the process of spiritual growth and change in Ephesians 4:22-24. He tells the Ephesians that they were taught,
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is an important tool in this spiritual renewal process. The first part of it in Matthew 5 shows that true righteousness is a matter of the heart not just of external behavior. We cannot measure up, but he does! He fulfills all righteousness so that we can be saved, but then what? In verse 1 of Matthew 6, he addresses our practice of righteousness. He challenges us to live for our heavenly Father’s reward.
As he continues in chapter 6, Jesus gives examples of how seeking this reward straightens out our attempts to do good. He starts with a practice that may seem inherently good, but we can get so off kilter that we end up doing it for selfish reasons. He talks about helping those in need and presents three specifications of the giving that God rewards. So, as we walk through his words, let’s allow them to straighten out our thoughts and bring our hearts into alignment with his. The first specification comes directly from his character.
Give Mercifully
My first experience with hiking was along a beautiful stream in the mountains north of Los Angeles. I think I was only six years old, but I remember my dad saying that it was safe to drink from spots where the water was flowing fast and clear but not from the stagnant pools. Later during the same hike, he also talked about being extra careful crossing the stream on a log. That was right before he fell in. So, I probably should have questioned my dad’s earlier advice.
Thankfully, no one got sick. Flowing water is better than stagnant water, but it’s not necessarily safe to drink. You never know what invisible contaminants might be spilling into the stream farther up the hill. There can be a similar problem in how we respond to people in need.
The failure to give when we are able to do so is an obvious sign of spiritual stagnation. But even when our generosity is flowing, it can be contaminated by wrong motives. People may not see them, but God knows. So, the giving that he rewards must flow from mercy. Jesus sets this specification in Matthew 6:2, but it gets lost in translation. He starts by saying,
Thus, when you give to the needy…
The King James Version tries to maintain a word for word correspondence with the original Greek text. It says, “Therefore when thou doest thine alms…” But what are alms? This old English word comes from the Greek term that Jesus uses here—eleemosune—normally translated as “mercy”.
Now in Matthew 6:2, it is not wrong to say that Jesus is talking about giving alms or donations to help people in need. But the term itself is not that specific. In fact, it never refers to giving in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. There it speaks of righteousness and steadfast love. So, it might be better to translate Jesus’ words by saying, “Therefore, when you do mercy…”
He was not commanding people to do mercy. He assumes that they will, because it was required by the Old Testament Law. Leviticus 19:9-10 instructed the people of Israel to leave some produce behind as they harvested their fields. Those in need could then come and gather up what was left over. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 goes even farther. It says,
If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.
This instruction was given as the people were about to enter the land. They did not deserve to possess it, and they could not conquer it by their own power. But God graciously promised it to them, and he would enable them to take possession of it. So, he commands them to respond to his generosity by helping others in need. Rather than hoarding his blessings, they were supposed to let them flow on to others.
Now if that logic applies to temporal material blessings like land and fruitful harvests, how much more should it shape our response to God’s eternal spiritual blessings? The Apostle Paul makes this point in 2 Corinthians 8. He was collecting offerings to help needy believers in Jerusalem, but it was not just about money. In verses 6 and 7, he refers to it as an act of grace. He wanted the church in Corinth to give with the right heart. So, in verses 8 and 9, he says,
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Jesus humbly left the glory of heaven to take on flesh in a virgin’s womb and to be born in a cattle stall. After he began his ministry, he went around preaching with no place to lay his head. He submitted to suffering. He was stripped of his clothes, mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross. We all deserve that treatment as a punishment for our sins. But he suffered and died in our place, so that we can receive the immeasurable riches of eternal life in his kingdom by grace through faith.
So, we should not be reluctant to help people in need. We should not approach it as some legalistic requirement. It should flow from genuine love for people in response to Christ’s gracious gift of salvation. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul describes this attitude by saying,
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
If you have experienced the mercy, love, and grace of God in Christ, then you should be ready and willing to give mercifully, lovingly, graciously, and cheerfully. Let his blessing flow through you! As we do so, we must align ourselves with a second specification.
Give Secretly
People have known for centuries that there is power in rivers and streams. The first watermills may date back to the fourth century before Christ. People learned to use that power to accomplish their own purposes. They created many helpful innovations. But with industrialization lots of beautiful places were turned into eyesores, and you would certainly not want to live downstream from them.
Something similar can happen with the flow of God’s provision and blessings in our lives. We might redirect them to accomplish our own purposes. Now we might not realize that we’re doing anything wrong. Our actions might still seem very righteous, and people downstream might still be blessed. But God knows the difference. When our best deeds are contaminated by a selfish agenda, they do not please him.
So, how do we overcome our selfish motives in giving? Jesus specifies that we should give secretly. To explain why, he starts by telling us what we should not do. In Matthew 6:2, he says,
Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
In classical Greek, the word “hypocrite” often referred to an actor on a stage. He would put on a mask and pretend to be someone else. Here Jesus uses the term to describe someone who puts on a show with his giving. He makes a public offering and even arranges for trumpets to be blown. The alleged purpose of that fanfare may have been to gather needy people together. But the hypocrite’s real goal is to get people to praise him. It’s not done to serve God, so God will not reward him for it.
In one case, a couple in the early church was even punished by the Lord for putting on a show with their giving. Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5 tells us that they sold a piece of land and donated some of the proceeds to the church. We don’t know what the amount was, but their gift was probably very generous. The problem was that they claimed to have given it all. They wanted to be seen and applauded, but God struck them down for their lie.
Other people may not lie, but they still try to give in an impressive way. On one occasion when Jesus was at the temple, he saw rich people putting donations into an offering box. Then a widow came along and put in two small copper coins that were only worth a few cents. Luke 21:3-4 tells us,
And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
True generosity is sacrificial. King David once said that he would not give offerings to the Lord that cost him nothing (2 Sam 24:24). But even personal sacrifice can be done for selfish reasons. It can make you seem very spiritual. Perhaps that is why Jesus calls us to give secretly. Back in Matthew 6:3-4a, he says,
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.
That’s impossible! Your hands don’t operate with that level of independence. Why does he say it that way? Is it just hyperbole, a way of saying be really secret? Or is he getting at the core of the problem? Even when no one else sees, we might give just to feel good about ourselves. Is that quiet personal pride any better than showing off for a crowd? It’s still not done for the Lord.
Luke 17 tells us of a time when Jesus addressed his apostles about their motivation. They asked him to increase their faith. That may seem like a good request, but his response suggests that their motives were not right. They probably wanted the ability to do miracles that would impress people. But He asks them whether servants deserve to be treated like their master. In verse 10 he says,
So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"
Is that how we view ourselves? When we do good or show generosity, do we think of it as our duty? Do we forget about our unworthiness and our reliance upon God’s grace? On our own, we wouldn’t even be his servants. Apart from Christ, we are all sinners rebelling against God. But we and all our material possessions belong to him. Psalm 24:1 says,
The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.
So, when we obey the Lord, we’re just doing what we’re supposed to do as his servants. When we give sacrificially to help those in need, we’re just managing his resources the way that he wants. There’s no room for selfishness and pride. We should be content with giving secretly. But in his grace, our heavenly Father still wants to reward us. That leads us to one more specification.
Give Expectantly
Like almost every other 80’s kid, I had a personal cassette player. The Sony Walkman was the most popular, but mine was an off-brand version. Those little spongy headphones would let you escape the world until it was time to flip over the tape. But those headphones were also cheaply made. Sooner or later one side would short out and die. You could try to keep listening, but with songs engineered for stereo, you would only hear half the music.
God engineered us to live in stereo with vital connections to both heaven and earth. But when Adam and Eve sinned, you could say that it shorted out our connection with heaven. So, as we go through life, we’re only listening to half the music. We don’t hear how God is orchestrating everything.
Thankfully, God gives us glimpses of the other side in his word. The book of Genesis tells us about Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers. God worked through that awful experience to save the whole family from a severe famine that came many years later. In the book of Job, a man suffers through a terrible series of trials. His friends say that God is punishing him. But God worked through Job’s perseverance to show that Satan could not overcome genuine faith.
In Matthew 6, Jesus reveals something else that is happening in heaven. When we do good things that no one else hears or sees, God is fully aware. So, Jesus specifies that we should give expectantly. In verses 3-4, he says,
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Meeting people’s temporal needs here and now reverberates in heaven, and Jesus was not the first to reveal that connection. We also learn of it in the Old Testament in Proverbs 14:31. It says,
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
Whether rich or poor, every person matters to God because he made them in his own image. So, if you take advantage of someone or wrong them in any way, he takes it personally. He is offended by it. On the other hand, when you meet a poor person’s needs it can be done as an act of worship that honors our Creator.
Jesus expresses this connection in even more powerful terms in his Olivet Discourse. It was just a day or so before his crucifixion, but he describes his glorious return. The nations will all be gathered before him and separated like sheep and goats. In Matthew 25:34-40, he says,
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Since he calls these needy people, “brothers.” Many interpreters debate whether he is referring to all people or to Christians or to Jews during the Tribulation. But his point is that those who helped were unaware that these needy people had any connection with Jesus. They simply practiced generosity as a way of life.
But then he turns to those on the other side. They did not practice generosity. So, when they failed to help people, they were ignoring Jesus. Consequently, they are kept out of Christ’s kingdom and sentenced to eternal punishment while the others are welcomed in and granted eternal life.
Was Jesus saying that generosity earns you a place in his kingdom? Is that the reward that he mentions in Matthew 6? No. Other passages of Scripture are clear that we are saved by grace through faith not through works. But as we saw earlier, receiving God's gracious gift of salvation should lead us to show mercy and grace to others through our generosity.
The Father’s reward must be something else beyond salvation. As I explained in my last sermon, however, it is hard to say for certain what that reward is. It could simply be the Father’s praise: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It might refer to opportunities to serve Christ in his kingdom. Either way, several passages teach us to give expectantly. Proverbs 19:17 says,
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.
As we saw earlier, everything belongs to God. He gives us everything we have. But he still rewards us when we give. He’s like a parent giving a child money to put into the offering plate and then applauding them when they do it.
Paul goes even farther in his encouragement for Christians in Corinth to give. Earlier we read other verses from 2 Corinthians. But in verse 6 of chapter 9 he tells them,
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
What does he have in mind when he speaks of reaping? In subsequent verses, he mentions righteousness, thanksgiving, and glorifying God as the result of generosity. Such fruit may not be apparent here and now, but it all matters to God. It is all eternally significant. So, give expectantly, looking forward to the Father’s reward.
__________
In Matthew 6:2-4, Jesus calls us to be generous. But to keep us from distorting that practice, he gives us these three specifications. Give mercifully in response to God’s mercy and grace. Give secretly to avoid turning it into something selfish. And give expectantly trusting that God sees and will ultimately reward you for it. So, what is your response to Jesus’ words?
As we have seen, generosity starts with God’s mercy and grace. Our lives are wrecked by sin, but Jesus experienced poverty and suffering in our junkyard world to save us. Have you received the riches of his mercy? If not, acknowledge your need and place your faith in him. If you want to learn more about how his grace flows in and through us, spend some time reflecting on 2 Corinthians 8-9.
If you have received his mercy, is it flowing through you? Is selfishness making you stagnant or contaminating your good deeds? If so, then confess that to the Lord and repent. Our spiritual growth is a lifelong repair job. We need him to keep straightening us out. Perhaps the Lord is bringing to mind a specific change that you need to make in how you give. Don’t delay. Honor him and seek his reward.
May we be channels of his mercy!
Reflect
Does giving come naturally to you? Why or why not?
Which specification do you most need to focus on? Why?
What could you do to keep that specification in mind?