The Priority Jesus Gives in the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus directs His hearers to keep seeking first the Kingdom and God’s righteousness, with the assurance that the needed things He has been discussing will be added to them (Matthew 6:33). The preceding verses identify those things as food, drink, and clothing, and Jesus says that the heavenly Father knows that His people need them (Matthew 6:31–32). His command gives the disciple a governing priority in the presence of real bodily needs. The sustained action expressed in the UASV’s “keep on seeking” fits a life in which work, household obligations, and uncertain circumstances repeatedly raise questions of priority. Matthew 6:34 turns attention to the difficulty belonging to each day, showing that tomorrow’s concerns can crowd into a disciple’s present decisions. A believer who has a rent payment due can calculate the amount, communicate with the people concerned, and seek legitimate work while giving Jehovah’s standards first place in the choices those pressures create. Jesus’ instruction has direct force when a seemingly expedient option requires dishonesty, neglect of a clear duty, or misplaced trust in wealth. The disciple’s priority becomes visible in the course he follows when the need is genuine.

The transition into the discussion of anxiety comes immediately after Jesus’ statement that no one can serve both God and wealth (Matthew 6:24–25). The issue is service and allegiance, which helps explain why material concerns can present a spiritual danger. A person can look to wealth as the power that must control every serious decision, even while retaining outward religious habits. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus ties the heart to its treasure and contrasts earthly stores, vulnerable to decay and theft, with treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19–21). Taken together, these sayings direct attention to what the disciple trusts and serves when deciding how much work to take on, how to acquire income, and how to use what he has. An employee offered a raise on condition that he mislead customers faces a concrete conflict of loyalties. His need for greater income can be honestly acknowledged, and the proposed act can be judged by the requirement to speak truthfully to one’s neighbor (Ephesians 4:25). The order Jesus gives places obedience ahead of the promised financial advantage.

Seeking the Kingdom and God’s Righteousness Together

The Kingdom in Matthew is God’s reign, announced by Jesus and sought by those who submit to the King’s teaching. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9–10). In Matthew 4:17, His preaching of the nearness of the Kingdom is joined to the call for repentance. These passages give seeking the Kingdom specific content because the disciple both desires God’s rule and responds to what God commands. Jesus makes the obedience involved plain when He identifies entrance into the Kingdom with doing the will of His Father (Matthew 7:21). A person who professes loyalty to the King and has knowingly dealt unfairly with a customer can act on that loyalty by correcting the terms and making appropriate repayment. Such a decision gives observable expression to the Kingdom priority because the person has brought a real transaction under the Father’s will. The same principle applies when a believer keeps a commitment whose cost has increased after the agreement was made.

God’s righteousness in Matthew 6:33 likewise has practical content in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus addresses the truthfulness of ordinary speech, treatment of enemies, acts of giving, and the difference between listening to His words and doing them (Matthew 5:33–48, Matthew 6:1–4, and Matthew 7:24–27). These teachings explain why a Kingdom-first life cannot be assessed solely by the time spent in publicly religious activities. A believer who makes room to teach Scripture and also speaks truthfully in a disputed household matter is subjecting more of his life to the King’s teaching. Jesus’ illustration of the two builders locates the difference in doing the words heard, and the difference becomes visible when both houses encounter severe conditions (Matthew 7:24–27). The believer can accordingly examine a specific part of the week where obedience competes with convenience. A salesman who promised a customer a correction can make the call on time and provide the accurate information even if the admission costs a sale. This is one concrete way of continuing to seek the righteousness Jesus names.

What the Birds and the Lilies Teach

Jesus directs His hearers to observe birds that neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet receive their food from the heavenly Father (Matthew 6:26). He then asks them to consider the lilies, which do not toil or spin, and compares their clothing with Solomon’s splendor (Matthew 6:28–30). The reasoning proceeds from God’s care of the creatures and plants His hearers could see to confidence that He knows and cares for the people addressing Him as Father. Jesus gives the illustrations force by naming familiar human activities, including farming, gathering into barns, and spinning cloth. The hearer could recognize both the effort normally required to provide food or clothing and the way in which life and growth depend on conditions beyond human control. That recognition can help a person who has planned responsibly and still faces uncertainty after a crop fails, work hours are cut, or a needed item breaks. He can bring his real need before the Father and take the available next step with his priority intact. Jesus’ illustrations give him a reason to trust God while doing so.

The promise that “all these things” will be added should be read alongside the needs Jesus names and the difficulties Scripture records among faithful people. Paul says that he learned to live both with plenty and with hunger, and he acknowledges the Philippians’ practical support in his need (Philippians 4:10–18). Acts 11:27–30 records disciples sending assistance to believers in Judea in view of famine, each contributing according to ability. The passages show why trust in the Father can coexist with receiving help and with times in which provisions are strained. Jesus speaks to people who need food and clothing and whose Father knows those needs, while the apostolic accounts show Christians responding to those needs through material aid. A believer who has lost income can accept a meal from another Christian, explain his situation honestly, and continue looking for work that he can perform in good conscience. A congregation that learns of the loss can provide useful assistance according to its ability. Both responses give ordinary, identifiable expression to a life ordered around the will of the Father.

The Next Duty When Tomorrow Is Uncertain

Matthew 6:34 gives particular force to Kingdom priority by returning the disciple to the demands of the present day. Jesus acknowledges that each day has trouble of its own, giving the hearer a reason to distinguish today’s duty from future troubles he cannot yet address. In James 4:13–16, people making commercial plans are told to recognize that their life and actions remain subject to God’s will. They are planning a real journey and business venture, and James corrects the presumption with which they speak about what they will accomplish. A believer considering a change in employment can gather the information needed now, set a workable budget, and speak honestly with the people who depend on him. He can leave contingent decisions until their facts are known and keep the commitments he can fulfill today. Such an approach allows work and planning to take their place as duties undertaken before God. It also prevents the uncertainty of a later decision from becoming an excuse for neglecting a neighbor or disregarding a command already understood.

Seeking first the Kingdom can also shape the use of an ordinary evening or a modest amount of money. A Christian who has promised to visit an ill person may need to move a less important activity or decline an extra purchase so he can make the visit and bring something useful. He can make that choice with the priorities in Matthew 25:35–40 in view, where Jesus identifies concrete acts of service such as giving food, welcoming, and visiting. In another household, giving priority to the Kingdom may mean staying home to fulfill a duty of care rather than using a public religious obligation to excuse neglect of a dependent relative. Jesus Himself condemned the use of a religious dedication to evade the obligation of honoring one’s parents (Mark 7:9–13). The direction of each choice depends on what the Father requires in the circumstances. A believer can therefore ask which duties Scripture has made plain and which proposed activities would displace them. In this daily ordering of loyalties, the command to keep seeking first the Kingdom governs how the believer earns, spends, serves, and responds to tomorrow’s uncertainty.

You May Also Enjoy

Examining Your Life by the Standard of Scripture

About the Author

CLICK LINKED IMAGE TO VISIT ONLINE STORE

CLICK TO SCROLL THROUGH OUR BOOKS