Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Matthew
Chapter 6: Seek First the Kingdom
The Sermon on the Mount turns to the hidden life of the heart. Jesus teaches us to give, pray, and fast for God's eyes, not for the applause of people, and gives us the model prayer that has shaped the church for two thousand years. He calls us to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, and to trade anxiety for trust in a Father who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies. The command that gathers it all together still rings: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Matthew chapter 6. For each section you will find the KJV text, word studies that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The Sermon on the Mount continues, teaching the hidden life of prayer, giving, and trust. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
For God's Eyes
Jesus warns against practicing righteousness to be seen by others. Giving, prayer, and fasting are to be done for the Father who sees in secret, not for human praise.
The Lord's Prayer
Jesus gives a model of prayer that puts God's name, kingdom, and will first, then brings our daily needs, our forgiveness, and our deliverance to the Father.
Heaven, Not Earth
Jesus calls us to lay up treasure in heaven, where it cannot be lost, warning that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
Kingdom First
Free from the need for human approval and from anxiety over provision, the citizen of the kingdom seeks first the kingdom of God, trusting the Father for the rest.
The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
Jesus gives His people a pattern for prayer that reorders our priorities.
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done
"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. 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. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 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. 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. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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 not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:"
Greek Study
Three times Jesus warns against the hypokrites -- literally a stage-actor, one who performs behind a mask -- who gives, prays, and fasts "to be seen of men." Against this He sets the Father "which seeth in secret." The model prayer then opens "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" -- hagiastheto, "let it be treated as holy." The first petition is not for our needs but for God's name to be honored; worship, not want, comes first.
Explanation
The whole section attacks a single sin: performing righteousness for a human audience. Jesus is not against giving, praying, or fasting -- He assumes His disciples will do all three ("when thou doest," "when thou prayest," "when ye fast") -- but against doing them for applause. The reward you seek determines the reward you get: crave the eyes of men and that is all you receive. The Lord's Prayer answers with a God-centered pattern -- His name, His kingdom, His will first, then daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance -- reordering the heart around the Father who sees in secret.
Gospel Focus
Jesus does not give this as a mere formula to recite but as a pattern, "in this manner." Notice the order. It begins with God: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done." Before we bring a single request for ourselves, prayer orients us toward God, His honor, His kingdom, His will. Then it turns to our needs: daily bread, forgiveness of our debts as we forgive others, and deliverance from temptation and the evil one. This teaches us that prayer is not first about getting what we want but about aligning our hearts with God's purposes. To pray "Your will be done" is to surrender our will to His. The prayer that puts God first is the prayer that transforms us, and it is the shape all our praying should take.
Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:20-21)
Jesus points us to an investment that can never be lost.
There Your Heart Will Be Also
"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore 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. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 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. 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? 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? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
Greek Study
Jesus names the rival god by its Aramaic name: mamonas, "mammon" -- wealth personified as a master. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon," for no slave has two owners. He also speaks of the "single" eye (haplous, sound, undivided, generous), whose light fills the whole body, against the "evil" eye of divided, grasping desire. The issue is not money itself but mastery: where the treasure is, "there will your heart be also."
Explanation
Jesus diagnoses anxiety as a worship problem. The birds and the lilies preach that the Father who feeds and clothes them will surely care for His children, and the disciple who trusts Him is freed from the fretting that consumes the pagan world (v. 32). Worry, Jesus implies, is practical unbelief -- acting as though we had no Father. The heart cannot be split between two treasuries; it will love the one and despise the other. Freedom from anxiety comes not by having more but by belonging wholly to the God who already knows our needs.
Gospel Focus
Earthly treasure is fragile: moth eats it, rust corrodes it, thieves steal it, and death leaves it all behind. Jesus calls us to invest in what lasts: "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." We do this by living for God, giving to His work, loving people, and storing up the eternal rather than the perishable. And He gives the reason: "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Our hearts follow our treasure. If we invest in earthly things, our affections will be earthbound; if we invest in the kingdom, our hearts will be set on God. This is a searching test of what we truly value. Where is your treasure? The answer reveals where your heart really lives. Lay it up in heaven, and your heart will be there too.
Seek First the Kingdom (Matthew 6:31-33)
Jesus replaces anxiety with trust and gives the great priority of the kingdom life.
All These Things Shall Be Added
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 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."
Greek Study
The command is zeteite proton -- "seek first": zeteo is to seek diligently, to pursue as one's aim, and proton makes the kingdom the priority above all. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." The promise is not that seekers escape need but that the Father who knows "ye have need of all these things" (v. 32) will supply them to those whose first pursuit is Him.
Explanation
Jesus resolves the anxiety of the whole chapter with a reordering of priorities. The Gentiles "seek" food, drink, and clothing as their chief aim; the disciple seeks the kingdom first, and finds these things "added." This is not a bargain to manipulate God but a promise to those who genuinely put Him first: the Father takes responsibility for the needs of the child who is consumed with His concerns. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow" -- live one day at a time in the care of a Father who already holds tomorrow.
Gospel Focus
Jesus points to the birds, who neither sow nor reap, and the lilies, who neither toil nor spin, yet the Father feeds and clothes them, and asks, are you not of more value than they? Anxiety over food and clothing is what the world runs after; the child of God is called to a different center: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." This is one of the great promises and priorities of the Christian life. When we put God's kingdom and righteousness first, we do not have to be consumed with anxiety about our needs, for our Father knows them and will provide. Worry says we must carry the weight of our own provision; faith says the God who feeds the sparrows will care for His children. Seek first the kingdom, and trust the Father with the rest.
Chapter 6 in Review
Matthew 6 turns the Sermon on the Mount to the hidden life of the heart. Jesus warns against doing righteous acts, giving, prayer, and fasting, to be seen by people rather than for the Father who sees in secret. He gives the model prayer that begins with God's name, kingdom, and will before our own needs. He calls us to lay up treasure in heaven rather than on earth, since our hearts follow our treasure. And He replaces anxiety with trust in a caring Father, giving the great priority: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter reorders the whole of life around God. Our devotion is to be for His eyes, not human applause. Our prayers are to put His honor and will first. Our treasure is to be laid up where it cannot be lost. And our anxieties are to be surrendered in trust to a Father who knows our needs. The one command that gathers it all is "seek first the kingdom." When God is genuinely first, prayer is transformed, treasure is secure, and worry gives way to trust in the Father who cares for His own.
- Do righteousness for the Father who sees in secret, not for human praise.
- The Lord's Prayer puts God's name, kingdom, and will before our own needs.
- Lay up treasure in heaven, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Seek first the kingdom, and trust the Father to provide the rest (Matthew 6:33).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you practice your devotion for God's eyes, or for others to see?
- Where is your treasure? What does that reveal about where your heart truly lives?
- Jesus calls you to seek first the kingdom. What anxieties do you need to surrender in trust to the Father?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Righteousness for the Father who sees in secret: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.
- The Lord's Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4.
- Treasures in heaven, not on earth: Matthew 6:19-24; Colossians 3:1-2.
- Do not worry; seek first the kingdom: Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6-7.
- Forgiving as we are forgiven: Matthew 6:14-15.