Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”. . . Matthew 6:1–4

    “Giving to the Needy” (The True Motive of Generosity)

In Matthew 6:1–4, Jesus begins a new major section of the Sermon on the Mount. Having described the kingdom righteousness that transforms anger, sexual purity, truthfulness, retaliation, and love for enemies, he now examines the motives that lie beneath religious practices. Jesus will address three familiar expressions of devotion: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. In each case, his concern isn’t whether his disciples practice these things, but why and for whom they do them.

In Jesus’ culture, it was easy to turn devotion to God into a performance to receive praise — like a stage actor, or in Greek, hupocrites, meaning “hypocrite.” Jesus offers three case studies to help his followers avoid hypocrisy. What does religious hypocrisy look like? Explore three examples from Jesus in Matthew 6:1–8 and his warnings about the temptation to become a hypocrite. Here you can watch an exceptional video clip from BibleProject titled “Warnings about Religious Practices” (6 minutes).

Jesus’ warning is especially relevant because good deeds can be done for mixed motives. A person may genuinely want to help someone in need and yet also enjoy being noticed, praised, thanked, or regarded as especially spiritual. Jesus doesn’t deny that people can see faithful acts of service, nor does he teach that every public gift or ministry effort is hypocritical. His concern is the deliberate effort to turn devotion into a public performance. When the approval of people becomes our goal, even a generous act can become spiritually empty.

This passage therefore calls us to an honest examination of the heart. Do I give because I love God and want to serve someone in need? Or do I give partly so that others will notice, admire, thank, or speak well of me? Jesus directs his disciples away from self-promotion toward the quiet security of knowing that their Father sees what others may never see. His teaching doesn’t discourage generosity; it purifies generosity by calling us to give freely, humbly, and for God’s approval rather than human applause.

Jesus’ three examples in 6:1–18 relate to giving, praying, and fasting, and his warning concerns practicing such acts in a performative way in order to be seen by others.

Watch this Jesus Film Project video clip that depicts chapter 6’s first eighteen verses, as essential element of Jesus’ famous sermon (3 minutes).

The Core Warning: Beware of Spiritual Showmanship (6:1)

Matthew 6:1 is the heading over everything that follows through v. 18. Jesus isn’t speaking only about money or charitable giving; he’s giving a heart-level warning about the entire life of devotion. The issue isn’t visibility by itself, but motive. In 5:16, Jesus told his disciples to let their light shine before others so that people would see their good deeds and glorify their Father in heaven. Here, he warns against doing righteous acts to be seen by others. The difference is decisive: in chapter 5, God receives the glory; in 6, the performer seeks it for himself or herself.

In v. 1, Jesus sets the guiding thesis for the entire middle section of the Sermon on the Mount: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” The word Jesus uses for “righteousness” (Greek dikaiosyne) here refers to acts of religious devotion, specifically acts of piety — like giving to the needy, praying, and fasting. Jesus isn’t condemning public good deeds altogether; after all, later in 5:16 he tells his disciples to let their light shine before others. Instead, he is exposing the poison of hypocrisy (derived from the Greek word for a stage actor: hypokrites). The danger is performing righteous acts for an audience of humans rather than an audience of God, turning sacred worship into a tool for self-promotion.

Jesus’ warning isn’t meant to make believers anxious whenever another person happens to see them give, pray, serve, or volunteer. Some acts of kindness must be done openly, and churches rightly encourage one another through visible examples of service and generosity. The question is whether we’re deliberately arranging our obedience so that people will admire us. A helpful heart-check is this: Would I still be willing to do this if no one knew I’d done it, no one thanked me, and no one could repay me? Jesus calls his followers to find their deepest satisfaction not in being noticed, but in pleasing the Father who sees the heart.

Jesus doesn’t condemn visible good works in themselves; he condemns performing them in order to receive human admiration. The NIV passage frames the issue as doing righteous acts “to be seen by them” rather than giving to those in need.

The Absurdity of the “Trumpet” Approach (6:2)

Jesus begins, “So when you give to the needy,” not “if you give.” He assumes that generosity toward people in need will be part of the ordinary life of his disciples. The question isn’t whether they’ll give, but how they’ll give and what they hope to receive from it. Caring for people who are poor, vulnerable, hungry, burdened, or unable to meet a practical need isn’t an optional decoration on the Christian life. It’s one expression of the mercy and love that Jesus has been describing throughout the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus illustrates this hypocritical spirit with a striking, sharp satire in v. 2: “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.” Whether his hearers imagined a literal trumpet or recognized the expression as a vivid figure of speech, Jesus’ point is clear: He’s portraying someone who turns an act of mercy into a public spectacle in order to draw applause. It exposes how easily spiritual disciplines can be hijacked by a desire for a fleeting reputation, transforming acts of mercy into theater where the ego takes center stage.

The phrase “they have received their reward in full” is sobering. Jesus pictures human praise as a receipt stamped “Paid in Full.” If public admiration was the goal, public admiration is all that person receives. The applause may feel satisfying for a moment, but it can’t produce the lasting joy, spiritual maturity, or fellowship with God that comes from sincere obedience. Jesus isn’t being harsh toward generosity; he’s warning us not to exchange God’s lasting approval for a brief moment of recognition.

Modern “trumpets” may be quieter than musical instruments, but they can be just as real. We may be tempted to mention our generosity repeatedly, post it quickly, make sure influential people know about it, or subtly remind others of what we’ve done. A public report can sometimes be necessary for accountability, gratitude, stewardship, or encouraging others to participate in a ministry. But Jesus asks us to examine whether the report is truly serving a good purpose — or whether it’s become a way of drawing attention to ourselves.

It's worth noting that the NIV records Jesus’ warning against giving “to be honored by others” and says that those who seek that recognition “have received their reward in full.”

Rewriting the Reward: Public Applause vs. Hidden Grace (6:3–4)

Jesus now turns from the negative example of the hypocrite to the positive pattern for his disciples: “But when you give to the needy . . .” His words assume that his followers will continue to give. The command isn’t to become secretive, detached, or indifferent to visible needs; it’s to give in a way that keeps the attention from settling on ourselves. Jesus calls us to generosity that’s directed toward the person in need and offered before the Father, rather than generosity designed to build our own reputation.

The contrast Jesus draws in vv. 3–4 cuts straight to the psychological and spiritual root of our motivations: “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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” The phrase about the hands is vivid hyperbole for deep discretion. Jesus tells his followers not to make a display of their generosity — not even by repeatedly congratulating themselves inwardly for what they’ve done. Giving that’s quiet and humble loosens the tie between our ego and our charity. The Father sees not only the gift but also the heart from which it’s offered. Jesus reminds us that human applause is a limited and short-lived reward. When recognition from others becomes the goal, it can become the only reward a person receives. But the Father, who sees into the hidden corners of the human heart, offers an enduring reward rooted in authentic relationship with him.

“Secret” doesn’t always mean that absolutely no one else can ever know about a gift. Families may need to make financial decisions together; churches and charities need proper records, accountability, and wise stewardship; and some acts of help are necessarily visible to the recipient or other workers. Jesus’ point is that the giver mustn’t seek public recognition as the reward. We may give openly when love, wisdom, and accountability require it, but we should still give with a heart that desires God’s approval more than human praise.

Jesus promises that “... your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” He doesn’t define that reward as a guaranteed increase in money, comfort, health, or public success. The Father’s reward includes his pleasure, the deepening of our fellowship with him, the formation of a generous heart, and the eternal value of obedience offered in faith. We don’t give in order to purchase God’s favor; we give because his grace has already made us his children, and we trust that nothing done sincerely for him is overlooked or wasted.

To be clear, the “left hand/right hand” phrase is widely understood as deliberate hyperbole stressing extreme discretion in giving, in contrast to the public display condemned in v. 2.

Application Message: Checking Our Motives in Generosity

The audit of our public good deeds  This passage invites us to pause and examine the quiet, hidden corners of why we give, serve, or volunteer. Do we feel a subtle itch for recognition, a need to be thanked, or a quiet disappointment when our generosity goes unnoticed? Jesus challenges us to untangle our desire for human validation from our obedience to God. True kingdom generosity doesn’t need a plaque, a shout-out, or a reciprocal favor; its deepest satisfaction is simply knowing that the Father sees everything.

Practicing radical anonymity  One practical way to apply Matthew 6:1–4 is to intentionally seek out opportunities to give or help where no one else knows — and where the recipient may never even know whom to thank. Whether it’s paying for a stranger’s meal anonymously, giving secretly to a family in a tight spot, or supporting a ministry without telling your peers, practicing hidden generosity retrains our hearts. It breaks the addiction to human applause while it anchors our identity securely in the love of God, ensuring that our faith remains a genuine interaction with our heavenly Father rather than a performance for the crowd.

Practical Application of This Sermon Passage (6:1–4)

† Examine the desire to be noticed. Before giving, serving, volunteering, or sharing a good deed, pause and ask: Would I still do this if no one thanked me, praised me, or even knew that I’d done it? If the honest answer is difficult, bring that desire for recognition to God rather than pretending it’s not there.

† Practice one quiet act of generosity. Look for a practical need and meet it as privately as possible. You might give anonymously to a family in need, help with groceries, leave a gift card, contribute to a benevolence fund, pay for a meal, provide transportation, or quietly assist someone who’s facing an unexpected hardship.

† Give with wisdom as well as compassion. Jesus calls us to generosity, not carelessness. Consider the real need, your responsibilities to your household, the most helpful form of assistance, and whether a trusted church, ministry, or community organization can help. Wise giving seeks the good of the recipient without enabling harmful patterns or neglecting responsibilities God has given us.

† Let public ministry give God the credit. Some generosity and service must be visible for the sake of accountability, shared ministry, fundraising, or encouragement. When that happens, resist the temptation to make yourself the center of the story. Speak gratefully about what God’s doing, honor the people being served, and avoid language that turns a ministry report into personal self-promotion.

Conclusion

Matthew 6:1–4 calls us to a generosity that’s sincere, humble, and centered on God. Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples to stop giving, serving, or caring for people in need. He assumes they’ll do these things. But he warns that even good actions can be distorted when our deepest desire is to be admired by others.

The Father sees what other people miss: the private gift, the unnoticed act of service, the quiet sacrifice, the anonymous encouragement, and the heart that longs to honor him. Human applause fades quickly, but the approval of our Father is lasting. As we learn to give without demanding recognition, God frees us from the exhausting need to be seen and forms in us a generous love that reflects his own mercy.

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