Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 6:32
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: ) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
32. the Gentiles seek ] Seek with eagerness. A compound verb. The simple verb is used below in the next verse. For the aims of the heathen world read Juvenal Sat. x., or Johnson’s imitation of it “The Vanity of Human Wishes.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek – That is, those destitute of the true doctrines of religion, and unacquainted with proper dependence on Divine Providence, make it their chief anxiety thus to seek food and clothing. But you, who have a knowledge of your Father in heaven; who know that He will provide for your needs, should not be anxious. Seek first His kingdom; seek first to be righteous, and to become interested in His favor, and all necessary things will be added to you. He has control over all things, and He can give you what you need. He will give you what he deems best for you.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 6:32
Your heavenly Father knoweth.
The antidote to anxiety
I. Reasons against anxiety.
1. Anxiety is a part of indecision of character and partakes of its harmfulness. No man can serve two masters.
2. An argument from the greater to the less; God takes care of fowls, He will of men.
3. The impossibilities in the case-Which of you, etc.
4. The analogies of nature-Consider the lilies, etc.
5. It puts the Christian to shame by showing that he is anxious like the heathen.
6. The character of God-Your heavenly Father, etc.
7. The folly of the thing.
II. The magnitude of the sin of anxiety.
1. It makes you unhappy, which is matter for blame rather than pity.
2. It is a positive wrong done to God; it distrusts him.
3. Do not speak of your anxieties as something for which you are to be commiserated.
4. Never place yourself willingly in a position of worldly anxiety; it is a great hindrance to spiritual life. (A. Vaughan, M. A.)
Gods individual care of His children
A father does not deal with all his children by one and the same universal rule, but with each child individually. For he is acquainted with their separate, especial wants; he knows them as no one else knows them. Therefore, not only have all their portions, but every one the portion he requires. The delicate one is the most shielded,-the timid one is the most encouraged,-the infirm one is the most helped,-the dull one is the most taught,-the tempted one is the most prayed for,-the returning one is the most rejoiced over. And it is the speciality and the appropriateness of the care which makes the great characteristics of paternal government. (A. Vaughan, M. A)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek] The fifth reason against solicitude about the future is-that to concern ourselves about these wants with anxiety, as if there was no such thing as a providence in the world; with great affection towards earthly enjoyments, as if we expected no other; and without praying to God or consulting his will, as if we could do any thing without him: this is to imitate the worst kind of heathens, who live without hope, and without God in the world.
Seek] from , intensive, and , I seek, to seek intensely, earnestly, again and again: the true characteristic of the worldly man; his soul is never satisfied-give! give! is the ceaseless language of his earth-born heart.
Your heavenly Father knoweth, c.] The sixth reason against this anxiety about the future is-because God, our heavenly Father, is infinite in wisdom, and knows all our wants. It is the property of a wise and tender father to provide necessaries, and not superfluities, for his children. Not to expect the former is an offence to his goodness to expect the latter is injurious to his wisdom.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
32. (For after all these things dothe Gentiles seek)rather, “pursue.” Knowing nothingdefinitely beyond the present life to kindle their aspirations andengage their supreme attention, the heathen naturally pursue presentobjects as their chief, their only good. To what an elevation abovethese does Jesus here lift His disciples!
for your heavenly Fatherknoweth that ye have need of all these thingsHow precious thisword! Food and raiment are pronounced needful to God’schildren; and He who could say, “No man knoweth the Father butthe Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him” (Mt11:27), says with an authority which none but Himself couldclaim, “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need ofall these things.” Will not that suffice you, O ye needy ones ofthe household of faith?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek,…. Or “the nations of the world”, as in Lu 12:30. The Syriac reads it so here: the phrase, “the nations of the world”, is used of the Gentiles, in distinction from the Israelites, thousands of times in the Jewish writings; it would be endless to give instances. These knew not God, nor acknowledged his providence; the greater part of them thought, that the soul perished with the body; few of them thought, that anything remained after death; and they that did, spoke very doubtfully of it: wherefore it is no wonder, that such persons should greedily seek after, and be anxiously concerned for all these things, food, raiment, and riches, and a great plenty of them; since this is all the happiness they expect; and imagine, that this is to be acquired by their care, thought, diligence, and industry; having no regard to a superior being, and his all wise providence: but for the Jews, and so Christians, who have a divine revelation, the knowledge of God, and his providence, and of a future state after this life, to act the same part the Heathens do, is exceedingly unbecoming, absurd, and wicked: and besides, such greedy desires, immoderate care, and anxious solicitude, are altogether unnecessary;
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Every word almost, carries in it an argument, to strengthen the faith of God’s children, to encourage them to believe, that he will bestow upon them, whatever is needful, for meat, drink, and clothing: he is a “father”, and will take care of his children; “their father”; they have interest in him, being related to him, and need not doubt of his paternal care, and affectionate regard to them: their “heavenly” Father, or their Father in heaven; who has all things at his command, who sits there, and does whatever he pleaseth on earth: “he knoweth that they have need”; he knows all things, all their straits, difficulties, wants and necessities; he knows they need every day, “all these things”, food and raiment, and cannot do without them: and therefore they may depend upon it, that as it is in his power to relieve them, and their persons and cases are not unknown to him; he who stands in the relation of a father to them, will supply them with whatever is proper and convenient for them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) (panta gar tauta ta ethne epizetousin) “Because the nations (Gentiles) or heathen seek after all these kind of things;” They are interested in and selfishly covet after earthly things alone, for their own good, Joh 2:15-17. Gentiles, heathen, pagans, and idolators pursue such.
2) “For your heavenly Father knoweth,” (oiden gar ho pater humon ho ouranois) “Because your heavenly Father perceives,” knows very well, and will supply these needs for you all; for His own children He makes provisions, because of His knowledge of their need and His love for them. Act 17:28.
3) “That ye have need of all these things.” (hoti crezete touton hapanton) “That you all have need of all these things,” these kind of things, Mat 6:8; Exo 3:7; Deu 2:7; Psa 103:13-14; Mr 6:38-42; Mat 11:27.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 6:32
. For all those things the Gentiles seek This is a reproof of the gross ignorance, in which all such anxieties originate. For how comes it, that unbelievers never remain in a state of tranquillity, but because they imagine that God is unemployed, or asleep, in heaven, or, at least, that he does not take charge of the affairs of men, or feed, as members of his family, those whom he has admitted to his friendship. By this comparison he intimates, that they have made little proficiency, and have not yet learned the first lessons of godliness, who do not behold, with the eyes of faith, the hand of God filled with a hidden abundance of all good things, so as to expect their food with quietness and composure. Your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of those things: that is, “All those persons who are so anxious about food, give no more honor, than unbelievers do, to the fatherly goodness and secret providence of God.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(32) After all these things do the Gentiles seek.The tone is one of pity rather than of censure, though it appeals, not without a touch of gentle rebuke (as before in Mat. 6:5) to the national pride of Israelites: You look down upon the heathen nations, and think of yourselves as Gods people, yet in what do you excel them, if you seek only what they are seeking?
For your heavenly Father knoweth . . .The bearing of this teaching on the meaning of the daily bread of the Lords Prayer has already been noticed (comp. Note on Mat. 6:11). The outer life of man, and its accidents, may well be left to the wisdom of the All-knowing. It lies below the region of true prayer, or occupies an altogether subordinate place within it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. After all these things All worldly goods and earthly treasures, (18-21,) which are included under the dominion of the world-god, Mammon. And so, be not ye, therefore, like unto them. Their god is Mammon, yours is your heavenly Father. The Gentiles seek Hence this whole third part of our Lord’s discourse is properly a rebuke of Gentilism, or godless Secularism, either as existing among the heathen, or infecting the Jews.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mat 6:32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek It was the general character of the heathens, that they neither prayed to their gods, nor laboured themselves for any other blessings than the temporal ones here mentioned; as all their prayers and hymns to their deities abundantly prove, and as we learn in particular from the 10th satire of Juvenal; and this because they were in a great measure ignorant of God’s providence and goodness, had erred fundamentally in their notions of religion, and had no certain hope of a future state. See Eph 2:2. We may observe that there is a noble antithesis in this verse. Christ sets God’s knowledge of our wants in opposition to the anxiety of the heathens about having them supplied; to intimate that the one is much more effectual for that purpose than the other. See 1Ki 18:27. Macknight and Wetstein.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 6:32 . The second does not append another reason co-ordinate with the first, but after the injunction contained in Mat 6:31 has been justified by the reference to the heathen (to whom they are not to compare themselves), this same injunction is provided with an explanation of an encouraging nature, so that the first is logical , the second explanatory , as frequently in classical writers (Khner, ad Xen. Anab . v. 6. 6. Frotscher, ad Hieron . xi. 6). The referring of the second to something to be supplied after , such as “ who know nothing of God ” (Tholuck), is arbitrary.
is emphatic; is certainly known to your Father, and so on.
] that , not , (Paulus: that, which; Fritzsche: quatenus).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Ver. 32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek ] With whom if you should symbolize in sins, or not exceed in virtue, it were a shame to you. They studiously seek these things, they seek them with all their might; as being without God in the world, and therefore left by him to shift for themselves. a When we observe a young man toiling and moiling, running and riding, and not missing a market, &c., we easily guess and gather that he is fatherless and friendless, and hath none other to take care for him. Surely this immoderate care is better beseeming infidels that know not God, but rest wholly upon themselves and their own means, than Christians, who acknowledge God most wise and all-sufficient to be their loving father, b As we differ from heathens in profession, so we should in practice; and a gross business it is, that Jerusalem should justify Sodom, and it should be said unto her, “Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins, but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they,” Eze 16:51 . Such as have hope in this life only, what marvel if they labour their utmost to make their best of it? Now many of the poor pagans believed not the immortality of the soul, and those few of them that dreamed of another life beyond this, yet affirmed it very faintly, and scarcely believed themselves. Socrates, the wisest of heathens, spake thus to his friends at his death: “The time is now come that I must die, and you survive; but whether is the better of these two, the gods only know, and not any man living, that is my opinion.” c “But we have not so learned Christ.” Neither must we do as heathens and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; since now in Christ Jesus, we who sometimes were far off are made nigh by his blood, and have an access through him by one Spirit to the Father, Eph 2:13 ; Eph 2:18 .
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things ] Not with a bare barren notional knowledge, but with a fatherly tender care to provide for his own in all their necessities: which whoso doeth not, he judgeth him worse than an infidel. We need not be careful of our maintenance here in our minority and non-age, nor yet for our eternal inheritance when we come to full age. We are cared for in everything that we need, and that can be good for us. Oh happy we, did we but know our happiness! How might we live in a very heaven upon earth, could we but live by faith and walk before God with a perfect heart? He made himself known to be our gracious and provident Father before we were born. And did we but seriously consider who kept and fed us in our mother’s womb, Psa 22:9-10 , when neither we could shift for ourselves nor our parents do aught for us, how he filled us two bottles with milk against we came into the light, bore us in his arms as a nursing father, Num 11:12 , fed us, clothed us, kept us from fire and water, charged his angels with us, commanded all winds to blow good to us, Son 4:16 , all creatures to serve us, Hos 2:21-23 , and all occurrences to work together for our good, Rom 8:28 , how could we but be confident? Why art thou so sad from day to day? and what is it thou ailest or needest? Art not thou the king’s son? said Jonadab to Amnon, 2Sa 13:4 , -say I to every godly Christian. Profane Esau could go to his father for a child’s portion; so could the prodigal, because a child; and had it. Every child of God shall have a Benjamin’s portion here, and at length power over all nations, Rev 2:26 , and possession of that “new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” 2Pe 3:13 . Either therefore disclaim God for your Father, or else rest confident of his fatherly provision.
” Certa mihi spes est quod vitam qui dedit, idem
Et velit, et possit suppeditare cibum.
God that giveth mouths will not fail to give meat also.
a , Summo studio efflagitat.
b . Naz.
c Utrum autem sit menus Dii immortales sciunt: hominem quidem arbitror scire neminem. Plato and Cic.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
32. ] This 2nd brings in an additional reason: see Xen. Symp. iv. 55.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 6:32 . , again a reference to heathen practice; in Mat 6:7 to their “battology” in prayer, here to the kind of blessings they eagerly ask ( ); material only or chiefly; bread, raiment, wealth, etc. I never realised how true the statement of Jesus is till I read the Vedic Hymns , the prayer book and song book of the Indian Aryans. With the exception of a few hymns to Varuna , in which sin is confessed and pardon begged, most hymns, especially those to Indra , contain prayers only for material goods: cows, horses, green pastures, good harvests.
To wifeless men thou givest wives,
And joyful mak’st their joyless lives;
Thou givest sons, courageous, strong,
To guard their aged sires from wrong,
Lands, jewels, horses, herds of kine,
All kinds of wealth are gifts of thine
Thy friend is never slain; his might
Is never worsted in the fight.
Dr. Muir, Sanskrit Texts , vol. v., p. 137.
.: Disciples must rise above the pagan level, especially as they worship not Indra , but a Father in heaven , believed in even by the Indian Aryans, in a rude way, under the name of Dyaus-Pitar, Heaven-Father. explains the difference between pagans and disciples. The disciple has a Father who knows, and never forgets, His children’s needs, and who is so regarded by all who truly believe in Him. Such faith kills care. But such faith is possible only to those who comply with the following injunction.
Mat 6:33 . . There is considerable variation in the text of this counsel. Perhaps the nearest to the original is the reading of [44] , which omits with [45] , and inverts the order of . and . Seek ye His (the Father’s) righteousness and kingdom, though it may be against this that in Luke (Luk 12:31 ) the kingdom only is mentioned, also being omitted: Seek ye His kingdom. This may have been the original form of the logion , all beyond being interpretation, true though unnecessary. Seeking the kingdom means seeking righteousness as the summum bonum , and the is implied in such a quest. Some (Meyer, Sevin, Achelis) think there is no second, not even a subordinate seeking after earthly goods, all that to be left in God’s hands, our sole concern the kingdom. That is indeed the ideal heroic attitude. Yet practically it comes to be a question of first and second, supreme and subordinate, and if the kingdom be indeed first it will keep all else in its proper place. The , like the prayer against temptation, indicates consideration for weakness in the sincere. , shall be added , implying that the main object of quest will certainly be secured.
[44] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[45] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Gentiles = nations.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
32. ] This 2nd brings in an additional reason: see Xen. Symp. iv. 55.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 6:32. , …, for all these things, etc.) and nothing else.- , the gentiles) the heathen nations. The faithful ought to be free from the cares, not only of the covetous among the heathen, but of all heathens; many, however, in the present day fall short of the heathen in this matter.[294]-, seek after) as though a difficult matter. This word is followed by the simple verb , seek ye,- , for your Heavenly Father knoweth) An argument from the omniscience, the goodness, and the omnipotence of God.-, your) sc. who is your Father in a pre-eminent degree in preference to the heathen.[295]
[294] In the original, At multi hodie non eam, quam gentes, habent . Bengel in Gnomon on ch. Mat 4:4 defines as Prsens animi quies. See p. 150 and f. n. 3.-(I. B.)
[295] In the original all this is expressed by two words, pr ethnicis.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
after: Mat 5:46, Mat 5:47, Mat 20:25, Mat 20:26, Psa 17:14, Luk 12:30, Eph 4:17, 1Th 4:5
for your: Mat 6:8, Psa 103:13, Luk 11:11-13, Luk 12:30
Reciprocal: Exo 16:4 – a certain rate every day Deu 29:5 – your clothes 1Ki 19:6 – cake Psa 34:10 – but Psa 37:18 – knoweth Psa 132:15 – I will satisfy Mat 6:7 – the heathen Mat 6:26 – your Mat 10:20 – your Mat 15:32 – and have Mat 18:14 – your Mat 23:9 – for Mar 8:2 – and have Mar 8:33 – savourest Luk 11:13 – heavenly 1Co 10:28 – for 1Th 3:11 – God 1Ti 6:6 – godliness 1Ti 6:17 – who
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE ANTIDOTE TO ANXIETY
Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:32
Anxiety must be a sin. And it must be a sin very deep in the heart. So large a portion of the Sermon on the Mount would never have been directed against anxiety, if the sin were not very large, and its grasp very wide.
I. Why no man should be anxious.For observe, there are at least seven reasons brought forward, in quick succession, why no man should be anxious.
(a) Anxiety is part of indecision of character, and partakes of its banefulnessit shows a divided allegianceNo man can serve two masterstherefore I say unto you, Take no thought.
(b) The next is the argument from the greater to the less. It shows a greater providence to take care of fowls, than it does to take care of men,but God does take care of fowls.
(c) The third rests on the impossibilities in the case.Which of you, by any amount of anxiety, can add one cubit to his stature?or rather, can add the smallest period to his life.
(d) The fourth lies in the analogies of nature.Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
(e) The fifth puts the Christian to shame by showing that if he is anxious, he is like the heathen.For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.
(f) The sixth in order is the text,the sweetest of all,the most likely of all,the character of God,For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
(g) And the seventh is based upon the folly of the thing.Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
II. Anxiety does two things.(a) It makes you unhappy, first; and unhappiness is not a matter for pity, it is a matter for blame. (b) And secondly, every shade of anxiety which passes over a mans mind, is a positive wrong done to God; it distrusts Him,it sets aside one of His attributes,it gives the lie to one of His promises. Do not think and speak of your anxieties as something for which you are to be commiserated. Rather ask yourself, Can I be right with God, while my mind is so harassed?
III. There are two kinds of anxiety,or rather, the same temperament of mind may feed on one or other of two states,temporal or spiritual. The difference, perhaps, is not so great as might at first sight appear. The same character pre-disposes to both. The same charge of unbelief attaches to both. The same argument fits both. The same remedies cure both. Oftentimes the very same person rings the changes;to-day, he is careful about his bodily necessities, and to-morrow, he is just as anxious about his spiritual. In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord addressed Himself chiefly to the earthly necessities.
IV. The antidote to anxiety.But I have to do now with the Fatherly character of God as the antidote to anxiety. You must take into your minds a very little child,for it is of very little children that Christ speaks, and to whom we are to be like. How happy we should all be,what would become of all our anxieties and all our fears,if only we could just simply treat our heavenly, as every child who has been kindly brought up, treats his earthly father, and if we could believe that with a love so unselfish, so minute, so munificent, so responsible, our heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of all these things.
V. Avoid occasions for anxiety.Never place yourself willingly in a position of worldly anxiety. It is a fearful bar to the spiritual life; and it has led many a man not only into deadness of soul, but into actual sins, at which that man would, at another time, have stood appalled. Therefore, never run into anxieties,never plant yourself on too broad a basis,keep your scale of expenditure well within your income,do not speculate,do not take up engagements, nor enter upon any course which you know will entail pecuniary difficulty, or bring after it worldly carefulness. Remember, that you may expect God to supply your wants as bountifully as He supplies the birds,but on the same condition. The birds work from morning to night;they have not a grain but they have sought it, and sought it with patient labour. But if you do this, and still the untrodden path of your future life looks dark, and every to-morrow wraps itself in a thick cloud, do not be afraid, only believe.
The Rev. James Vaughan.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
DIVINE CARE
A wealth of consolation for the believer lies in those four simple words, Your heavenly Father knoweth.
I. He knows His childrens needs.There are many times when we do not even know our needs ourselves. We may think we know them. We may know our wishes, our desires, our whims. But wishes are not always needs, and desires are not at all times the same as necessities. God has many sons who fret peevishly for what His love denies. They know their desires well enough, but only their heavenly Father knows their necessities. Can we not bring ourselves to rest in His omniscience? Can we not trust His knowledge, blended as it is with a Fathers love? It is His very omniscience that lies at the back of the gracious promise, They that seek the Lord shall not want anything that is good.
II. He knows our pathway also.Even Job in his partial and imperfect acquaintance with God could rest in this assurance, He knoweth the way that I take (Job 23:10). Gods way is often hidden from us, but our way is never hidden from God. The clouds which hide Him from our eyes are not so dense as to hide our way from Him. Israel thought of old that it was forgotten of God, and complained in tones of despair (Isa 40:27-28). Our path, our whole path, past, present, and future, is clear as daylight in His eyes. Oh, the unspeakable comfort of that thought!
III. He knows our hearts too.God knoweth your hearts (Luk 14:15). To each of the seven Churches of Asia was the same message sent, I know thy works; but vast as that knowledge was it did not express the measure of omniscience. Works lie on the surface of life; they are open and visible to the eyes of our fellow-men. There are secret forces lying behind our works which man cannot seeour motives, our thoughts, our ambitions, our purposes and affections; in a word, our hearts.
What comfort can we find in such a truth as this? Is it not rather a terrifying thought? No, for it is this same omniscient God, to whom our hearts are naked and open and from whom no sins are hidden, Who says to us, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. In spite of all that He knows of us, He has set His love upon us. His love survives His knowledge of our sinfulness. None of us would like to lay bare our inmost natures to our fellow-men, not even to our bosom friend. Yet God knows alland yet He loves us. Is there no consolation here? If His love has not been slain by such knowledge as that, it must be love indeed.
The Rev. G. Arthur Sowter.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6:32
Gentiles is from ETHNOS and refers to the nations in general out over the world. God knows all about our needs for He has created the very bodies that have them, hence he certainly will not refuse to provide what is necessary to support them.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 6:32. For. A reason against this anxious thought is now given. The parenthesis is unnecessary.
After all these things do the Gentiles seek. Worldliness and distrust are heathenish. The Pharisees, boasting of freedom from Gentile influence, were guilty of such distrust. Worldly men are quick to mock at the childlike trust in God here commanded.
For. This introduces an additional reason, yet one related to the other. Heathen, unbelievers in Gods Providence, may act in this forbidden manner. Do not resemble them, for you believe that you have a heavenly Father and he knoweth that ye have need of all these things. He does not forbid your wants, but supplies them.