St Matthew Chapter VI : Verses 25-34
Contents
- Matt. vi. 25-34 (Douay-Rheims text) & Latin text (Vulgate). (b) The Christian’s Rule of Life. 2. Confidence in Divine Providence.
- Notes on text
Matt. vi. 25-34
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| He taught them. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
25 Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment?
Ideo dico vobis, ne solliciti sitis animae vestræ quid manducetis, neque corpori vestro quid induamini. Nonne anima plus est quam esca, et corpus plus quam vestimentum?
26 Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?
Respicite volatilia cæli, quoniam non serunt, neque metunt, neque congregant in horrea : et Pater vester cælestis pascit illa. Nonne vos magis pluris estis illis?
27 And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit?
Quis autem vestrum cogitans potest adjicere ad staturam suam cubitum unum?
28 And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin.
Et de vestimento quid solliciti estis? Considerate lilia agri quomodo crescunt : non laborant, neque nent.
29 But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.
Dico autem vobis, quoniam nec Salomon in omni gloria sua coopertus est sicut unum ex istis.
30 And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?
Si autem fœnum agri, quod hodie est, et cras in clibanum mittitur, Deus sic vestit, quanto magis vos modicæ fidei?
31 Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?
Nolite ergo solliciti esse, dicentes : Quid manducabimus, aut quid bibemus, aut quo operiemur?
32 For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.
hæc enim omnia gentes inquirunt. Scit enim Pater vester, quia his omnibus indigetis.
33 Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Quærite ergo primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus : et haec omnia adjicientur vobis.
34 Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.
Nolite ergo solliciti esse in crastinum. Crastinus enim dies sollicitus erit sibi ipsi : sufficit diei malitia sua.
Notes
25. Therefore I say to you. Jesus now proceeds to explain how and where His disciples are to lay up treasures.
be not solicitous. Lit. “be not careful about or distracted by” (μὴ μεριμνᾶτε ). God can and will provide what man is powerless to procure for his own needs.
your life. The Greek word translated “ life ” (ψυχῇ) generally refers to the inferior part of the soul, as distinguished from its superior or intellectual life. It is here used in a wide sense, as referring to all that is immaterial in man.
the life more than the meat. Here the argument is “a maiore ad minus.” Since God has given the greater, i.e. life. He will give all that is necessary to sustain it — our daily bread.
26. Behold the birds. Here the argument is “ a minore ad maius.” If God provides for the birds, bow much more will He feed His children ?
sow . . . reap . . . gather into barns. A similar thought is found in the Talmud : “ Have you ever seen beasts or fowls that learnt a trade, or had a workshop ? yet they are fed without trouble of mind.”
27. by taking thought, — i.e. by being solicitous. The earlier meaning of the noun “ thought” was “ anxiety ” or care ” ; e.g. “ Take thought and die for Caesar ” (Shakespeare).
can add to his stature, etc. The Greek word ἡλικίαν is used of height or of age. No amount of solicitude will increase our bodily height, nor can it lengthen our lives by one instant. Both these statements are true, but the second interpretation harmonizes better with the context, for few men trouble about adding to their stature, whereas many are as anxious as the rich fool to prolong their lives. Moreover, the addition of a cubit (221/2 or 18 inches) to our height would scarcely be called “the least” (ἐλάχιστον), whereas a cubit added to the span of life would be a very insignificant addition.
28. Consider the lilies, (τὰ κρίνα) St Luke omits of the field. The Arabs give the name “ lily” to various flowers, and this word may be a generic term which includes the crimson tulips, the many-coloured anemones, the yellow amaryllis, etc., that enamel the fields in Palestine. Evidently some brightly-coloured flower is intended.
Our Lord takes His simile from “birds of the air” and “flowers of the field,” for which men do not provide.
29. not even Solomon. “ Man’s gaze was drawn to the ‘ gorgeous apparel,’ the gold-embroidered robes of kings and emperors. Jewish traditions as to the glory of Solomon, represented even his attendants as clothed in purple, and with hair glittering with gold-dust. He, the true Son of David, saw in the simplest flower that grows, a glory above them all. ‘ The lily shames the king ’ ” (Ellicott, St Matt., p. 38).
30. the grass, etc. By “ the grass of the field ” our Lord meant the lilies already mentioned. The Hebrews divided the vegetable kingdom into two classes, trees and plants or herbs. This latter class comprised grass, corn, and flowers, including the lilies just mentioned. From scarcity of fuel, all the withered stalks of the herbage are, in the East, employed for that purpose (Ryan, vol. ii. p. 258). The Jewish oven was a vessel, narrower at the top than the bottom, made of baked clay.
The great heat of these ovens was proverbial. Cf. Thou shall make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy anger (Ps. xx. 10). Note the contrast — to-day in the field, to-morrow in the oven.
32. all these things, etc. The Jews were accustomed to look with horror on the habits of the pagan world. . Hence frequently in the Old Testament, and already in this discourse (v. 47), these same pagans were mentioned, with a view to shame the Jews into the practice of what is necessary to gain eternal life. It is therefore as if Christ had here said : — I have told you that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (v. 20). What then will be your punishment if you do not excel even the heathens ? And is not this your condition of mind when you give yourselves up to an immoderate anxiety regarding food and raiment ? (Ryan, vol. ii. p. 259.)
your Father knoweth. Therefore He will provide.
33. Seek ye therefore first, etc. Temporal affairs have a claim on us, but God must have the first place in our lives.
shall he added. “ He gives the kingdom to those who seek it, and with it gives the necessaries of life. Whereas those who neglect the kingdom, that they may secure the necessaries, may lose both.”
St Clement of Alexandria quotes a traditional saying of Christ, which expresses the same truth as the text: “Ask great things, and little ones shall be added to you ; ask heavenly things, and earthly things shall be added to you.”
St Luke adds : Fear not little flock, for it hath 'pleased your Father to give you a kingdom (xii. 32).
34. Be not therefore solicitous for to-morrow. Since every day brings its own burden of cares and anxieties, manifestly we double the burden by anticipating those of the morrow. Hence Jesus lovingly bids His disciples be content with what God actually lays upon them. He does not, however, exclude prudence and foresight, as various passages and examples from Holy Scripture prove, but He warns them to place their spiritual interests first. This order is observed in the seven petitions of the “ Our Father.”
Sufficient for the day, etc. This was doubtless proverbial. The Talmud contains a similar saying : “ There is enough of trouble in the very moment” ; and again, “Be not anxious about the morrow ; you do not know what to-day may bring.”
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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