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Chapter Summary

In this second chapter of his Sermon, he Controlleth the Pharisees' justice (that is, their alms, prayer, and fasting) for the scope and intention thereof, which was vain glory. 19 Their end also was to be rich, but ours must not be so much as in necessaries.

Giving to the Needy

1“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven. 2Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

The Lord'€™s Prayer

5And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. 6But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. 7And when praying, do not choose many words, as the pagans do. For they think that by their excess of words they might be heeded. 8Therefore, do not choose to imitate them. For your Father knows what your needs may be, even before you ask him. 9Therefore, you shall pray in this way: Our Father, who is in heaven: May your name be kept holy. 10May your kingdom come. May your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. 11Give us this day our life-sustaining bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation. But free us from evil. Amen. 14For if you will forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father also will forgive you your offenses. 15But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins.

Proper Fasting

16And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward. 17But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

Treasures in Heaven

19Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.

The Lamp of the Body

22The lamp of your body is your eye. If your eye is wholesome, your entire body will be filled with light. 23But if your eye has been corrupted, your entire body will be darkened. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great will that darkness be! 24No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Do Not Worry

25And so I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Consider the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much greater value than they are? 27And which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature? 28And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work nor weave. 29But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these. 30So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and cast into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he care for you, O little in faith? 31Therefore, do not choose to be anxious, saying: ‘What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and with what shall we be clothed?’ 32For the Gentiles seek all these things. Yet your Father knows that you need all these things. 33Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well. 34Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow; for the future day will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its evil.”