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Lesson 11 of the Discipleship Making process.
I left you last time with this question, “Why are actors so highly regarded in society?”
In His previous teaching Jesus talked about love. Real love is the character of God. Its nature is to do the right thing and its actions benefits others. Therefore, using love as a platform Jesus in rapid-fire succession lists three loving actions that His disciples should perform: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. However, these are secondary issues. The real issue He addresses is the spirit behind the actions. Why does a person do these acts of love and from whom will he receive honor?
Read: Matthew 6:1-18
Jesus instructs the His disciples, first, to do their almsgiving, known as compassion and not a tithe, in secret. He wants them to do it in such a way that other men do not notice. When a person receives charity from another he knows there is always a sense of indebtedness that goes with it. When the giver is unknown to the poor, the only thanks he can give is to God, therefore be discreet in your giving.
He next draws attention to the word hypocrite, addressing the spirit behind or motives of His disciple’s actions in these matters. A hypocrite is an actor playing a role. What you see is not reality; it’s phony. Jesus said hypocrites could be found whenever an audience gathers, so their performance can be seen. They live for the applause of men for the role they are playing. The hypocrite does his acts of righteousness out of love for himself not others.
Jesus moves on to prayer. He tells His disciples to get away from people, go to the inner rooms and close the door so people can’t hear you pray. The hypocrites pray publicly because they want people to think they are religious. But prayer is a private conversation between a man and his God. He goes on to tell the disciples not to use meaningless repetition like the Gentiles do. Their chants and mantras are worthless. The fact of the matter is that God hears and answers His children’s prayers before they even cry out (Isaiah 65:24).
The final love action deals with fasting. Most people think that it means to abstain from food. However, that is not the true sense of the word. Four conditions must be met in order for something to be considered a fast. A person (1) does without something (2) that is needed or desired (3) for a period of time (4) with the express purpose of accomplishing something greater (Isaiah 58:6-14 - The only food fast that God declared was once each year on the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur).
Jesus tells His disciples to do all these love actions in secret because their Father who sees in secret will reward them. They will receive their honor, glory and applause from Him. In contrast to a hypocrite, a disciple’s motive for good deeds is based on humility. He desires to see God receive the credit. And his acts of righteousness are based on love for God and others. Doing good deeds always require a sacrifice. The end result of doing good deeds is a reward for everyone who does them. For the hypocrite it is the applause of men and for the disciple it is treasure laid up for him in heaven.
The point of the lesson is, get a better reward for your good deeds.
With that, allow me to leave you with this question to consider, along with a little homework assignment until my next posting:
Do you think by saying the Lord’s Prayer over and over that we are guilty of using meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do? Why or why not?
. . . and the homework assignment . . .
Do these love actions (almsgiving, prayer, fasting) in secret for your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Desire to see God receive the credit. For in this way, your treasure is laid up for you in heaven.
Until next time . . . Godspeed!
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