Jesus Christ · The Sermon on the Mount
Giving in Secret
Jesus never tells His people whether to give — that He assumes. What He corrects is who they are giving for. “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them” — and the hypocrites who sound a trumpet before them in the synagogues and the streets “have their reward.” Not a partial payment. A closed account.
The Text
— Matthew 6:1–4“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.The general warning — not against giving, but against giving to be seen.
So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 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. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.The trumpet, the left hand, and the Father who sees in secret.
This is the first of three tests Jesus runs on the same question — giving (6:1–4), praying (6:5–15), and fasting (6:16–18) — each with the identical shape: a warning against the hypocrites' way, a command to secrecy, and a promise that the Father who sees in secret repays. Giving in Secret sets the pattern the other two follow.
The Reward Ledger
— Matthew 6:1–4 — two accounts, one closed, one left openTHE ACCOUNT BOOK · MATTHEW 6:1–4
| SEEN OF MEN | SEEN OF THE FATHER | |
|---|---|---|
| PAID BY | men — the crowd that saw it | the Father which seeth in secret |
| WHEN SETTLED | at once, before the applause fades | openly, in His own time |
| THE TERM | ἀπέχουσιν — apechousin, a merchant's receipt: “paid in full” | no receipt written — the account stays with Him |
| STATUS | PAID IN FULL | REWARDED OPENLY |
What He Is Saying
— not whether to give, but for whomJesus does not command His disciples to give alms — He assumes they already will, and moves straight to how. Almsgiving was a settled duty for a first-century Jew; the sermon's whole force falls on motive and audience. Give to be seen by men, and men is exactly who you have been paid by. There is nothing left over for the Father to add.
“Have their reward” — paid in fulla word from the marketplace, not the altar
The Greek verb behind “they have their reward” (apechousin) was not a religious word. It was the ordinary commercial term stamped on a settled account — what a merchant wrote when a bill was paid in full, closing the ledger. The hypocrite who performs almsgiving for applause has already been paid, in the only currency he was working for. The transaction is over. There is no further claim on the Father, because none was ever opened with Him.
The trumpets of the hypocritesdid they really sound one?
No Jewish source confirms that anyone literally blew a trumpet before giving alms — D.A. Carson notes in his Matthew commentary that the literal reading seems to stem only from early Christian expositors, Cyril of Alexandria among them. Jesus's image is likelier deliberate exaggeration: a picture so absurd it exposes exactly how loud ostentatious giving already is, without the brass. The point does not depend on the prop; it depends on the motive the prop makes visible.
“Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” is the same exaggeration turned inward — secrecy pressed so far that even the giver should try to forget the gift, rather than store it up to admire later. The goal is not merely hidden generosity, but generosity with no side account of self-congratulation running underneath it.
The Voices on Take Heed
— the church hears Matthew 6:1Take heed that ye do not your alms - The word alms here denotes liberality to the poor and needy. In the margin, as in the best editions of the Greek it is righteousness; either referring to almsgiving as eminently a righteous act, or more probably including all that is specified in this and the following verses - almsgiving, prayer, fasting, Mat. 6:2-18. Our Saviour here does not positively command his disciples to aid the poor, but supposes that they would do it of course, and gives them directions how to do it.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, Matt 6:1
In the foregoing chapter our Lord particularly described the nature of inward holiness. In this he describes that purity of intention without which none of our outward actions are holy.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), Matt 6:1
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 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. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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.
Jerome· Commentary on Matthew (420), on 6:1
it is a subtle sin; vain-glory insinuates itself into what we do ere we are aware.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), Matt 6:1–4
The Voices on the Trumpet
— the church hears Matthew 6:2The sum of all Christian discipline is comprehended in mercy and piety, for which reason He begins with almsgiving.
Ambrosiaster· Catena Aurea by Aquinas (on Matt 6:2)
Now, when our service is rendered to the eyes of men, we do not submit our life to the judgment and approbation of God. Justly, therefore, does Christ say, that those persons, who exhibit themselves in this manner, have their reward: for they whose eyes are held by such vanity cannot look upon God. For the same reason, all who are desirous of vain-glory are called hypocrites.
John Calvin· Commentaries, Matt 6:2 (1554)
Hence our expression to "trumpet." as the hypocrites do--This word--of such frequent occurrence in Scripture, signifying primarily "one who acts a part"--denotes one who either pretends to be what he is not (as here), or dissembles what he really is (as in Lu 12:1, 2). in the synagogues and in the streets--the places of religious and secular resort. that they may have glory of men.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), Matt 6:2
The Voices on the Left Hand
— the church hears Matthew 6:3–4Let not thy left hand know ... - This is a proverbial expression, signifying that the action should be done as secretly as possible. The Hebrews often attribute actions to members which properly belong to persons. The encouragement for performing our acts of charity in secret is that it will be pleasing to God; that he will see the act, however secret it may be, and will openly reward it. If the reward is not granted in this life, it will be in the life to come.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, Matt 6:3
That thine alms may be in secret,.... May be done in secret, and be kept a secret. The allusion seems to be to the secret chamber, where money was brought privately for the relief of the poor. "There were two chambers in the sanctuary, the one was לשכת חשאים, "the chamber of secrets", and the other the chamber of vessels: the chamber of secrets was that into which pious persons put בחשאי, "in secret", and the poor children of good men were maintained out of it privately (q).'' The Jews say many things in favour of doing alms privately.
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746–1748), Matt 6:4
Self-conceit and self-complacency, and an adoring of our own shadow, are branches of pride, as dangerous as vain-glory and ostentation before men. We find those had their good works remembered to their honour, who had themselves forgotten them: When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst? What is the promise to those who are thus sincere and humble in their alms-giving.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), Matt 6:3–4
"That thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." When will He reward you? When all things are revealed clearly and openly, and then you will be not merely rewarded, but glorified.
Theophylact of Ohrid· Commentary on Matthew (1107), Matt 6:4
Where It Points
— secrecy, motive, and the same reward across ScriptureEach one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.“God loveth a cheerful giver” — the motive test carried into Paul's own teaching on giving.
As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts. Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius. Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”The widow's two mites — the smallest gift, unseen by everyone but Jesus, weighed the largest.
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD” — the Father as the One who settles the account.
The widow at the treasury is Matthew 6:1–4 acted out rather than taught. No trumpet, no left hand watching the right — she puts in two mites that no one but Jesus notices, and He is the one who makes sure it was noticed at all. That is the shape of a reward the Father gives, rather than a transaction men settle among themselves.
Closing
“Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” The hypocrite trades a hidden gift for a public account, paid in full and closed the moment men applaud. The disciple trades a public account for a hidden one — kept by the only Witness who was ever going to matter, and settled by Him, in His own time, in the open.