Matthew 6:5, commentary and pictures

Christ in the Sermon on the Mount plainly forbade praying like the scribes and Pharisees, who loved to stand in the synagogues and marketplaces and street corners loudly reciting long formal prayers where crowds could see them. Such praying is done to be seen and admired by people, to be thought deeply pious and devout, and to exalt self rather than to commune with God. To have their reward means they receive only the human recognition they sought, being seen and praised by others, while their pretended prayers bring no answer and no reward from God. True religion is quiet and unpretending, offered in penitence and humility with pure motive for God's glory, with secret devotion directed to God alone, and public prayer is right only when its purpose is communion with God and not display. Christ himself would not pray in the streets to be heard and win human notice, but chose quiet solitary places, often through the night with strong cries and tears for strength to meet temptation and accomplish salvation, then quietly resumed his work of mercy through the day.

Setting and Wording

Christ spoke these words in the Sermon on the Mount. That sermon was given especially to His disciples while the multitude also listened, with the disciples gathered close and a curious crowd listening with them. It was delivered on a level space on the mountainside after He led the crowds there from the seaside. Its words were spoken plainly and simply so that even the poor and unlearned could understand them.

The hypocrites He described are the scribes and Pharisees, including the chief priests, scribes and elders. They loved to pray standing in the synagogues and in the marketplaces and streets of the cities and in the corners of the streets. They would pause at appointed prayer times to recite formal prayers loudly where crowds could see them. Those prayers were long, tedious, formal and meaningless, repeated in the streets to be heard by others in order to obtain a reputation for great piety and devotion.

In every age people pray from the same motive of seeking to be seen by others. Some onlookers behold them with admiration and suppose their prayers are evidence of piety. Others mockingly taunt them.

Motive and Reward

The verse forbids praying in order to be seen and noticed by people, to attract their attention and win their praise, to be thought deeply pious and devout, and for self-glorification, self-exaltation and display of goodness. It condemns prayer offered to display goodness, where good deeds and alms are recited before others, and it rebukes hypocritical, self-exalting prayer rather than forbidding public prayer itself. Such public performance to gain attention or praise already misses its true object, for true prayer recognizes human weakness and dependence on God who is the beginning and the end.

The hypocrites recount their good deeds and exalt their supposed good works, presenting themselves as zealous and devout in order to be seen and praised for devotion and piety. They love to pray in the most public places, not only in crowded synagogues but in the corners of the streets, and they join that public prayer with acts of charity done in the most public manner to call attention to themselves. They also use public speech to exalt themselves and contend with others, with voices heard in the streets in exalting themselves and in contention with those who differ in doctrine.

They have their reward means those who pray from that motive receive only the human recognition they wanted, being seen by people and praised with admiration, which is already their reward. The scribes and Pharisees prayed in synagogues and streets with this motive, and their only reward was the praise of those who mistook their display for piety. The warning applies in every age, that prayer performed for human admiration earns only human approval.

Their pretended prayers bring no return from above, no reward from God and no answer from God. What earns only the recognition sought from people does not earn a reward from God.

True and Humble Prayer

True religion does not seek attention through public prayer or conspicuous good works, but is quiet and unpretending, done without pretense in penitence and humility with pure motive for God's glory rather than for human honor, and religious acts are most precious when so done. Praying to be seen and praised by people is condemned, and those who seek people's praise receive no reward from their Father in heaven. Private prayer is not to be made public, for secret devotion is directed to God alone and not to curious listeners.

The verse does not forbid public prayer, since Jesus prayed publicly with his disciples and before the multitude. Public and family prayer is right when its purpose is communion with God and not being seen by others, and one who sincerely prays alone as Daniel did can be confident that public prayer is not motivated by desire for human praise. What is rebuked is hypocritical, self-exalting prayer offered to display goodness and win human praise. Ordinary public prayers should be kept short and focused rather than making worship tedious with lengthy petitions.

Long, tedious, boastful prayers offered to be heard of people are not accepted by God, and those who offered such conspicuous prayers were called hypocrites. In them men's supposed good works are exalted, while the motive prompting every self-righteous action is the desire to be praised by people. Even the short sample prayer Christ gave in kindness and mercy to warn against vain repetitions and avoid imitating the prayers of the Pharisees, which comprehends every human need, when offered in sincerity as heart-service, is more acceptable to God than such prayers. God hears the prayers of the humble and contrite rather than the self-righteous, and public displays meant to win notice are empty pretensions that do not earn approval. True prayer recognizes human weakness and dependence on God who is the beginning and end, expresses the desires of a renewed heart before God, and awareness of God's presence turns the suppliant away from self-display toward seeking the blessing the soul needs.

Standing to pray like the Pharisees to be heard of people must be abolished, for it is pride and pomposity to be laid in the dust. Believers are to kneel humbly before God, bend the knee, bow low at His footstool with humble contrite hearts in reverence, and make their desires known to God. God from His high and holy place looks upon the contrite one and empowers him at every step so he will not fail nor be discouraged. Prayer is wrongly directed when people seek to please their hearers and shape impressive words to human approval instead of speaking to God, and this desire for audience-pleasing words replaces humble prayer and talk with God, so that the Spirit of God leaves.

Christ's Private Example

Christ never prayed in the street to be heard by men or to win human notice, but shunned human praise and preferred solitude and peaceful retirement. He withdrew from noise and confusion to offer earnest, prevailing intercession to His Father, choosing quiet, retired, solitary and lonely places rather than crowded synagogues and street corners. His prayer was not for self-exaltation or human applause, and public prayer whose purpose is to attract notice and praise is hypocrisy.

He chose the lonely mountain and other lonely places for earnest prayer to His Father, often praying through the night. He frequently spent whole nights with strong cries and tears seeking strength to meet temptation, to continue His mission, to sustain Him under temptation, and to accomplish salvation. He then quietly resumed His work of mercy and disinterested benevolence through the day. Their conspicuous prayers, public charity done in the most public manner to call attention to themselves, self-exaltation and contention with those who differed stood in marked contrast to Christ's humility and private devotion.

Leaders' Corruption and Blindness

At the first advent the Jewish nation as a whole had been growing prouder and prouder and made great boasts of righteousness. Their religion was formal rather than heartfelt, consisting of ordinances and purifications, rites and ceremonies, while religious profession was made very prominent. In fulfillment of the verse they uttered long prayers in the marketplaces to be seen of men, made broad their phylacteries, and gave alms to be seen of men.

Their outward show of righteousness and visible religious forms concealed corrupt hearts marked by ambition, injustice and greed, without heartfelt devotion, personal piety, virtue, or hearts devoted to God. The priests and leaders prayed where others could see them and presented themselves as zealous and devout in order to win admiration, impress the people with their importance, and gain honor, riches, worldly honor and exaltation. The more they lacked the qualifications for sacred work, the more tenacious they were of outward show of piety, zeal and devotion, keeping the forms and ceremonies of worship while their hearts were not in the work.

While praying where others could be seen they exploited the poor, especially widows and orphans, taking the people's offerings for themselves and appropriating the offerings and robbing God. They exacted heavy sums on religious pretenses, laid heavy taxes upon them, devoured widows' houses, ground the faces of the poor, took advantage of them in every way possible, and took advantage of the poor, the widow and the fatherless. Their religious appearance of zeal and goodness thus masked self-serving conduct and a religion without heartfelt devotion.

Failure to walk in the light God had given was separating the Jewish people from God, and darkness was coming upon them in the same proportion as the light had been permitted to shine upon their pathway. Their hypocritical devotions proclaimed the law and exalted traditions while they made no preparation to welcome the Saviour. They repeated long, meaningless, boastful prayers in public places and streets to be heard of men in order to obtain a reputation for great piety and devotion, yet remained indifferent to and ignorant of the coming of the Prince of Life that prophecy had foretold. Their empty acts of worship performed for public recognition, riches and worldly honor left them unprepared to welcome the Messiah, in contrast with any true expectation or preparation for Christ's coming.

Wider Chapter Lessons

Matthew 6 holds lessons still not learned, calling for recognition that every gift comes from God and for gratitude for His goodness to fill the heart until a heavenly atmosphere surrounds the soul. It calls for ordering life by the truth of God as found in His word and for diligent study of the Scriptures as the truth of the living God, the foundation of faith and the assurance of hope of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. Its truth is to be learned and to guide life rather than prayer being made a display to be seen by others.

The chapter teaches the far-reaching principles of God's law and the need for its spirit to be in the heart. It gives the pure gospel upon the mount that explains God's holy law and sets the holy standard of character for business transactions, meaning loving God with the whole heart and loving one's neighbor. That standard refuses to divert means from their true object for ambitious designs, to mingle human wisdom with the divine, to confuse minds about right and holy methods, or to unjustly acquire means at another's expense to please lust for gain and power. Those who do these things prove they have not yet learned this teaching and need repentance, conversion, and a cleansing and purging of the soul temple to meet its requirement.

The chapter directs those set on being rich to let its words impress the heart and direct the life. It teaches contentment and yielding of the will to the control of the Holy Spirit, so they stop elbowing fellow workers aside to make room for their own plans. Instead their greatest desire becomes working in just the place God has assigned, where He can look upon them with approval.

The verse stands at the beginning of Christ's teaching that in kindness and mercy gives the model prayer taught to the disciples. That teaching warns against vain repetitions and shows how to avoid imitating the prayers of the Pharisees. That short sample prayer comprehends every human need and all personal needs. When that model prayer is offered in sincerity with heart and mind and soul after special private prayer in morning devotion, it keeps from asking amiss. It brings evidence that Jesus is Helper with rich grace to meet the needs of the case, and gives peace to go forth to work.

Its application is to act modestly, hiding self in Christ rather than seeking attention. People who display their religion to gain fame and human honor receive only earthly recognition as their reward, since worldly gain and praise are not lasting happiness. God's children are not to glorify themselves instead of worshiping God. They are to seek grace and spiritual blessings so their lives represent Christ's character and thereby honor and hallow God's name. Such prayer pleads that the world may hear the message of warning and that those who hear it may carry it to those who know it not.