Sermon on Matthew 6:25-34 by Johnathan Arnold
The Cares of Life
The King James translation is a bit too strong here. The idea is more like “Do not be anxious about your life”; “Do not be anxious about tomorrow.” Philippians 4:6 carries the same idea when it says, “Do not be anxious about anything.”
Jesus’ message is not primarily about looking to God as our provider; it is about rising above the anxieties of life so that we are kingdom-focused.
Jesus was talking to a crowd that was likely very poor, so a lack of food and clothing was a major source of anxiety. They didn’t have Goodwill or the county food bank. Thus, Jesus encouraged them to trust God as their Provider. That message still applies: those who follow Jesus may lose material possessions, but God will provide their needs.
However, Jesus makes it clear in verse 34 that his words against worry apply to more than just bare necessities; they apply to all of the worries of life: he says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow…Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
You probably aren’t worried about what you will wear or what you will eat. But you are probably worried about something that tomorrow brings. Jesus said, “Don’t worry.”
If anyone has ever told you “don’t worry” or “calm down,” you know that it’s easier said than done. Life is full of anxieties. These anxieties vary from age to age.
For older people…
“How will I pay for my insulin?”
“How will I make it up the steps if my back keeps getting worse?”
“How will my family afford my funeral costs?”
For middle-aged people or young married couples…
“How will I pay my income tax?”
“What if my children don’t serve the Lord?
“How will I ever meet these work deadlines?”
“What if my car stops running?”
“What’s wrong with my marriage?”
“What if my spouse passes away? Who will care for my children?”
Of course, teenagers have their fair share of stresses, too…
“Where will I go to college?”
“Where will I get my first job?”
“Will I pass the job interview?”
“Will I play on varsity?”
“What if I never get married?”
“What if I’m alone for the rest of my life?”
“Why don’t I have any friends?”
“What if I bomb the SATs?”
Stress at school.
Stress at work.
Stress in sports.
Stress in relationships.
Financial stress.
Stress from emotional trauma, like the death of a loved one.
Stress from a serious medical illness.
Stress as the side effect of medication.
The stresses of life can feel like an unending swarm of bees buzzing around in our head. Even if we swat away one of the bees, another one comes back to bug us.
Missing the Point of Life
Some of us are like the priest or the Levite, who scurry past the person in need because of our duties.
Too busy to help a neighbor.
Too busy to read our Bibles today.
Too busy to witness.
Too busy for church.
Too busy to pray.
Too busy for family devotions.
Too caught up in the whirlwind of day-to-day living to give attention to our inner spiritual lives. The bottom line is, we are too busy for God. We are too busy because we have not taken Jesus’ words seriously: “Do not be anxious about your life.” Our minds are too wrapped up in earthly things.
Anxiety is like a hungry monster that always wants more. An anxious person is a slave to his anxieties. Until we break free, we will always have something to do and somewhere to go. We will always be in a hurry. The cares of life will rob our joy.
Matthew Henry said, “There is scarcely any sin against which our Lord Jesus more warns his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life.”
Pressing Through the Distractions
Romans 14:17 says, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” To seek the kingdom means to go deeper in our salvation. What joy!
We are to seek a deeper life in the Spirit — the kind of life that leads to abiding joy and a reassuring peace with God and man. Ellicott says that by “seek first the kingdom,” Jesus means that we are to seek “the higher spiritual life in its completeness.”
If we are focused on seeking the kingdom, we will not be overwhelmed by the cares of life. We must press through the distractions and lay hold of Christ.
Seeking first the Kingdom starts on our knees as we pray and seek God with our whole hearts. Only when we discover that Christ is wonderful and all-satisfying are we able to make the kind of sacrifices that are necessary to live a life of radical joy. Only when we catch a glimpse of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6) are we able to transcend mundane, earthly matters and “take no thought for the morrow.”
The Life of a Kingdom Seeker
Paul illustrates this beautifully in 1 Corinthians 7. He says, “Let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealing with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties.” “I say this…to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.”
We must contend for a place in our Christian life where marriage, grief, happy times, job situations, and other life circumstances, however good or bad, do not distract us from Christ.
Marriage is good, but marriage is full of anxieties; we cannot allow it to distract us from our devotion to the Lord. We must seek first the kingdom.
Work is good. Work is God’s idea, but work is full of anxieties; we cannot allow it to distract us from our devotion to the Lord. We must seek first his kingdom.
School is good. Knowledge is beneficial, but we cannot allow high school, college, or grad school to distract us from our devotion to the Lord. We must seek first his kingdom.
Trust: The Sustaining Key
I feed the birds of the sky.
I clothe the grass of the fields, where the lilies neither toil nor spin.
Do you think that I will not sustain you if you follow me?
Do you have faith in his promise? If God led you to quit a well-paying job that is ruining your spiritual life, would you obey him? If God asked you to go to a different college, would you follow him? If God asked you to set aside your career path and become a pastor or missionary, would you obey?
When Jesus warns us against anxiety and distraction, he confronts head-on our desire for security. We shouldn’t be surprised at how few young people attend Bible college or study for the ministry if we constantly talk about how expensive things are and how hard it is to make a living in this world.
Radical devotion to the Kingdom requires radical trust. Philippians 4:6-8 says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
It’s often been said that some people are so spiritually minded that they are of no earthly good. In fact, the opposite is true: if more people were spiritually minded, they would actually be of some earthly good. Jesus was the most spiritually minded, singly-focused, Kingdom-oriented person that ever lived. He worried not for tomorrow — only how to do the Father’s will.
Are we distracted and anxious? Or are we true kingdom-seekers?
Resources
Ellicott, Charles John. “Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers.” Bible Hub.
Henry, Matthew. “Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary.” Bible Hub.
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About the Author
Johnathan Arnold is Associate Pastor at Newport God’s Missionary Church and serves as Director of Media Ministry. You can connect with him on Twitter @jsarnold7 or email johnathansarnold@gmail.com.
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