Matthew 6:30

Mat_6:30

Much more clothe you.

Therefore

I. We should from hence be excited to magnify and adore the goodness of God, who, as a common Father, provides for the maintenance of all His creatures.

II. We should never be tempted to do anything unjust, in order to increase our substance or gain a livelihood. We may improve our circumstances, but within the bounds of strict honesty. Whenever we find it impossible to mend our condition without deceitful and unrighteous dealing, we ought to conclude that it is the will of God we should remain as we are.

III. We should be filled with resignation and contentment, being fully convinced that He who thus constantly provides for the substance of such inferior beings will never suffer us to want anything which is truly needful. (Nicolas Carter, D. D.)

Particular providence

I. Explain what we understand by a particular providence. Many deny that God exercises a particular providence over the world. They acknowledge that God rules by general rules, but deny that these leave room for contingencies.

II. Offer some considerations in favour of a particular providence.

1. That it appears from the nature of providence that it must be particular. We can no more conceive that one creature can uphold itself than another. It is absurd to suppose that a created object is independent of its Creator.

2. The supreme and ultimate end of Divine providence proves it to be particular. If God exercises a government over the world it is to some definite end; hence, providence must be particular over the parts as much as the whole.

3. The goodness of God requires Him to exercise a particular providence over His creatures. This leads Him to care for every member of His family.

4. The Scriptures represent God as exercising a particular providence over every part of creation. He telleth the number of the stars.

Learn:

1. Then there can be no such thing as chance.

2. Then God will certainly accomplish His ultimate end in creation.

3. A particular providence displays the perfections of God in a glorious light.

4. The whole world is under obligations to Him for the favours it enjoys. (Y. Emmons, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:30 Little faith results from the failure to understand one’s value to God and the extent of God’s providential protection.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 6:30. Δὲ, but) Used epitatically.[288] Garments are objects of comeliness, as well as necessity. The mention of the lilies with the verb περιβάλλεσθαι, to be arrayed, refers to the former; that of grass with the verb ἀμφίεννυσθαι, to be clothed, to the latter notion.—χόρτον, grass, blade) as for example that of growing wheat.—See ch. Mat 13:26. An instance of Litotes.[289]—ΣΉΜΕΡΟΝ ὌΝΤΑ, which to-day is) i.e., which endures for a very short time.[290]—ΑὔΡΙΟΝ, to-morrow) After a short interval, the grains having been thrashed out, the straw serves for the fire.—κλίβανον, the oven) To heat it.—See Lyranus.[291] Pliny[292] says, “rinds beaten from the flax are useful for ovens and furnaces.”—B. 19, ch. 1. It is not said, into the fire, as in Joh 15:6 (cf. 1Co 3:12), but into the oven. Not, therefore, for the sake merely of being burnt, but of some utility.—ἈΜΦ ΕΝΝΥΣΙΝ, clothe, dresseth) The dress is properly that without which the body is naked: grass, although it has no external clothing, yet, because it is not naked, but is covered with its own surface, is itself its own dress, especially in its highest and flowering part, of which it is divested when it dries up.—πολλῷ μᾶλλον, much more) In this life few attain to the adornment of Solomon, not to mention that of the lilies; our Lord’s words, therefore, regard the certainty, not the degree of adornment: but in the life to come we shall be more adorned than the lilies. We ought not, however, altogether to reject adornment in things, however perishable.—ὀλιγόπιστοι, O ye of little faith) Want of faith was clearly unknown and abhorred by Christ; for He had known the Father. He teaches faith in this passage.[293]

[288] See Append. on Epitasis. It implies some word or words added to a previous enunciation to give augmented force.—ED.

[289] See explanation of technical terms in Appendix.—(I. B.)

[290] E. B. quotes here C. W. Lüdecke, “At Pentecost all these regions are clad in green verdure; but when the south wind suddenly arises, in 24 hours, or two or three days at most, there is nothing that does not become white and blanched.”

[291] The individual thus denominated was NICOLAS DE LYRE, so called from the place of his birth, a small village in Normandy. He is supposed by some to have been of Jewish extraction: he was born in the thirteenth century: he assumed the habit of the Franciscan order in 1291. He was a man of great learning, and especially versed in Hebrew: he wrote several treatises in defence of Christianity against the Jews, and a series of Postills or small commentaries on the whole of the Bible. He died in 1340. He was known in the schools by the surname of Doctor utilis. So great was the effect of his labours, that it gave rise to the proverb, “Si Lyra non lyrasset, Lutherus non saltasset,” i.e., “If Lyre had not played on the lyre, Luther would not have danced.”—(I. B.)

[292] CAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS, commonly called the elder Pliny, born, it is supposed, at Verona, about A.D. 23; died A.D. 79. He was a man of indefatigable study, and, though holding high offices in the state, published, besides other works, a natural history in thirty-seven books.—(I. B.)

[293] This is the only mode of address, which Jesus employed, when wishing to censure the disciples: chap. Mat 8:26, Mat 14:31, Mat 16:8.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_6:30. Τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ] Placed first for sake of emphasis; ὁ χόρτος, however, is simply the grass, so that Jesus mentions the genus under which the lilies (which grow among the grass) are included, and that intentionally with a view to point them out as insignificant; 1Co_3:12; 1Pe_1:24.

σήμερον ὄντα] which to-day exists.

εἰς κλίβ. βαλλόμ.] expresses what is done to-morrow, hence the present. Comp. Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 178 [E. T. 206]. Dried grass with its flower-stalks and such like was also used for the purpose of heating baking ovens (κλίβανοι, or Attic κρίβανοι, see Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 179). Comp. remark on Mat_3:12; Harmar, Beobacht. üb. d. Orient, I. p. 239 f.

πολλῷ μᾶλλ.] expressing certainty.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 6:30 . εἰ δὲ τὸν χόρτον . Application. The beautiful flowers now lose their individuality, and are merged in the generic grass : mere weeds to be cut down and used as fuel. The natural sentiment of love for flowers is sacrificed for the ethical sentiment of love for man, aiming at convincing him of God’s care. κλίβανον (Attic κρίβανος , vide Lobeck, Phryn. , 179), a round pot of earthenware, narrow at top, heated by a fire within, dough spread on the sides; beautiful flowers of yesterday thus used to prepare bread for men! ὀλιγόπιστοι : several times in Gospels, not in classics; not reproachful but encouraging, as if bantering the careworn into faith. The difficulty is to get the careworn to consider these things. They have no eye for wild flowers, no ear for the song of birds. Not so Jesus. He had an intense delight in nature. Witness the sentiment, “Solomon in all his glory,” applied to a wild flower! These golden words are valuable as revealing His genial poetic nature. They reflect also in an interesting way the holiday mood of the hour, up on the hill away from heat, and crowds, and human misery.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass--the "herbage."

of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven--wild flowers cut with the grass, withering by the heat, and used for fuel. (See Jam 1:11).

shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?--The argument here is something fresh. Gorgeous as is the array of the flowers that deck the fields, surpassing all artificial human grandeur, it is for but a brief moment; you are ravished with it to-day, and to-morrow it is gone; your own hands have seized and cast it into the oven: Shall, then, God's children, so dear to Him, and instinct with a life that cannot die, be left naked? He does not say, Shall they not be more beauteously arrayed? but, Shall He not much more clothe them? that being all He will have them regard as secured to them (compare Heb 13:5). The expression, "Little-faithed ones," which our Lord applies once and again to His disciples (Mat 8:26; Mat 14:31; Mat 16:8), can hardly be regarded as rebuking any actual manifestations of unbelief at that early period, and before such an audience. It is His way of gently chiding the spirit of unbelief, so natural even to the best, who are surrounded by a world of sense, and of kindling a generous desire to shake it off.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 30. If God so clothe the grass of the field] Christ confounds both the luxury of the rich in their superfluities, and the distrust of the poor as to the necessaries of life. Let man, who is made for God and eternity, learn from a flower of the field how low the care of Providence stoops. All our inquietudes and distrusts proceed from lack of faith: that supplies all wants. The poor are not really such, but because they are destitute of faith.

To-morrow is cast into the oven] The inhabitants of the east, to this day, make use of dry straw, withered herbs, and stubble, to heat their ovens. Some have translated the original word κλιβανον, a still, and intimate that our Lord alludes to the distillation of herbs for medicinal purposes; but this is certainly contrary to the scope of our Lord's argument, which runs thus: If God covers with so much glory things of no farther value than to serve the meanest uses, will he not take care of his servants, who are so precious in his sight, and designed for such important services in the world? See Harmer's Observations.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(30) The grass of the field.—The term is used generically to include the meadow-flowers which were cut down with the grass, and used as fodder or as fuel. The scarcity of wood in Palestine made the latter use more common there than in Europe. The “oven” in this passage was the portable earthen vessel used by the poor for baking their bread. The coarse ligneous hay was placed below it and round it, and short-lived as the flame was, so that “the crackling of the thorns” (Psa_118:12; Ecc_7:6) became proverbial, it had time to do its work.

O ye of little faith.—The word is found only in our Lord’s teaching, and the passages in which it occurs are all singularly suggestive. The disciples were not faithless or unbelieving, but their trust was weak. They lacked in moments of anxiety the courage which leads men to rely implicitly on the love and wisdom of their Father. So in the stormy night on the lake, or when Peter began to sink in the waves, or when the disciples had forgotten to take bread, the same word recurs (Mat_8:26; Mat_14:31; Mat_16:8).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. which to day is] Rather, though it is to-day.

cast into the oven] The Jewish oven was a vessel narrower at the top than at the bottom, made of baked clay. Sometimes the fuel was placed within, and the cakes laid against the sides. Sometimes the oven was heated by a fire kindled beneath or around it. Eastern travellers state that wood being rare in most parts of the East, grass, twigs, and straw are commonly used for fuel.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore take no thought,.... That is, for the morrow, as it is explained, Luk 6:34 for it is lawful to take proper care and thought for present food, drink, and raiment; but not to be anxiously concerned for futurity;

saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be clothed? These are a repetition of the several things instanced in, and are the very language and expressions of men of little faith; as in the above citation, , "what shall I eat tomorrow?"

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Ver. 30. The grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven] A fit resemblance of all outward things, the subject of our carking cares, likened (when they are at best) to the flower of grass, Isa 40:6; "The sun is no sooner risen," saith St James, {Jas 1:10-11} "with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways," his riches cannot ransom him. But as grass, when ripe, withereth, and is carried away, either by the teeth of beasts or hands of men; so are all, by impartial death. And as the scythe with a few strokes mows down thousands of piles and forms of grass; so do God’s judgments millions of men, Psa 9:17; Pro 11:21. And as grass is today a flourishing field, tomorrow cast into the oven; so are the greatest into their graves (if not into that burning fiery furnace) then when they are in their prime and pride, in their greatest flourish, in the ruff of all their jollity. As the rich fool, therefore a fool because he stuck his clothes with these flowers of the field, these fading felicities, and thought himself thereby become (as Simon Magus) some great one, Act 8:9; Jas 1:10. Contrarily St James makes it a sign of a convert, that though of high degree in the world, yet he is herein made low, that he hath low thoughts of these low things, which he seeth to be mutable and momentary, as the flower of the grass; and bids him rejoice in that he is exalted, in that he is now made a greater man ever since ( Animo magno nihil magnum): being converted he is become too big for these petty businesses. As a man grown up delights to deal in lands and lays by his cherry stones. But we pity that want of wit which maketh the mind run on baubles, but never think on aught substantial.

O ye of little faith] Ye petty fidians, ye small faiths. Unbelief is that root of bitterness whence carefulness springeth. Hence it was that the heathen so abounded in it. Strive we therefore to a full assurance of faith and hope; so shall we roll ourselves upon God for all things needful to life and godliness. Faith fears no famine ( Fides famem non formidat. Jer. ex Tert.), it quelleth and killeth distrustful fear, but awful dread it breedeth, feedeth, fostereth, and cherisheth. When a man can say with Abraham, "God will provide," he will be out of fear and doubt; when he can believe not only God’s promise, but his providence, as David, 1Sa 26:10-11.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field - What grows up in the field, or grows wild and without culture. The word “grass,” applied here to the lily, denotes merely that it is a vegetable production, or that it is among the things which grow wild, and which are used for fuel.

Which today is - It lives today, or it lives for a day. It is short-lived, and seems to be a thing of no value, and is so treated.

Is cast into the oven - The Jews had different modes of baking. In early times they frequently baked in the sand, warmed with the heat of the sun. They constructed, also, movable ovens made of clay, brick, or plates of iron. But the most common kind, and the one here probably referred to, was made by excavating the ground 2 1/2 feet in diameter, and from 5 to 6 feet deep. This kind of oven still exists in Persia. The bottom was paved with stones. It was heated by putting wood or dry grass into the oven, and, when heated, the ashes were removed and the bread was placed on the heated stones. Frequently, however, the oven was an earthen vessel without a bottom, about 3 feet high, smeared outside and inside with clay, and placed upon a frame or support. Fire was made within or below it. When the sides were sufficiently heated, thin patches of dough were spread on the inside, and the top was covered, without removing the fire as in the other cases, and the bread was quickly baked.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

"O ye of little faith;" that is, of little confidence in God and his providence. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

30. Cast into the oven — As a fuel, after it has become withered and dry. In the word grass, here, the lilies mentioned in a previous verse are included. These, and all other grown vegetables, such as the withered stalks of herbs and flowers, the tendrils of vines, the small branches of myrtle and rosemary, and other plants, are, in the East, where fire-wood is scarce, the fuel for the ovens or fire. See following illustration.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_12:28 with slight differences. Luke"s rather harder phraseology is in Savour of it being the more original form. Wherefore; but (Revised Version). The Authorized Version is too strong for the simple de . If God so clothe. The insertion by the Revised Version of "doth" brings out the thought of the indicative mood and of the ever-presence of the action. Observe with the processes and the agencies in the development of these colours our Lord"s advice has nothing to do; origin, develop-merit, and result are all Divine. The grass (torton). Possibly literally the grass among which the lilies grow (Weiss, "Matthaus. Ev."), but probably the herbage, (Gen_1:11; cf. also probably Isa_40:6, 7 1Pe_1:24) including that of which special mention has been made the lilies. Of the field (ver. 28, note). Luke"s en agrw lays even more stress on the place in which it receives this glory. Which to-day is; rather, though to-day it is (shmeron onta). And to-morrow is cast; before our very eyes (ballomenon). Into the oven. Not the fixed but the portable oven (eiv klibanon), "a large jar made of clay, about three feet high, and widening towards the bottom... heated with dry twigs and grass" (Smith"s "Dict."); cf. also Carr for a description of the Indian method of making chupatties. Shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Oligopistoi , except in the parallel passage of Luke, comes in Matthew alone in the New Testament, (Mat_8:26 Mat_14:31 Mat_16:8) in each case referring to want of faith under the pressure of earthly trials. It is the New Testament expression of Pro_24:10.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The grass of the field - is a general expression, including both herbs and flowers. Into the still - This is the natural sense of the passage. For it can hardly be supposed that grass or flowers should be thrown into the oven the day after they were cut down. Neither is it the custom in the hottest countries, where they dry fastest, to heat ovens with them. If God so clothe - The word properly implies, the putting on a complete dress, that surrounds the body on all sides; and beautifully expresses that external membrane, which (like the skin in a human body) at once adorns the tender fabric of the vegetable, and guards it from the injuries of the weather. Every microscope in which a flower is viewed gives a lively comment on this text.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Application of the argument:

v. 30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

The lilies, whose blossoms teach such a great lesson, belong to the grasses; they may even be classed as weeds, if their number and persistence interferes with the tilling of the soil. They belong to the creatures with little value, comparatively speaking. The natives of Palestine, to this day, make use of hay, stubble, and withered herbs to heat their clay ovens, round pots, narrow at the top. These plants of the field, then, which stand so low in the estimation of men that they are used for fuel, are yet so highly esteemed by the Lord that He clothes them in splendid garments, more wonderful than the most gorgeous apparel of Israel’s richest king. And children of God should permit themselves to be harassed by anxious care as to the clothing that they need? Such conduct must surely be a sign of little faith.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. If God so clothe the grass of the field. Wild flowers belong to the herbage that is cut with the grass. In Palestine the forests in many localities disappeared thousands of years ago, and in the scarcity of fuel, dried grass and weeds are often used to heat the oven.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

so clothes the grass in the fields

Jesus continues to speak about the lilies as if they were people who wore clothes. The lilies being clothed is a metaphor for the plants having beautiful and colorful flowers. (See: Personification and Metaphor)

grass

If your language has a word that includes "grass" and the word you used for "lilies" in the previous verse, you can use it here.

is thrown into the oven

The Jews at that time used grass in their fires to cook their food. This can be stated in active form. AT: "someone throws it into a fire" or "someone burns it" (See: Active or Passive)

how much more will he clothe you ... faith?

Jesus uses this question to teach the people that God will provide what they need. AT: "he will certainly clothe you ... faith." (See: Rhetorical Question)

you of little faith

"you who have such little faith." Jesus addresses the people this way because their anxiety about clothing shows they have little faith in God.

Therefore

"Because of all of this"

What clothes will we wear

In this sentence, "clothes" is a synecdoche for material possessions. AT: "What possessions will we have" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

God

faith

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

30. χόρτος, lit. (1) ‘an enclosed place,’ especially for feeding cattle, hence (2) ‘provender,’ grass, hay, (3) then generally ‘vegetation,’ flowers and grass growing in the fields, which when dried are used for fuel in the East. For the first sense cp. Hom. Il. XI. 774, αὐλῆς ἐν χόρτῳ; for the second Eur. Alc. 495, θηρῶν ὀρείων χόρτον οὐχ ἴππων λέγεις. The third sense is not classical.

εἰς κλίβανον βαλλόμενον. The κλίβανος was a vessel of baked clay wider at the bottom than the top. The process of baking meal-cakes or Chupatties in India, as a friend describes it to me, illustrates this passage and also the meaning of ἄρτοι (ch. Mat 14:17 and elsewhere) and the expression κλάσαι ἄρτον (ch. Mat 15:36, Act 20:7). “The ‘oven’ is a jar-shaped vessel formed of tempered clay sunk in the ground. The fuel (χόρτος of the text) is ‘cast into the oven’ and lighted. The meal is first made into cakes, which are then taken up and whirled round between the two hands edgeways, and patted until they are as thin and about the size of a pancake, when by a dexterous movement the hand is introduced into the oven and the chupattie thrown against the side. There it sticks of its own adhesion; as it bakes, the edges curl and peel off, when nearly done and in danger of falling, a stick with a curved spike holds it until the correct moment, and serves to withdraw it from the oven. The result is a crisp thin cake, not unlike our oat-cake.”

The Attic form of the word is κρίβανος: in later Greek both forms are retained and used indiscriminately. For this interchange of λ and ρ cp. σιγηρὸς for σιγηλός, βουκόλος and αἰγικορεύς. Lob. Phryn. 652.

ἀμφιέννυσιν. This word is used appropriately of the delicate membrane that clothes and protects the flower. Accordingly the thought suggested is not only the brilliant colour of the flower, but also the protection of the surrounding cuticle or sheath, which thin and delicate as it is is yet ‘little sensitive to external and even chemical agencies.’ The periblem (cp. περιεβάλετο above) is a technical term with botanists for the cortical tissue or inner membrane underlying the epidermis. See Thomé’s Struct. and Phys. Botany (translated), Ch. III.

ὀλιγόπιστοι. A translation of a common Rabbinical expression.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. τὸν χόρτον] The wild flowers which form part of the meadow-growth are counted as belonging to the grass, and are cut down with it. Cut grass, which soon withers from the heat, is still used in the East for firing. See “The Land and the Book,” p. 341. The pres. part. denotes the habit. “κλίβανος, or Att. κρίβ., a covered earthen vessel, a pan, wider at the bottom than at the top, wherein bread was baked by putting hot embers round it, which produced a more equable heat than in the regular oven (ἰπνός), Herod, ii. 92: Aristoph. Vesp. 1153.” Wilkinson and Webster’s note.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. And if the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, God so dresses, will He not much more (clothe) you, O ye of little faith ?] Lk. has: “And if in the field the grass which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, God so dresses, how much more (will He clothe) you, O ye of little faith!”—ὀλιγόπιστοι] The object of the πίστις here is God, and faith is confidence, assurance, trust in His power and willingness to care for the bodily needs of those who trust in Him. See on 8:26, 14:31, 16:8. The word does not occur in Mk., once in Luk 12:28.

(L)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.