From Calvin's Commentaries
The Harmony of the Gospels (Volume XVII)
MATTHEW 6:16-19
He again returns to the former doctrine: for, having begun to rebuke
vain ostentation in alms and prayer, he laid down, before proceeding farther,
the rule for praying in a right manner. The same injunction is now given
to his disciples about fasting, which he had formerly given about prayers
and alms, not to be too solicitous to obtain the applause of spectators,
but to have God as the witness of their actions. When he bids them anoint
their head, and wash their face, his language is hyperbolical: for Christ
does not withdraw us from one kind of hypocrisy, to lead us into another.
He does not enjoin us to counterfeit splendor, or exhort us to temperance
in food in such a manner, as to encourage the luxuries of ointments and
of dress: but merely exhorts us to preserve moderation, without any thing
new or affected;—in short, that the fastings, in which we engage, should
make no change in our accustomed way of living.
Thy Father will reward thee. When he promises a reward from God to fastings,
this mode of expression, as we said a little before with respect to prayer,
is not strictly accurate. There is a wide difference, indeed, between prayer
and fastings. Prayer holds the first rank among the antics of piety: but
fasting is a doubtful operation, and does not, like alms, belong to the
class of those actions which God requires and approves. It is pleasing
to God, only so far as it is directed to another object: and that is, to
train us to abstinence, to subdue the lust of the flesh, to excite us to
earnestness in prayer, and to testify our repentance, when we are affected
by the view of the tribunal of God. The meaning of Christ’s words is: “God
will one day show that he was pleased with those good works, which appeared
to be lost, because they were concealed from the eyes of men.”
MATTHEW 6:19-21; LUKE 12:33-34
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up. This deadly plague reigns everywhere
throughout the world. Men are grown mad with an insatiable desire of gain.
Christ charges them with folly, in collecting wealth with great care, and
then giving up their happiness to moths and to rust, or exposing it as
a prey to thieves. What is more unreasonable than to place their property,
where it may perish of itself, or be carried off by men ? Covetous men,
indeed, take no thought of this. They lock up their riches in well-secured
chests, but cannot prevent them from being exposed to thieves or to moths.
They are blind and destitute of sound judgment, who give themselves so
much toil and uneasiness in amassing wealth, which is liable to putrefaction,
or robbery, or a thousand other accidents: particularly, when God allows
us a place in heaven for laying up a treasure, and kindly invites us to
enjoy riches which never perish.
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. They are said
to do so, who, instead of entangling themselves in the snares of this world,
make it their care and their business to meditate on the heavenly life.
In Luke’s narrative, no mention is made of the contrast between laying
up treasures on the earth and laying up treasures in heaven; and he refers
to a different occasion for the command of Christ to prepare bags, which
do not grow old: for he had previously said, Sell what you possess, and
give alms. It is a harsh and unpleasant thing for men to strip themselves
of their own wealth; and with the view of alleviating their uneasiness,
he holds out a large and magnificent hope of remuneration. Those who assist
their poor brethren on the earth lay up for themselves treasures in heaven,
according to the saying of Solomon,
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord, and that which
he hath given will he pay him again,” (Proverbs 19:17.)
The command to sell possessions must not be literally interpreted, as
if a Christian were not at liberty to retain any thing for himself. He
only intended to show, that we must not be satisfied with bestowing on
the poor what we can easily spare, but that we must not refuse to part
with our estates, if their revenue does not supply the wants of the poor.
His meaning is, “Let your liberality go so far as to lessen your patrimony,
and dispose of your lands.”
21. Where your treasure shall be. By this statement Christ proves that
they are unhappy men who have their treasures laid up on the earth: because
their happiness is uncertain and of short duration. Covetous men cannot be
prevented from breathing in their hearts a wish for heaven: but Christ lays down
an opposite principle, that, wherever men imagine the greatest happiness to be,
there they are surrounded and confined. Hence it follows, that they who desire
to be happy in the world renounce heaven. We know how carefully the philosophers
conducted their inquiries respecting the supreme good. It was the chief point on
which they bestowed their labor, and justly: for it is the principle on which
the regulation of our life entirely depends, and the object to which all our
senses are directed. If honor is reckoned the supreme good, the minds of men
must be wholly occupied with ambition: if money, covetousness will immediately
predominate: if pleasure, it will be impossible to prevent men from sinking into
brutal indulgence. We have all a natural desire to pursue happiness; and the
consequence is, that false imaginations carry us away in every direction. But if
we were honestly and firmly convinced that our happiness is in heaven, it would
be easy for us to trample upon the world, to despise earthly blessings, (by the
deceitful attractions of which the greater part of men are fascinated,) and to
rise towards heaven. For this reason Paul, with the view of exciting believers
to look upwards, and of exhorting them to meditate on the heavenly life,
(Colossians 3:1,) presents to them Christ, in whom alone they ought to seek
perfect happiness; thus declaring, that to allow their souls to grovel on the
earth would be inconsistent and unworthy of those whose treasure is in heaven.
