“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Jesus comes to the climax of His argument. The kingdom is the ultimate focus for every believer.
6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
The kingdom of God is more important than our personal agenda. The idea of the kingdom is the main subject of the Sermon on the Mount. The kingdom is to be our controlling priority.
This verse picks up the same word for “seek” as in the last verse. “Seek” carries the idea of concentrating on, making the kingdom one’s highest priority. “Seek” is in the imperative mood and calls for burning attention to the kingdom. The grammar also indicates a constant seeking. The idea is to “Make the kingdom the center of your life.”
The word “first” itself indicates priority and is emphatic in the sentence. We put kingdom issues above everything else. The idea is to put material things second. Believers are not to allow themselves to become distracted by personal needs from God’s purpose for them.
God’s righteousness characterizes His kingdom. This is the kind of kingdom that believers are to pursue.
And all these things shall be added to you.
“All these things” are material things. This refers to the Father knowing what we need in verse 32. The word “added” indicates that God will meet our needs as a matter of course. “These things” are the necessities of life.
6:34
This verse gives us the seventh reason not to worry: Worry for more than what is at hand compounds worry.
Therefore
The idea of “therefore” draws a conclusion: “Since God meets the necessities of life, there is no need to be filled with anxiety. Seek pursuits of the kingdom freely.”
do not worry about tomorrow,
We are to exercise our faith on a daily basis. Worry is distrust in God.
This phrase is not a mandate against providing for the future or planning. However, it is a warning against fearful preoccupation with the future.
for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Focus on tomorrow robs us of today. Tomorrow has its own problems. Worry for more than what is at hand compounds worry.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
We compound our problems by worrying about two days. One day’s trouble is enough to deal with. The idea is not to compound your troubles. Each day has its own set of problems. Why double our trouble?
Today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday. Each day that passes proves the worry of the previous day was unnecessary.
PRINCIPLE:
Believers need to understand the hierarchy of priorities.
APPLICATION:
It is very easy to become preoccupied with the material dimension of life. Jesus wants us to focus on the greater issue of His kingdom.
We need to put in priority the things of greatest value. Kingdom pursuits are of greater value than material pursuits. The issue is whether we are self-centered or God-centered. We cannot commit partially to kingdom issues.
I came across the comments and it hits home.. As I was typing my sermon for tomorrow, my heart was led to this passage, Matt. 6:33, I decided to follow the leading and sought added help. I found some help here.
i was doing my daily devotion and included in our topic was about " Worry" ..I was led to this Verse Matthew: 33-34 and searched on more expound explanations and this helped me a lot..thank you so much!
I have been focusing on the wrong thing. It's almost like God was an after thought in my life. Yes, I prayed but in my current situation….moving to a new city, trying to arrange living quarters, trying to apply for school besides dealing with family. The wife and I hadn't been to church in quite some timem, so we went this past Sunday. The pastor utelized Matt. 6:33 in his sermon and I felt like he was talking to me and my wife in a room full of people. I was so worried about the future that I haven't been focusing on the present. I have to put God first in my life. I need God in my life. I CANNOT MAKE THIS JOURNEY WITHOUT HIM. Praise his name Jehovah Shalom.
Edward, you may be interested in two of my studies. Find the links below. Read the first link and then study the second:
http://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/living-by-the-book/
http://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/the-edification-construct-discussion-guide/
Dr. Richison, I will list a few facts that I have gotten from my study (word by word parsing of 6:33, fact about pronouns, and fact about MSS) and then ask my question.
ζητε?τε (pres. act. imperative. 2nd pl.)
δ? (conj.)
πρ?τον (adverb)
τ?ν βασιλε?αν (fem. sing. acc.)
[το? θεο?] (masc. sing. gen.)
κα? (conj.)
τ?ν δικαιοσ?νην (fem. sing. acc.)
α?το? (masc. sing. gen.), or (neut. sing. gen.)
κα? (conj.)
τα?τα (pronoun – neut. pl. nom.)
π?ντα (adjective – neut. pl. nom.)
προστεθ?σεται (fut. pass. ind. 3rd sing.)
?μ?ν (pronoun – dat. plu.).
Two facts:
– Pronouns agree with their antecedent in gender and number.
– Some manuscripts (L W Θ 0233 ƒ1, 13 33 Û lat sy mae) read τ?ν βασιλε?αν το? θεο? κα? τ?ν δικαιοσ?νην α?το? (ten basileian tou theou kai ten dikaiosunen autou, "the kingdom of God and his righteousness") here, but the words "of God" are lacking in ? B pc sa bo Eus.
My question is, "To what does α?το? refer in this passage, seeing how a masculine singular antecedent is absent from some MSS?"
Brandon, here is an explanation that I do not necessarily agree with:
~ 6:33 τ?ν βασιλε?αν [το? θεο?] κα? τ?ν δικαιοσ?νην α?το? {C}
The textual data are susceptible of quite diverse evaluations. On the one hand, according to the opinion of a minority of the Committee, the reading that best explains the rise of the other readings is that supported by ? (B) itl al, inasmuch as the addition of το? θεο? (or τ?ν ο?ραν?ν) after βασιλε?αν seems to be an altogether natural supplement, which, if present originally, would not have been deleted. (The transposition of δικαιοσ?νην and βασιλε?αν in B is perhaps the result of the desire to suggest that righteousness is prerequisite to participation in the kingdom; compare 5:20.)
On the other hand, a majority of the Committee was impressed by the prevailing usage of Matthew, who almost never employs βασιλε?α without a modifier (the instances in 8:12; 13:38; 24:7, 14 were regarded as special exceptions), and explained the absence of a modifier in several witnesses as due to accidental scribal omission. In view of these conflicting interpretations, it was thought best to include the words in the text but to enclose them within square brackets.
Metzger, B. M., United Bible Societies. (1994). A textual commentary on the Greek New Testament, second edition a companion volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th rev. ed.) (pp. 15–16). London; New York: United Bible Societies.
I was doing a study on Matt 6:33-34 when I came across this commentary. In my option it is a very outstanding teaching. Thank you
Thanks so much i learn alot here
Our small group will be using matt 6 verse 34 and this gives me a better understanding of the verse. Thank you