Matthew 6:33 Context
Matthew, who wrote this Gospel, was a former tax collector who left his work to follow Jesus, becoming one of Christ’s twelve apostles.
Tax collecting was a despised profession by the Jewish people, as it was a way to get rich at the expense of your fellow countrymen.
Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life places an emphasis on the fulfillment of Old Testament promises and prophecies.
Matthew 6:33 Meaning
This verse is within the Sermon on the Mount—the longest continuous teaching of Jesus recorded in the Gospels.
Jesus preached this sermon to his followers, and it covered everything from instructions on how to obey God to how to pray with humility to how to know who is a true follower of God.
This verse is found within several paragraphs in the middle of the sermon, and it focuses on how to live a life free of worry.
Worry weighs us down and makes us forget that God takes care of us. We are told in this passage not to worry about food or clothes or what tomorrow will bring or even our very lives.
God has these things under control. He takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field—surely he can take care of you too!
So then, what are we supposed to be thinking about, if not these things? God and his kingdom! These are eternal things that will lift us up rather than drag us down.
They are worthy of our time and our hearts. This verse goes on to say that when we do focus on the things of God, he’ll take care of the things we need here on earth as well.
Matthew 6:33 Application
It’s ironic: If we focus on ourselves, we will be personally miserable. But if we focus on God, not only will we honor him, but we’ll also get all the things we need.
And we’ll have peace of heart and mind thrown in for good measure! This isn’t easy, of course. We all worry about having our needs met, and we worry about what the future holds.
That’s why God reminds us again and again in Scripture to fight this very human tendency and to remind ourselves that God is bigger than anything we face and that he loves us and cares about our needs.
Read through this passage today Meditate on it. Consider memorizing it. It will serve you well throughout your life.
“You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”
