What Does "Take No Thought" Mean? Matthew 6:24-34 (KJV) | Sermon on the Mount Pt 27

What does Jesus mean by "take no thought for your life" in Matthew 6:24-34 (KJV)? Take no anxiety: seek the kingdom of God first, then work without worry.

Sermon on the Mount Pt 27, hosted by Matt Hepner and TopLobsta.

Matthew 6:24 is the hinge of the chapter. Verses 19-24 warn against coveting abundance, and verses 25-34 warn against being anxious about necessities. Matt shows that "take no thought" means take no anxiety, the same word as "Be careful for nothing" in Philippians 4:6, and not "sit on your porch and wait for life to happen."

From there: losing your life to find it (Matthew 16:24-27), flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:50-54), "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31-39), render unto Caesar and unto God (Luke 20:19-26), "all souls are mine" (Ezekiel 18:4), Moses asking to be blotted out of God's book (Exodus 32:30-33), the book of life (Revelation 20:12-15), your children belong to God (Ezekiel 16:20-21), and Paul on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-28).

Then back to the birds of the air, which never just sit around, the ant (Proverbs 6:6-11), Adam put in the garden "to dress it and to keep it" before the curse (Genesis 2:7-15), providing for your own house (1 Timothy 5:8), and "if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The balance: work hard, plan and provide, without anxiety.

Questions answered

• What does "take no thought" mean in Matthew 6, Verse 25? (2:25)

• What does "be careful for nothing" mean in Philippians 4, Verse 6? (4:56)

• What belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God? (15:21)

• What do the birds of the air teach in Matthew 6, Verse 26? (43:24)

• Does Matthew 6 teach Christians to stop working? (48:23)

• Did work exist before the curse? (50:33)