Matthew 6:19-24

Treasures and possessions/money.
v.19-20 Don't store treasures for yourself on earth where moths will eat it, or rust corrode it away, or thieves steal it (i.e., don't be greedy). 'Rust' may indicate decay and destruction by mildew, rats and the like. Store your treasures in heaven (i.e., things done in this life that have eternal value). No one can steal treasures you have stored in heaven. Therefore, work for spiritual riches like: holiness of character, obedience to God's commandments, souls won for Christ, disciples nurtured in the faith, and compassionate use of material resources.
v.21 Where your treasure is, there will also be your heart (mind, emotions, will). See Lk 12:33-34. Your heart will be drawn to what you place the highest value on. This does not imply rich people cannot be Christians, but only that riches bring grave dangers to the equation. Place the Father's kingdom first and your needs will be met (v.33). Love of wealth is a great evil (1 Tim 6:10).
v.22-23 Your eyes enable you to see. Good and bad eyes may refer to a good and a bad heart and therefore to storing treasures in heaven or on earth. See Lk 11:34-36. We need to maintain a clear perspective on where to put our treasures. The man with bad eyes, walking in darkness, thinks he has light. But this light is really darkness, made all the worse since he does not recognize it for what it is.
v.24 The disciple must serve God wholeheartedly in all areas of his life. You cannot have both treasure in heaven and on earth, you will end up choosing one or the other. You cannot serve both God (producing heavenly treasure) and Money (producing earthly treasure). See Lk 16:13.

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Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting
v.16-18 As with giving (v.2-4) and praying (v.5-15), fasting is a matter between your heart and God. Don't let others know you are fasting in order to be seen by them (or you will have your reward in full). Fasting involves devoting yourself to God and worshiping him; not just depriving yourself of food for a time. Fasting should be done in secret so God, who sees in secret, can reward you. Don't go about in a mess or with some visible sign of your fasting. Wash your hair and put on clean clothes.


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Matthew 6:5-15

Praying in secret and the Lord’s Prayer.
v.5-6 Just as we have seen with giving to the needy, (public) prayer can become perverted when there is an internal corrupt motive. Here hypocrites are described by Jesus as praying in church or in public to be seen by others. Praise by men is all the reward they will ever get. While public prayer has value, praying in private, in your inner room, allows you to focus more exclusively on God. Then God, who sees what you do in secret, and will repay you. As an example, Jesus prayed alone early in the morning (Mk 1:35) and on a mountain (alone) at night (Lk 6:12).
v.7-8 Jesus tells us to not pray as the heathen with vain repetition and many words. The Father knows what we need before we ask. A repeated prayer is not vain repetition. Vain repetition is a babbling of words (long winded, flowery oration) without a sincere desire to seek God's will. Jesus told a parable that indicated a sincere repeated request is permissible (Lk 18:1-8). Jesus would value quality in prayer (the attitude of faith that underlies it) rather than quantity (frequency or number of words).
v.9 V. 9-13 are the 'Lord's Prayer.' Perhaps more rightly the "disciples prayer' since it is a model for their prayers. He starts with 'Our Father.' The image of God as our father brings to mind both his authority and his loving kindness. 'In heaven' speaks to God's sovereignty. 'Hallowed...' indicates we are to start our prayers by holding God in reverence and honor on earth as he already is in heaven. We should not address God causally or flippantly — he is holy, all powerful, all wise and perfect. God's 'name' is a reflection of who he is as he has revealed himself. The prayer expresses the desire that his name not be despised by those he created in his image. (Recall the first three commandments, Ex 20:3-7.)
v.10 Christians are to pray for the establishment of God's kingdom here on earth. 'Your kingdom come.' That is, the consummation of God's purposes on earth. This would include not only the future coming of Christ, but also the advancement of the kingdom by Jesus' disciples now through word and deed. 'Your will be done.' This request asks that God's will, and not our rebellion and sin, prevail in our lives and on earth. 'On earth as it is in heaven.' This phrase applies to the three previous requests (your name, your kingdom, your will).
v.11 This verse is the first of three petitions for the disciples needs. 'Our daily bread' means the physical needs that are necessary for today. Christians should pray each day for today's (or tomorrow's) essentials for life (see also Prv 30:8). We should request that which we need and not things that are based on our greed (Jas 4:3). Below in v.25-26 Jesus tells us to not worry about the needs of today (having placed our trust in God).
v.12 We are each indebted to God because of sin. This petition requests forgiveness of those debts as we also have forgiven those indebted to us. As v.14-15 below indicate, our forgiveness from God and reconciliation of our relationship with God is predicated on our forgiving our fellow man who has sinned against us. It can perhaps be said that only a repentant heart can show forgiveness to others.
v.13 While God himself does not tempt us to do evil (Jas 1:13), he may allow circumstances in which we are tempted (i.e., testing our faith). The phrase is a request for God's protection from sin (and evil).
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
v.14-15 These versus comment on the petition in v.12 (see comments there). In the parable of the unforgiving servant (18:21-35) the Lord asks, 'I forgave you all that debt, shouldn't you also have forgiven your fellow?'

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Matthew 6:1-4

Practicing righteousness.
v.1 Good deeds (practicing your righteousness, i.e., religious observance) include giving (2-4), prayer (5-15), and fasting (16-18). This verse warns about doing such deeds to be seen by men. We of course are to do such things (5:16), but God knows the motive of the heart. Do them in secret and your reward will come from God in heaven. The reward may perhaps be spiritual maturity in this life, or a heavenly reward in the life to come (or likely both). We certainly want to be characterized by righteousness (Ps 1) and we want others to see that in our life (5:16), but here we are talking about religious duties. Those in religious ministry must not value the praise and pay of their congregation over what God has called them to do — if they do they will have no reward when they stand before God in heaven.

Giving to the needy (secretly).
v.2-4 Don't announce when you are giving to the needy (it goes without saying that Jesus' disciples will be generous givers). Applause from men will be all the reward you will get. Jesus calls those who announce their giving hypocrites. A hypocrite claims to have a good relationship with God but is self-seeking and self-deceived (rsb). One form of hypocrisy is doing the right things but for the wrong reasons. The Pharisees loved the praise from man more than the praise from God (Jn 12:42-43). The way given here to avoid hypocrisy is to give in secret. Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (i.e., don't dwell on it in your own thoughts) Your Father in heaven sees in secret and will reward you..

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Matthew 5:43-48

Loving your enemies, and the demand for perfection.
v.43-44 The OT tells us to love our neighbor (Lv 19:18). Jesus is here preaching against, not the OT, but an interpretation of the OT that said "hate your enemies." The true intent of Lv 19:18 includes loving your enemy. Lk 10:25-37 addresses the question "who is my neighbor?"
v.45 The (true) sons of the Father are those who respond to Jesus' teaching. God shows his love to all men without distinction. It rains for both the evil (unjust) and the good (just) man (but of course God does make a distinction between the evil and just, i.e., Mt 25:31-46). We are to love (and therefore pray for) our enemies. Jesus prayed for those who were persecuting him (Lk 23:34).
v.46-47 Tax collectors loved those who loved them (mother, other tax collectors?). Jesus asks what reward will you have for doing the same. Similarly, gentiles greet (only) their brothers, so what reward can you expect for doing the same. We are called to a higher standard. I take the rewards mentioned in these verses to be those you store up and have waiting for you in heaven (Mt 6:19-21).
v.48 Similar to Lv 19:2, here Jesus teaches that we are to be perfect (as God is perfect). His followers must emulate his perfection.

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Matthew 5:38-42

Retaliation (don't)
v.38 The law (Dt 19:20-21) required proportionate punishment for a wrong doer (an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth). This was to prevent punishments that far exceeded the severity of the offense.
v.39-41 Jesus did not allow retribution among his followers. The focus here is on individual conduct (not the use of force by a government to stop evil). We should respond to an attacker with love.
v.42 We should give to those truly in need (but not to those who are begging but not truly in need, sometimes giving will cause more harm). See Dt 15:7-11.

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Matthew 5:33-37

Oaths
v.33 Jesus makes an allusion to the OT verses Ex 20:7, Lv 19:12, Nm 30:2 and Dt 5:11. The law forbade using the Lord's name lightly. Once his name was invoked in a vow, it was a debt that had to be paid.
v.34-36 Don't swear at all, Jesus now tells us. He gives as examples of inappropriate oaths: oaths by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and one's head. In 23:16-22 he will add the temple, the gold of the temple, the altar, and the gift on the altar. Jesus has in mind the importance of telling the truth in all circumstances. Vows were necessary in certain circumstances because we live in a sinful society, but God calls us to a higher standard.
v.37 Let your yes be yes and your no, no. Anything beyond this comes from evil.

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