Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Would You Still Give If No One Knew? | The Gospels | Matthew 6:1–4

Episode Date: September 30, 2026

Would you still give if nobody knew? What does your generosity reveal about your heart? And what if giving is really about becoming more like Jesus? In today’s episode, Jensen explains how Matthew 6:1–4 exposes the temptation to seek recognition and calls us toward generosity that puts others before ourselves. Want to become a more consistent Bible reader? Download our free Ten Minute Bible Guide and start building a simple, sustainable habit of meeting with God through his word. Grab your guide here. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Matthew 6:1–4

Welcome to 10-minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. When you open up to chapter six in the book of Matthew, you will find a transition of sorts. So you remember Jesus is in the middle of a long sermon, the sermon on the Mount. He's just walked us through six statements of, You have heard that it was said, but I say. He's been correcting misreadings of the Old Testament law, namely misreadings, that have come from the Pharisees, the religious rulers of the time. And notably, Chapter 6 deviates

from the structure. But he doesn't deviate from the root of his message. He is still aiming his critiques at the Pharisees, namely their hypocrisy. And the first verse of Matthew 6 will set up the first three sections of scripture. It reads, Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven. And what follows is three sections on giving to those in need, prayer, and fasting. All three of these are religious acts, acts of righteousness, that would have been incredibly important to the Jewish community, both religiously and socially. And in each section, you will see that Jesus is correcting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They do these righteous acts,

but they do them for the wrong reasons. And Jesus, he's getting at a point. Being his follower is about more than the image you project to the world or the things you do. It is a clear denouncement of the Pharisees, but it's also a warning, a reality check for you and for me to ask ourselves where we see ourselves in Jesus' examples. See, Jesus is offering a critique. Don't do good things so that you can gain the approval and praise of others so that they will see you. He warns that even when you do good, if you do it for the praise of others, you won't get the reward. Now, today our passage focuses on the first of these three religious acts, giving to those in need, something that would have been referred to as almsgiving in the time of Jesus.

And with his overarching critique in mind, we read verse two. So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Okay, so first, let's notice that Jesus says, when you give. Not if you give, but when. The expectation of the disciple of Jesus is that they are giving to the needy. caring for them, tending to their needs. There is no discussion over this expectation. It's not a question, it's a given. Followers of Jesus will be generous with their money for the sake of others.

His main focus is actually on the intentions behind the gift. You see the synagogues and the streets were incredibly public places. You could not have given in these places without people noticing. Jesus is pointing out that there are many people who give in these places in such a way that they may as well blast trumpets, saying, look at me, look at how generous I am. Jesus tells us this person has received their reward. They sought a reward. The reward was the praise and approval and honor of others, the reputation for being generous, the indebtedness of the one they had given to. their hearts were generous so that they could obtain that reward so they do in full but like verse one says they will have no reward from the father instead jesus goes on but when you give to the needy do not let your

left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Again, notice the lack of debate over giving. A follower of Jesus will be generous for the sake of others. He talks of giving in secret to the best of your ability. Give faithfully and generously and don't announce it. Remain anonymous. Why? Because when you give generously and anonymously, it helps untangle your motives. You give because you are moved, by compassion for the needs of others. You give because you see people as Jesus sees them. You see your treasures and possessions as gifts from God to be used to the benefit of His kingdom. You know you're a steward of your treasures, not an owner. You aren't trying to gain a position of power or

respect. You aren't trying to look a certain type of way. You are simply moved to give for the sake of the other. Never for your own gain, never for self-promotion, never to feel better than or exalted. merely because you know it's what Jesus has done for you, to give everything for the sake of the other. So how could you not do the same? That is the one who gives in secret, and that is the one who receives a reward. And we're not talking a physical reward here. When you give looking for a physical reward back from God, you step back into the shoes of the hypocrites. You receive no reward when you look for one. The reward you receive as a follower of Jesus who gives generously, merely for the sake of others, is God, becoming more like him experiencing the reality of his love as you love

others building and spreading his kingdom. Where do you see yourself in this story? When you give, are you thinking about you, how it might make you look, what others might think, who might notice, who will know? Or does giving flow out of you for the sake of the one you give to? Here's the thing. It feels good to be known as the one who gives generously. It feels good to swoop in and meet a need. It feels good to be seen and recognized for being righteous. But Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter. When we act, no matter how great those acts are, out of a desire to be seen, recognized, praised. Well, we're acting for ourselves, and we're missing out on the reward, the joy of living generous lives for the sake of others. We will not be transformed into generous

followers of Jesus, but will be stuck in the cycle of performance, always looking out for our own reputation, our own agenda, our own benefit. To the power of the gospel comes from the selfless generosity of Jesus, the God of the universe who gave up everything to become an infant, a poor infant born in a stable. He sacrificed his reputation, he sacrificed his time, he gave up his career and his life for the sake of others, tending to the spiritual and physical needs of those he encountered day in and day out. That kind of selflessness, that kind of love, that kind of generosity, it is hard. We will not do it perfectly. But Jesus is offering a critique, a warning, a reminder of what it does look like to be his follower, to be transformed,

to become like him. And it begins with a shift in motivation. Why do you give for yourself? Or do you give for the sake of others? Jesus is reminding you and he's reminding me that his followers are always generous for the sake of the other. God, thank you. Thank you for giving everything so that a poor and lowly sinner like me could be given riches beyond what I could have ever imagined. Jesus, thank you for living a life that was poured out for the sake of others, for the sake of us. God, help us. Help us in our world. weakness, our misplaced desires to do good for the wrong reasons, to perform, to think only of ourselves. God, give us your eyes. Help us to see those in need as you see them. Change our hearts

towards them. Give us generous hearts that our reward wouldn't be an approval or recognition, but in knowing you more fully, becoming more like you and experiencing your love more deeply as we walk and step with you. Amen. Hey, before we wrap up, can I tell you about something we've been working on here at 10-minute Bible talks? We believe that everyone should know how to read the Bible. But the truth is, a lot of us have never been shown how.

That's why we created the 10-minute Bible guide. It's a simple framework for helping you understand God's Word and build a sustainable Bible reading habit, not so that you can simply check the Bible reading box off your to-do list, but so that you can spend meaningful, life-giving time with God in His Word. Inside our guide, you'll find practical tips for getting started, strategies for how to stay consistent, ideas for how to apply the Bible to your life,

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