Matthew 6:26

Saturday, 18 January 2025

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

“You gaze at the birds of the heaven, that not they sow nor they reap, nor they collect into barns. And your Father, the heavenly, He nourishes them. Not more, you – you excel – them?” (CG).

The previous verse conveyed Jesus’ words concerning not worrying about one’s life, what you will eat or drink or wear as apparel. Now, as a practical example of why this should be so, He continues with, “You gaze at the birds of the heaven.”

Here the word emblepó is introduced. It is derived from en, in, and blépō, look. Thus, it is more than simply looking. Rather, it is to look intently, in a sustained and concentrated way. The word gaze, to look steadily and intently, suitably translates this word. Jesus is telling them that if they consider birds, they will understand what He will next describe.

The peteinon, a bird or fowl, is also introduced. Some translations say fowls, but in English that word refers to domesticated birds raised for meat or eggs, something not intended by Jesus. Rather, the word birds describes any member of this animal class. Because they are the birds of the heavens, they are not merely domesticated fowls. Of these, He says “that not they sow nor they reap.”

Both of these words are also new. The first, speiró, meaning to sow, comes from spaó, to draw, as in drawing a sword. One can imagine the farmer reaching into his bag, drawing out a handful of seed as if he has a sword in there, and then casting it out to the soil. The word therizó, reap, is derived from theros, heat. This then is translated in Scripture as summer. It thus speaks of the summer harvest. From there, the idea of reaping is derived.

Birds don’t draw out seed, intentionally dropping it in a specific place with the intent of coming back later to harvest the grain. And more, Jesus says, “nor they collect into barns.”

Rather than storing up in barns, birds go out each day and look for food. They then feed their young with what they find. There are no cabinets or cupboards in the nest. Despite the seemingly hard existence of looking for food each day, the world is filled with birds of all sorts. They keep on mating and reproducing. As such, they obviously have their daily needs met. If not, their extinction would quickly come about. But how does this process happen? Jesus explains it, saying, “And your Father, the heavenly, He nourishes them.”

Again, a new word is seen, trephó. It conveys the idea of providing sustenance. This can be literal or figurative. To nourish is a most appropriate translation to convey the full intent. The birds feed, the food is sufficient, and thus, they are nourished by what they have received from our heavenly Father. He has ordained the creation to produce in a certain regular and expected way.

He created birds whose needs match this regular cycle of produce. Therefore, they can continue generation after generation. The cycle has continued steadily so that we can look upon the creation and marvel at the variety of birds that fill the earth, and yet none of them have a barn set aside. Rather, the earth itself, with its daily provision, is God’s storage house for these creatures. Understanding this, Jesus next says, “Not more, you – you excel – them?”

In this short question, two more words are introduced into the New Testament. The first is mallon, an adverb signifying more, as in a greater degree. As such, Jesus is saying that though God meticulously cares for the birds of His creation through what He has set up, He has more care for humans than He does for birds. This is seen in the next word, diapheró, a word literally meaning “to bear through.” In this context, it thus signifies to excel or be better than.

One can think of God carrying through His birds. Day to day, He gives them food, and they are successfully brought through each day. And yet, God attends more carefully to man, carrying him through each day.

How does this happen? It is because He has endowed man with the ability to increase knowledge, figure out difficulties, plan ahead, etc. Birds have been endowed with the knowledge of how to get food each day. But they don’t have the sense to build a barn and store up grain. Man does. Therefore, why should we worry?

God has tended to the bird. He has tended to us more than the birds. Therefore, we should use our brains to increase through what He has already provided.

Life application: Jesus has not departed from the thought of storing up treasure in heaven. He is building upon that idea with His continued words. If we can see that God tends to His creation through how He has set things up, and if we acknowledge that God has placed a special stamp of His creative efforts upon man, then we should have faith that God intends good for us.

The treasures in heaven to be attained from this understanding are based on our faith in Him, His creative decisions, His provision for us in His creation, our acknowledgment that these things came from Him and not ourselves, and so forth. Paul says it this way –

“For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7

In the end, everything that we possess, whether physical or spiritual, is ultimately derived from God, who created all things. What we have, be it ability, intelligence, inheritance, etc., came from beyond ourselves. Therefore, why should we boast?

Rather, we should acknowledge God in all ways and at all times for everything we have and for everything that comes our way. In doing so, we are living by faith. Nothing done in faith will lose its reward.

Lord God, thank You for Your open hand of grace from which every blessing flows down upon us. We know that all things are from You. And so, Lord, may we be faithful in acknowledging this, praising and thanking You for Your kindness to us. How great, wonderful, and kind You are to us, O God. Amen.