Bible Synapse
Should good works be done so that others see them, or in secret?
Hard question · The life of Jesus · raised by 4 of the lists sceptics circulate
See the passages joined in the interactive mapThe passages
Let your light shine before others, so that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Do not give alms before others in order to be seen by them; give in secret, and your Father will reward you.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
The scribes and Pharisees do all their works to be seen by others.
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
The objection
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.” A few verses later he says, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them,” and tells his hearers to give in secret. So should good deeds be seen or hidden?
The answer
Each verse states its own purpose, and that is where the difference is. In Matthew 5:16 the aim is that people “glorify your Father which is in heaven”: the light points away from the one who carries it. In Matthew 6:1 the fault is doing alms “to be seen of them”, where the Greek pros to theathēnai autois means ‘in order to be looked at by them’; the verb, theaomai, is the root of the Greek word for a theatre. The hypocrites of 6:2 give “that they may have glory of men”, and Matthew 23:5 uses the same Greek phrase of the Pharisees: “all their works they do for to be seen of men”.
So Jesus does not forbid good deeds that others happen to see; he forbids doing good in order to be admired. A Christian’s life should be plainly good, like a city on a hill (5:14), while acts of devotion such as giving, prayer and fasting are not to be a performance. Matthew Henry put it this way: good works may be seen ‘to the edification of others, but not that they may be seen to our own ostentation’.
From the classic commentators
We must do good works that may be seen to the edification of others, but not that they may be seen to our own ostentation; we are bid to pray in secret, and what lies between God and our souls, must be kept to ourselvesMatthew Henry, Commentary on Matthew 5:16 (1706–1721)
Sources
- Matthew Henry, Commentary on Matthew 5, at HelloAO
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: Matthew 6, at Bible Hub
- Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary on Matthew 6, at Bible Hub