Hypocrisy and the Ethic of the Kingdom: Alms-Giving

Jesus began His treatment of His kingdom's ethic by considering it in relation to the Law of Moses and its fulfillment in Himself. From there He turned His attention to three religious exercises - alms-giving, prayer, and fasting - that epitomized Israel's practical piety, using those practices to illumine and rebuke Israel's religious hypocrisy (6:1-18). What Jesus specifically sought to show is that, consistent with all men in their estranged condition, the apparent devotion to God of Israel's "holy men" was just that - nothing more than appearance. The reality was that their religious energies and efforts had themselves and their own glory and honor as their true object. Their "righteousness" was the damning pretence of self-righteousness. This message considers alms-giving as the first of the three practices Jesus cited.