(The following questions have been developed in order to make clear how the Word is functioning in any given text, a primary concern of Law and Gospel preachers. In order to understand the rationale for these questions and to learn more about Law and Gospel preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)
1. How does the Word function in the text? We need only look at the form of the verbs in this text to know how the Word functions. Nearly every verb is an imperative or a prohibition. In short, these are commands, and as such they function as calls to obedience. A call to obedience assumes that the call of faith has already been heard, and now the disciple is being instructed.
2. How is the Word not functioning in the text? There is almost no Law or Gospel in this text. That is to say, there is nearly no word that either exposes our need for Christ, or one that proclaims what God has done in Christ. The final verse is the sole exception to this, as Jesus says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." When we hear this we know that our hearts expose our idolatry.
3. With whom are you identifying in the text? Jesus is talking to his disciples here, and we, being his disciples, also receive this word directly. Jesus is not talking to the world, but to those who claim to be amongst the faithful. Jesus is talking to us.
4. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? Because of the absence of Law and Gospel here, there is little fodder for couplets. Returning to the final verse we might try these: hearts astray/hearts forgiven; false treasures/true treasures.
5. Exegetical work: It is fascinating the multiple ways that the first verse of this pericope has been translated: "Do not your alms before men" (KJV), "Beware of practicing your piety before men" (RSV), "Be careful not to make a show of your religion before men" (NEB), etc. Part of this variation is due to the fact that the Greek text is also unsettled. Most manuscripts use the word dikaiosynae, which is usually translated "righteousness", but a notable number of other manuscripts use the word eleemosynen, which is often translated "acts of compassion or mercy". Given that the former choice seems, by scholars, to be the preferred one, we are left with an interesting command: "Beware of doing righteousness..." Of course, as we have pointed out, the motivation for this doing of good deeds is the whole issue. According to ancient sources, an anonymous writer had this to say, "It is better to do nothing than to act to be seen." And "The very act of kindness...trumpets itself." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. 1a, p. 124) Augustine gets us to the heart of the matter: "If someone does something with the intent of gaining earthly profit, that one's heart is upon the earth." (Ibid., p. 141) Douglas Hare, in his contemporary commentary, says it this way: "Giving, prayer, or fasting, if undertaken for the praise it will win from others, is basically irreligious..." (Interpretation series, Matthew, p. 65) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his classic commentary on the Sermon on the Mount gives us a strategy going forward: "Genuine love is always self-forgetful in the true sense of the word. But if we are to have it, our old man must die with all his virtues and qualities, and this can only be done where the disciple forgets self and clings solely to Christ." (The Cost of Discipleship, p. 160) There is our strategy: cling solely to Christ!
6. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text? Chris Repp's 2018 analysis of this text is an inventive take on this call to obedience. In the final step of the analysis, he shows how what Jesus is commanding is finally being worked out. Meanwhile, the boondoggle of the Cross, has become the infrastructure of our salvation. Check out the entire analysis at crossings.org/text-study.
Blessings on your proclamation!
