Matthew 6:25-34 “Kingdom Calm”

December 28, 2025

Matthew 6:25-34

“Kingdom Calm”

Service Overview: Jesus speaks directly to the anxiety that grips every human heart. He reminds us that life is more than food, clothes, or control, and that our Father knows what we need. This passage calls us to release our worry, trust in God’s provision, and prioritize His kingdom over the chaos of tomorrow.

 

Memory Verse for the Week:

Psalm 55:22 – Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

 

Background & Technical Insights:

• The purpose of this section in the Sermon on the Mount is to set us free from worry. That is Jesus aim in these lines. He wants to set us free from having to worry—and by showing us why we don’t need to worry. It is not a rebuke as much as at is an encouragement. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 296)
• Anxiety characterized pagan religions, which were dominated by fears of a capricious and despotic deity who constantly had to be appeased. (Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, 130)
• The heart of Jesus’ message in our present passage is: Don’t worry—not even about necessities. He gives the command, Do not be anxious three times (vv. 25, 31, 34) and gives four reasons why worry, being anxious, is wrong: it is unfaithful because of our Master; it is unnecessary because of our Father; it is unreasonable because of our faith; and it is unwise because of our future. (John MacArthur, Matthew, 480)
• The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry does; it is a kind of mental and emotional strangulation, which probably causes more mental and physical afflictions than any other single cause. (John MacArthur, Matthew, 481)
• The “worry” which this passage forbids is here set in contrast with God’s prior knowledge of his people’s needs, since it is our awareness of that knowledge and our reliance on it that creates the faith which is the antithesis of worry. (R. T. France, Matthew, 282)
• The Greek word translated “take no thought” literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” Worry pulls us apart. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 24)
• To forbid ‘anxiety’ does not rule out a responsible concern and provision for one’s own and others’ material needs, nor does Jesus here forbid us to work (see on v. 26). His concern, as in the preceding verses, is with priorities, and the essential message of this passage is ‘First things first’, which means in fact ‘God first’. (R. T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew, 142)

 

 

What does Jesus reveal about worry in the life of someone who belongs to God’s Kingdom?

1. Worry distorts what life is really about.

(vv. 25–26 cf. Deut 8:3; Ps 39:5; Prov 15:16; Eccl 5:10; Isa 55:2; Luke 12:15; 12:22–23)

You can worry yourself to death, but not to life. (John MacArthur, Matthew, 486)

Jesus teaches that anxiety destroys life. The more important material things become, the less secure a person feels in pursuit of them. (William E. McCumber, Matthew, 43)

Jesus did not teach us to despise the pleasures of life, but he did say by implication that if we see life in this reductionist manner, we are bound to have anxiety. (R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount, 225)

Jesus calls his disciples to put God first, both by giving priority to eternal issues and also by trusting our heavenly Father to meet our material needs here on earth. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 913)

 

2. Worry fails to accomplish what it promises.

(vv. 27–30 cf. Prov 12:25; 14:30; Eccl 6:12; Luke 8:14; Phil 4:6; 1 Pet 5:7)

We may dignify worry by calling it by some other name—concern, burden, a cross to bear—but the results are still the same. Instead of helping us live longer, anxiety only makes life shorter (Matt. 6:27). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 24)

Jesus made it clear that anxiety is an exercise in futility. (Stuart Briscoe, The Sermon on the Mount, 173)

 

3. Worry reveals who or what we are really living for.

(vv. 31–34 cf. Josh 24:15; Ps 20:7; 62:10; Prov 3:5–6; Isa 31:1; Matt 6:21; Luke 12:34; Rom 8:5–6; Col 3:1–2; 1 John 2:15–17)

Whether men are wealthy or poor—or somewhere in between—their attitude toward material possessions is one of the most reliable marks of their spiritual condition. (John MacArthur, Matthew, 480)

Worry emerges because we choose a lifestyle far beyond what we need. We worry over things God never promised to get involved in. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 305)

Why do people become anxious? In part, for the same reason they become hypocritical: they focus on self rather than on God. (Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount, 149)

Followers of Jesus not only shun hypocrisy in religious duty, but, more positively, they comprehend that all of life is to be lived and all its attitudes are to be formed according to the perspectives of the kingdom. (D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount, 77)

 

Conclusion: How do we actively combat worry and grow in Kingdom calm as followers of Jesus?

1. By re-centering daily on the Father’s care.

(Deut 33:12; Ps 23:1; 55:22; 68:19; 103:13; Isa 46:4; Luke 12:30; Rom 8:32; 1 Pet 5:7)

Faith is my personal confidence in a Being Whose character I know but Whose ways I cannot trace by my common sense. (Oswald Chambers, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 70)

Jesus teaches that trust secures life. The God who feeds the birds, who cannot provide their own sustenance, who clothes the transient lilies with unrivalled splendor, will surely care for His creature man, who is better than they. (William E. McCumber, Matthew, 43)

Jesus answers that just as earthly possessions can become an idol which deposes God by becoming disproportionately important, so also can earthly needs become a source of worry which deposes God by fostering distrust. (D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount, 84)

 

2. By refusing to let thoughts of tomorrow dominate today.

(Prov 27:1; Lam 3:22–23; Luke 12:25–26; Eph 5:15–16; Jas 4:13–15)

Worrying about tomorrow does not help either tomorrow or today. If anything, it robs us of our effectiveness today—which means we will be even less effective tomorrow. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 24)

Half our miseries are caused by fancying things that we think are coming upon us: half the things that we expect to come upon us never come at all. (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 41)

 

3. By reordering our lives around a Kingdom first mentality.

(Ps 37:3–5; Prov 16:3; Isa 26:3; Luke 9:23–24; Rom 14:17; Col 3:17; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Tim 4:18; Rev 11:15)

Anxiety can never be cured by getting more of what we have already. … Anxiety can be cured only by the assurance that all our needs will be met by our King. For this reason, the chief drive in our lives should be to live under the authority of the king and to see his kingdom extended in every possible way — morally, socially, and geographically, as well as personally, inwardly, and spiritually. (Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount, 161)

If we put the kingdom of God first, we do not need to be overly concerned with the future. Base your life on God’s priorities, Jesus says, and you will have no cause for anxiety. If you live this way, you can anticipate the divine promises summed up in verse 33: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Stuart Briscoe, The Sermon on the Mount, 174)

 

Gospel Connection:

Jesus died so that we might be adopted into God’s kingdom, and children who know the care of their King, no longer need fear anything.

(Isa 9:6–7; John 1:12–13; Rom 8:15–17; Gal 4:4–7; Eph 1:5; Phil 4:19; Col 1:13–14; Heb 12:28; 1 John 3:1; Rev 21:3–4)

Think about it this way: Christians who worry believe God can redeem them, break the shackles of Satan, take them from hell to heaven, put them into His kingdom, and give them eternal life, but just don’t think He can get them through the next couple of days. That is pretty ridiculous, isn’t it? That we can believe God for the greater gift and then stumble and not believe Him for the lesser one reveals an embarrassing lack of faith. (John MacArthur, “A Worried Christian”, www.gty.org)

 

Spiritual Challenge Questions…

Reflect on these questions during your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with your friends, family, or Life Group.

• Jesus asks, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” How do worries about everyday needs sometimes shrink our view of what life is really about?
• What are some ways worry has promised you control or security but failed to deliver?
• Jesus says that worry cannot add a single hour to our lives. How have you seen worry rob you of joy, peace, or effectiveness in the present?
• Jesus contrasts seeking “all these things” with seeking God’s kingdom first. What does that contrast reveal about what we may be living for?
• What are some subtle ways our schedules, spending, or priorities can reveal whether God’s kingdom truly comes first?
• How does the truth that we are adopted into God’s kingdom through Jesus change the way we think about anxiety, fear, and provision?

 

HFM @ Home

Discipleship resources from the Free Methodist and Heidelberg Catechisms, offering historic, Scripture-based teaching to help us grow in our shared faith.

From The Heidelberg Catechism

Q29. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”?

1. Because he saves us from our sins,¹and because salvation should not be sought and cannot be found in anyone else.²

¹ Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25. ² Isa. 43:11; John 15:5; Acts 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 2:5

 

Q30. Do those who look for their salvation in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere really believe in the only savior Jesus?

1. No. Although they boast of being his, by their actions they deny the only savior, Jesus.¹

Either Jesus is not a perfect savior, or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation.²

¹ 1 Cor. 1:12-13; Gal. 5:4. ² Col. 1:19-20; 2:10; 1 John 1:7

 

Q31. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

1. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit¹to be our chief prophet and teacher²who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance;³ our only high priest⁴ who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body,⁵ and who continually pleads our cause with the Father;⁶ and our eternal king⁷ who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.⁸

¹ Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7). ² Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15). ³ John 1:18; 15:15. ⁴ Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4). ⁵ Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14. ⁶ Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24. ⁷ Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9). ⁸ Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11

 

From The FREE METHODIST Catechism

THE THIRD AFFIRMATION: CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY

“God So Loved the World That He Gave His One and Only Son”82

The source of our salvation is God’s love for the world.⁸³ Because of His great love for us sinners, He predestined us before the world was created to be conformed to the likeness of His Son,⁸⁴ and then at the right time sent His Son to redeem us.⁸⁵

⁸² John 3:16. ⁸³ John 3:16; Romans 5:8. ⁸⁴ Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-6; 1 Peter 2:21. ⁸⁵ Galatians 4:4-5.