Matthew 6:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 6:19-24

Worldly-mindedness is as common and as fatal a symptom of hypocrisy as any other, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a visible and passable profession of religion, than by this; and therefore Christ, having warned us against coveting the praise of men, proceeds next to warn us against coveting the wealth of the world; in this also we must take heed, lest we be as the hypocrites are, and do as they do: the fundamental error that they are guilty... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 6:22-23

6:22-23 The light of the body is the eye. So then, if your eye is generous, the whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is grudging, your whole body will be in the dark. If, then, the light which is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! The idea behind this passage is one of childlike simplicity. The eye is regarded as the window by which the light gets into the whole body. The state of a window decides what light gets into a room. If the window is clear, clean. and... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 6:22-23

But here Jesus speaks of one special virtue which fills the eye with light, and one special fault which fills the eye with darkness. The King James Version speaks here about the eye being single and the eye being evil Certainly that is the literal meaning of the Greek, but the words single and evil are here used in a special way which is common enough in the Greek in which scripture is written. The word for single is haplous ( Greek #573 ), and its corresponding noun is haplotes ( ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 6:22

The light of the body is the eye ,.... Or, the "candle of the body is the eye"; for the eye is that in the body, as a candle is in the house; by the light of it, the several members of the body perform their office; and what is said of the eye of the body, is transferred to the eye of the mind: if therefore thine eye be single : that is, if thy mind be liberal, generous, and bountiful: for Christ is still upon the same subject of liberality, and against covetousness; and here speaks... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:22

The light of the body is the eye - That is, the eye is to the body what the sun is to the universe in the day time, or a lamp or candle to a house at night. If - thine eye be single - Απλους , simple, uncompounded; i.e. so perfect in its structure as to see objects distinctly and clearly, and not confusedly, or in different places to what they are, as is often the case in certain disorders of the eye; one object appearing two or more - or else in a different situation, and of a... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:22

Verse 22 Matthew 6:22.The light of the body is the eye We must bear in mind, as I have already hinted, that what we find here are detached sentences, and not a continued discourse. The substance of the present statement is, that men go wrong through carelessness, because they do not keep their eye fixed, as they ought to do, on the proper object. For whence comes it, that they so shamefully wander, or dash themselves, or stumble, but because, having corrupted their judgment by choosing rather... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:19-34

(1) The principle of regarding God alone in our religious actions is also to be maintained in the relation that we hold to wealth in the broadest sense. Matthew 6:19-21 : seek true wealth, because earthly wealth, though gathered, may be rendered useless by earth's chances. Matthew 6:22 , Matthew 6:23 : further, because it is the single eye that receives the light. Matthew 6:24 : in fact divided service is impossible. Matthew 6:25-34 : place God first, and he will provide. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:19-34

The fourth part of the sermon: self-consecration. I. THE WHOLE MAN MUST BE GIVEN TO GOD . 1 . The heart. God asks for it. "Give me thy heart," he says to each of us. The heart will be where the treasure is. Where is our treasure, our chief good, the object of our strongest desires? If it is on earth, it will fail us at the last. "I must leave all this! I must leave all this!" was the sad cry of the great French statesman, Cardinal Mazarin, when, stricken already by the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:19-34

Sermon on the mount: 5. Thought for the morrow. There has been set before us a righteousness, perfect in its outward expression and in its root, and if now we ask—How are we to attain this? we are told—By loving it. That is the only way. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Your likings are the eyes of your inner man; if they are rightly placed your whole life will be right. Just as a man has an organ to guide him in the physical world, so he has an organ for his guiding... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:22

The inspiration of a noble aim. "The light of the body is the eye." Different versions give "lantern," or "candle," or "lamp." Then the idea is, that the aim and purpose a man has in life will be like a light shining on all his life and work and relations. If the aim be a high and noble one, it will brighten and ennoble all his doings. If it be a low and ignoble one, it will discolour and degrade all his doings. Or, to take another view: a man's aim in life will be like the eye, through... read more

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