Matthew 6:23

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 6:23

But if thine eye be evil ,.... If thou art of a sordid disposition, of an avaricious temper, if the sin of covetousness prevails over thee, thy whole body will be full of darkness : thy judgment will be so influenced by that sordid principle, that thou wilt not be able to discern what is agreeable to the law of God, or human reason; what is fitting to be done for thyself, for God, or for thy fellow creatures; all the powers and faculties of thy soul will be enslaved by it, and all be... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:23

Verse 23 23.If the light which is in thee be darkness Light signifies that small portion of reason, which continues to exist in men since the fall of Adam: and darkness signifies gross and brutal affections. The meaning is, we ought not to wonder, if men wallow so disgracefully, like beasts, in the filth of vices, for they have no reason which might restrain the blind and dark lusts of the flesh. The light is said to be turned into darkness, not only when men permit the wicked lusts of the... 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 6:22-23

The light of the body is the eye, etc. Parallel passage: Luke 11:34-36 , where it immediately follows the illustration of putting a lamp under the bushel ( Matthew 5:15 ). The excessive difficulty of Luke's verse 36 points to Luke having preserved on the whole the more original form of the saying; but it seems quite impossible to say which is its more original position. It suits the context quite as well in Matthew as in Luke, while the mere verbal similarity of λύχνος may have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:22-23

Simplicity of conscience. The illustration seems to be this—We see only through our eyes. All the light that the body enjoys comes through that pair of delicate organs. Thus, as the means of bringing light to us, our eyes are our lamps. Now, if the two eyes are confused so that they see double, they distort our vision. They must form a single image between them for us to be able to see clearly. If worse should happen, and our eyes should be blinded, all the blaze of noon can bring no light... read more

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