“No one can serve two masters… therefore I tell you….”
Today we can miss the point of what Jesus says in Matthew 6 because we are a culture intoxicated on the idea of personal choice. We choose and create so many aspects of our lives and are encouraged to do so by society today. I’ve even noticed that when my 1st grader comes home from school having been in trouble, he describes that as “I made a bad choice.” The only thing authority today seems to say is “make good choices”.
Jesus is not calling you to make good choices. This text is not a list of decisions Jesus wishes you would make. This is not advice. Rather, Jesus is stating concrete fact. We don’t get to serve two masters; we don’t get to pick willy nilly between them. We are either driven by the lust for money (or a plethora of other sins as noted in the rest of the sermon on the mount) or by God and His Word. One or the other is driving us.
And having said that, Jesus doesn’t say, “make a good choice.” He doesn’t ask, “what is your decision?” Instead, He says, “Therefore I tell you.” You can’t have two masters, therefore I AM your master, and this is what I say to you. And will all the following, it’s not optional. It’s not “you shouldn’t worry” – it’s “do not worry.”
Jesus tells it like it is. You do not have two masters to choose from. Christ Jesus is your master. With His death and resurrection He destroyed the old masters of Sin, Death, and the Devil. They lie broken and destroyed from the events of Good Friday and Easter. And lest they think they still have power over; you have been Baptized. You have been claimed by Christ Jesus as His own, forgiven and redeemed. You do not belong to sin; you belong to Christ. Your flesh might try to tell you otherwise, but Jesus is your Lord and Master, and He is your Lord and Master in order to forgive you and raise you to everlasting life.
