Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
What does Matthew 6:26 mean?
, 36-43 This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Matthew 6:24-26 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Matthew 6:26
Are ye not much better than they? Behold the fowls of the air - The second argument for confidence in the providence of God is derived from a beautiful reference to the fowls or feathered tribes. See, said the Saviour, see the fowls of the air: they have no anxiety about the supply of their wants; they do not sow or reap; they fill the grove with music, and meet the coming light of the morning with their songs, and pour their notes on the zephyrs of the evening, unanxious about the supply of their needs; yet how few die with hunger! How regularly are they fed from the hand of God! How he ministers to their unnumbered wants!
Key words
- Behold
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Are ye not much better than they? Behold the fowls of the air,.
- fowls
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Are ye not much better than they? Behold the fowls of the air,.
Context in Matthew 6
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Matthew 6 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as birth and preparation. Matthew presents Jesus as Davidic Messiah, new Moses, teacher of the kingdom, suffering Son of Man, and risen Lord who commissions the nations. Read this chapter with the wider themes of fulfillment, kingdom of heaven, and discipleship in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.