Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 6:28

"And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:" — Matthew 6:28 (ASV)

Why take ye thought for raiment? — The question might well be asked of every race in the whole human family. Yet we should not forget its special relevance when addressed to a people who counted their garments, no less than their money, as part of their capital, and often spent the labor of many weeks or months on them (James 5:2).

Consider the lilies of the field — Here again, we can think of the lesson as being drawn directly from the surrounding objects. The hillsides of Galilee are clothed in spring with the crown imperial, and the golden amaryllis, and crimson tulips, and anemones of all shades from scarlet to white, to say nothing of the more common buttercups, dandelions, and daisies; and all these are probably classed roughly together under the generic name of “lilies.” And the Lord, with what we might reverently call a love of nature, tells His disciples to consider them; that is, not merely to look at them with a passing glance, but to study them—to learn them by heart, as it were—until they have realized every beauty of structure, form, and hue.