Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 6:16

"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward." — Matthew 6:16 (ASV)

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.

They seemed to say to everyone who looked at them, "We have been so engrossed with our devotions that we have not found time even to wash our faces." But the Saviour says to his followers, "Do not imitate those hypocrites; do not make public our private religious exercises, perform them to God, and not to men. As for those hypocrites," –

Having dealt with prayer, our King now instructs us concerning fasting. Fasting held a prominent place in devotion under the Law, and it could profitably be practiced more even now under the Gospel. The Puritans called it “soul-fattening fasting,” and many have found it so. We must, by our King’s order, avoid any attempt at display in connection with this form of devotion.

Hypocrites went about with unwashed and sorrowful faces, so that everyone might say, “See how rigidly those men are fasting. What good men they must be!” To look miserable in order to be thought holy is a wretched piece of hypocrisy. Since it turns fasting into a trick to gain human admiration, it thereby destroys it as a means of grace. We cannot expect to receive a reward both from the praise of our fellow human beings and from the pleasure of God. We have our choice, and if we snatch at the lesser reward, we forfeit the greater one. May it never be said of us, “They have their reward.”

Moreover when you fast, do not be, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.

Simpletons praise them — think much of them, and they pride themselves on it, and think themselves the very best of men.

They have their reward.

Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

And a poor reward it is.