Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 6:26

"Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they?" — Matthew 6:26 (ASV)

To worry about food and drink is to have learned nothing from the natural creation, which testifies to God’s providence. The point is not that the disciples need not work—birds do not simply wait for God to drop food into their beaks— but that they need not fret. They may further strengthen their faith by remembering that God is in a special sense their Father and that they are worth far more than birds (“you” is emphatic). Here the argument is from the lesser to the greater.