Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

“Lilies of the field” (v.28) may be any of the wild flowers so abundant in Galilee. Jesus’ point is a little different from the first illustration about birds; flowers neither toil nor spin. The point is not that Jesus’ disciples may opt for laziness but that God’s providence and care are so rich that he clothes the grass with wild flowers that are neither productive nor enduring. Even Solomon, the richest and most extravagant of Israel’s monarchs, was not arrayed like one of these fields. Jesus closes with the thought that the root of anxiety is unbelief.