Matthew 6:19-24 – Fascination with the Treasures of Eternity
I. THE PRACTICAL JESUS: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
A. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7, Jesus preaches what is known as the “Sermon on the Mount”, in which He
practically lays out what a true Christian looks like, how a true Christian should live, and what it takes to live that way,
practically. The wisdom of Jesus in its simplicity, practicality, and beauty is put on display for us as He makes one of the
most ignored parts of the Bible (the law) come alive – which caused His audience in that day to marvel in astonishment
(Matt. 7:28). In that day, there were many preachers of the law – but none that could awaken the love response to it that
King David wrote songs about (Psalm 1:2; 19:7; 40:8; 94:12; 119:18, 34. 72, 77, 97, 113, 136, 163, 165, 174 – the
longest chapter in the Bible is about the law!).
B. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, those who had gathered were “astonished” at the teaching of Jesus
because they had suddenly touched what had moved the heart of King David – they had become fascinated with the law
of God! Can we imagine reading state laws and national laws and falling in love with God? Why is it that one of the
greatest warriors and fighters who has ever lived – who was also one of the greatest songwriters and musicians ever
born – spend so much time singing and weeping about what modern Christians consider one of the most boring parts of
the Bible?
C. The Sermon on the Mount gives us the answer – it expresses the law of God in practical terms that reveal the
heart of the God who wrote the law. The more that I read it, study it, and talk to God about it the more fascinated with
Jesus I become. Nothing else I have ever read outside of the word of God has captivated me like the practical wisdom
of Jesus in these chapters. Jesus teaches how we should live and then, very practically, tells us how to do it. Amazingly,
Jesus also emphasizes why we should live this way and what living this way does for our heart, emotions, destiny, etc.
D. Some imagine that it is hard, or even impossible, to live according to the vision Jesus invites us to embrace for our
lives: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) For many, this standard that
Jesus presents is either unrealistic or too high and therefore He must have not meant what He said. The truth is that
Jesus meant every word that He said, because His way of living is the most helpful way for us to live. It is not helpful to
reach for less than 100% obedience to the words of Jesus – just as it is not real to make our standard 80% love for Him.
As the Apostle John said, “His commandments are not burdensome”(1 John 5:3). It is far more burdensome living with
depression, distress, or a demon. It is far less burdensome living according to the word of the Lord.
E. One of the most practical elements Jesus introduces to our lives to live passionately for Him because we love Him
is perspective. The issue of perspective and reality – what is real and what is not, what is true and what is not – is one of
the central issues that defines our life and whether or not we attain to true greatness in God.
1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition has a great definition for the
word “perspective”: it is the ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance. In
other words, it is the ability to discern what is true, what is excellent, and what is truly noble. Or, what in life is
actually important versus what society tries to tell us should be important. Right perspective can settle our
emotions, calming the “storms” within our own heart so that we can try to reach for what is real, true, lovely, and
worthy of our time and energy.
II. LAYING UP “TREASURES IN HEAVEN” – MATTHEW 6:19-21
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break
in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and
where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21)
A. Jesus introduces the subject of right perspective as a means of helping us orient our lives and expend our time
and our energy on something that will really matter to us now and for the rest of our lives. For many of us, “the rest of our
lives” can extend to a few years in the future. For Jesus, “the rest of our lives” extends billions of years into the future.
There is real treasure from heaven that Jesus is longing to give us if we will live according to His words. His desire is that
we would have a greater vision for our lives than a few days, months, or years – but that we would begin to catch a vision
for treasure more valuable than anything we could have imagined.
B. Some cannot understand why Jesus would want to motivate us with the promise of treasure and reward. It is
because no one understands the human frame and how we work, think, and feel better than Jesus. He knows what
motivates us and is overjoyed at the thought of the day in which He can honor and highlight different ones that He loves
so much who gave their all to live for Him and love Him well. This is so kind! He could simply “command” and demand
that we obey, threatening dire punishments if we refuse to do things His way. He does command, and there are very
negative consequences for those who refuse to do things His way; yet He prefers to make the primary way He motives us
a positive one. He invites us, draws us, and gently leads us to greatness in a way that is very “human-friendly” related to
our weakness, fears, and self-doubt. He loves to help us overcome and find victory through encouragement, joy, and
the exhilarating thrill of being rewarded.
C. Over the course of my life, I have found great personal satisfaction and enjoyment from small rewards that have
come from doing well. This is because that desire is one that has been written on my heart by God Himself. This is why
athletes give their whole lives in pursuit of championships that are ultimately meaningless and will be forgotten billions of
years from now. The apostle Paul called us to give our lives in pursuit of a “crown that never fades” (1 Cor. 9:25) and will
matter to us that we spent our strength to attain it far in our future.
D. The wisdom of what Jesus invites us to pursue in this passage is stunning. This is an invitation for us to become
fascinated by eternity and the treasures that await us there. It is an invitation worth giving all of our lives, time, and
energy to pursue.
1. So many give their time, energy, and desire to treasures that moths and rust destroy and thieves break in
and steal. Teenagers will “set their heart” on a car, for example – sometimes because of the freedom and
independence it represents. They will give up their entire summer to work daily to earn enough money for one –
and then suddenly “boom!” disaster happens. Either something breaks, a thief steals, or the car rusts – and it’s
not just the car that is gone, but hundreds and hundreds of hours of our lives that we can never get back again.
There are so many possessions and things that we set our heart upon that, ultimately, represent thousands of
wasted hours that we can never spend again – and the things we spent ourselves to attain are gone forever.
2. Jesus introduces the wisdom of giving our time to eternal treasure – His invitation to us is to work to receive
something that will never be destroyed, is worth the labor and time, and will be part of our “story” with Him forever.
He is asking us to give our heart to a better “treasure” than what the rest of the world values.
3. John the Apostle gave this wisdom to the church decades later in his first letter:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father
but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
4. The “lust of the eyes” that John talks about is the sickness that grips the hearts of millions around our
nation: the epidemic I call “see it, want it – get it, keep it”. Men and women fight their whole lives to attain
something and then spend the rest of their lives fighting to keep it – Solomon called this “vanity” or “emptiness”.
Too many are spending their lives in emptiness, living for nothing, producing nothing, and ultimately leading to
nothing. Paul the Apostle said that even some believers would experience this: that they would be saved, but it
would be as if “through fire” as their life’s work burned away. They get to enter into eternity – but they have
nothing marking their life here or the choices they made. Jesus does not want us to enter into eternity “empty-
handed”.
5. Many will have regret when they experience the consequences of their foolish, or “empty” choices. After
John warns us in 2:15 not to love the world or the things of the world that are passing away, he goes on to warn
us that it is possible to have regret when we see Jesus face-to-face, even if we are saved and will spend eternity
with Him:
28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed
before Him at His coming. (1 John 2:28)
6. “Abiding in Jesus” is remaining connected to the power from Him that gives us true life, joy, and strength.
We position ourselves to receive power from Jesus to live rightly, see rightly, and love rightly when we live
according to what Jesus commanded in the Sermon on the Mount. When we say “yes” to His commands, He
promises to give us power to do them.
E. A key part of living fascinated by eternity is to do what Paul said in Colossians 3:3 – setting our mind on things
above. We actually have to make a decision to think about something different than what fills our mind and our thoughts
normally. Jesus spoke about this in relationship to the treasure of eternity – we must fight to set our heart on it, for
“where our treasure is, there are heart shall be”.
III. THE LAMP OF THE BODY IS THE EYE
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is
darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
A. Jesus gives the command (“Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven”) and then tells us the secret regarding how
to do this: we have to make sure that our “eye” is good. The secret is connected to what we spend our time looking at.
What are you looking at? What are you thinking about? What you think about you will look at, and what you look at you
will desire to obtain. We were created to be fascinated. Jesus wants us to be fascinated with eternity, with Him, and with
the treasures of His house that come with being His friend. For this to happen, we actually have to begin changing what
we spend our time thinking about and hoping for – which changes what we will look at. Paul told us that we need to fight
to “take every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
B. If we are looking at the right thing (eternity and the treasures of heaven) then our eye will be “good” – it will serve
the purposes of God to bring us into the fullness of life in God. This is the brilliance of God – by stirring us to set our
hearts on heavenly treasure then, He actually frees us to be “filled with light” now. In other words, by doing it God’s way
we actually experience “our best life now” AND “our best life then”, in the age to come.
C. To be filled with light is to be filled with more than purity – it is to be filled with truth and experience a heart that
burns before God in deep love and affection for Him and His ways. God does not love us more when we obey Him more.
God gives us power to love Him more when we obey Him more. We are able to love God with joy, free from shame, filled
with light (or brightness and truth) when we position ourselves to receive power from Him now and reward from Him later.
There is no one wiser, more generous, or more enjoyable than Jesus.
D. The passage closes with a sober truth in verse 24: no one can serve two masters. We cannot pretend we have
an option, or that we can do God’s ways on our terms. The way we are wired by God is all or nothing – this is the
optimum way we were meant to live before God and men. Jesus wants to give us power to be fully given and fully in love
– He will not give us power when we decide that we will only pursue some or part of what Jesus invited us into. We must
fight for a good eye that we might be filled with light – the only alternative is that we end up with a bad eye full of “great
darkness”. When we realize that the only choice is to pursue God with all of our heart, then we will fight to live with a free
heart finding that living His way is far more enjoyable than serving money, ungodly desires, or false social pressure.