New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 6:17

Treasures and Worry

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, Matthew 6:17 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 6:17, in plain English

When you fast, take care of yourself as usual so that nobody even knows you're doing it.

Why it's here

Jesus wants your fasting to be a quiet conversation between you and God, not a billboard for others to see.

Who's speaking

Jesus, encouraging genuine devotion.

Where it sits in the story

This simple instruction protects the beauty of fasting by keeping it intimate and personal.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus instructs that fasting should be accompanied by normal grooming, anointing the head with oil and washing the face, to conceal the fast from public notice.

Language and setting

Anointing with oil was part of normal daily hygiene in the ancient Near East, signaling ordinary life rather than religious display.

Voice

Jesus, giving practical instruction on fasting.

Significance

This guidance ensures that spiritual disciplines remain acts of devotion to God rather than tools for social status.

In context

Matthew 6:15–19

15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

16When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Read all of Matthew 6 — Jesus redefines wealth, prayer, and anxiety in a single breath. The lilies and the birds become his unlikely teachers.

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