152 Matthew 6:19–24 

– Laying up Treasure in Heaven

Jesus tells his disciples not to look as they are fasting, “so that your fasting may
be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you” (v. 18). Reward comes from God, who sees in secret, not
from humans, who judge by what they see in public.210 See the commentary on
Matt 6:4.

matthew 6:19–24 – laying up treasure in heaven

6:19:  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
consume and where thieves break in and steal;
6:20:  but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
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6:21:  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
6:22:  “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body
will be full of light;
6:23:  but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then
the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
6:24:  “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love
the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and wealth.”

I n Matt 6:1–18, Jesus criticized the way the hypocrites practiced almsgiving,
prayer, and fasting. Jesus taught his disciples how piety should be practiced, in
keeping with his earlier teaching on the true meaning of the Law (Matt 5:17–48). In
Matt 6:19–34, Jesus will instruct his disciples in the true meaning and purpose of
life, a life that is dedicated to God’s will.
Matthew 6:19–24 is made up of three parts: (1) the exhortation to lay up treasure
in heaven, not on earth (vv. 19–21), (2) the eye metaphor (vv. 22–23), and (3) the
warning that one cannot serve God and wealth at the same time but must choose.
At first glance, the eye metaphor seems out of place, but the belief was that one with
a “healthy” eye was generous and compassionate, whereas one with an “unhealthy”
eye was mean-spirited and lacked compassion. In the present context, this means
the one with the unhealthy eye is a slave to mammon (wealth) and is busily laying
up treasures on earth.
Jesus begins his instruction by commanding his disciples: “Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth” (v. 19), literally “Do not treasure up for yourselves
Copyright 2012. Cambridge University Press.

210
A. George, “La justice à faire dans le secret (Mat. 6,1–6. 16–18),” Bib 40 (1959): 590–98; P. S.
Minear, Commands of Christ (1972), 47–68; W. T. Wilson, “Seen in Secret: Inconspicuous
Piety and Alternative Subjectivity in Matt 6:1–6, 16–18,” CBQ 72 (2010): 475–97.

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 Matthew 6:19–24 – Laying up Treasure in Heaven 153

treasures upon the earth.” One thinks of LXX Mic 6:10, which speaks of “a house
of a lawless man treasuring up lawless treasures, and with the arrogance of unrigh-
teousness.” The folly of grasping for material wealth is proverbial in late antiquity
(e.g., Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 5.1105–42; Plutarch, Moralia 5D: “Education of
Children” 8, “Wealth is held in high esteem, but it is a possession of fortune, since
often fortune takes it away from those who possess it”; 523C–528B: “On Love of
Wealth” 1–10, “money cannot buy peace of mind, greatness of spirit, serenity, confi-
dence, and self-sufficiency”; Diogenes Laertius 6.1.11; 10.1.11).
What makes earth-bound treasure ultimately futile is that one way or another it
disappears. Jesus tells his disciples not to lay up treasure on earth, “where moth and
rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.” What the NRSV translates as
“rust” is actually “eating” (Greek: brosis). This translation is encouraged by the paral-
lel in James 5:2–3, “. . . your gold and your silver have rusted [katioun]; and their rust
[ios] will be a witness against you.” One could suppose that brosis and ios are roughly
parallel, in that one could say that rust eats away the metal. But brosis really does
not mean rust; ios does (and the cognate verb katioun means “to rust”). In LXX Mal
3:11, “Then I will rebuke the devourer [brosis] for you, so that it may not destroy the
fruits of the ground,” brosis apparently refers to an insect (a grasshopper or worm).
The parallel in the Gospel of Thomas also supports the hypothesis of two insects:
“Seek the treasure that fails not, that endures, which no moth comes near to devour
and no worm destroys” (§76). The advantage of reading “moth and worm” instead
of “moth and rust” is that we do not have to explain how rust destroys ­“treasures.”
After all, rust destroys base metals (especially iron and copper) but not precious
metals (gold, silver). Nor do we have to apply an unusual meaning to brosis.
But if the loss of precious metal through rust is not in view, what treasures have
been lost to moth and worm? Most probably cloth and apparel, which when of good
quality were prized (cf. Josh 7:21; Judg 14:12–13, 19; 2 Kings 5:22–23; 7:8), and their
loss would be keenly felt by an average Palestinian family.
Not only is earthly treasure vulnerable to moth and worm, it can be stolen. Any
house or strongbox on earth is potentially a place “where thieves break in and steal.”
Here Jesus may have had in mind money and precious metals and stones (along
with any other valuables that are easily transportable). One is reminded of the pro-
phetic warning: “Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which
your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing
shall be left” (2 Kings 20:17). The NRSV translation is “break in” (see also Matt
24:43), but the verb (diorussein) can also mean “dig through” (dia + orussein). The
related form exorussein (ek + orussein) means “dug through” (cf. Mark 2:4, “having
dug through” the roof), whereas the simple form orussein means “hew” or “dig”
(cf. Matt 21:33, “hewed a wine press”; Matt 25:18, “he dug a hole in the ground and
hid his master’s money”; Mark 12:1, “dug a pit”). The image is that of a thief digging
through a wall or a roof (removing stones, plaster, reeds, mud, or thatch) to gain
access to valuables.

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 154 Matthew 6:19–24 – Laying up Treasure in Heaven

Rather than laying up treasure on earth, Jesus urges his disciples to “store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where
thieves do not break in and steal” (v. 20). There is scriptural background to Jesus’
exhortation to store up treasure in heaven. Heaven, the dwelling of God, is some-
times thought of as a treasury or storehouse (e.g., Deut 28:12, “the Lord will open for
you his rich storehouse, the heavens”). Treasure is to be laid up on earth “against the
day of necessity” (Tob 4:9), but it is the heavenly treasure that is the most important,
and that is laid up through true piety: “the one who does righteousness treasures up
life to him for himself with the Lord” (Pss. Sol. 9:5). Especially pertinent to the con-
text of Matt 6:1–18 is Tobit’s wise advice to his son: “Prayer is good when accompa-
nied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better
than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold” (Tob
12:8). The combination of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving corresponds, though not
in the same order, to Matt 6:5–15, 16–18, and 2–4. For other expressions of treasure
in heaven, see 4 Ezra 7:77, “you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High”
(see also Sir 3:4; 29:10–13; 2 Bar 14:12; 24:1; 44:14; T. Levi 13:5, “do righteousness on
earth, that you might find it in heaven”; T. Naphtali 8:5–6; 1 Enoch 38:2; t. Peah 4.18,
“I, through giving charity, have stored up treasures for the heavenly world above”;
Pesiqta de-Rab Kahana 8.1, “Though the man who is concerned with Torah labors
under the sun, his treasure is above the sun”).
Treasure in heaven portrayed in its most graphic way is depicted in the Book of
Revelation, where the saints will walk streets made of gold (Rev 21:18, 21, “the city
was pure gold . . . the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a
single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold”).
Treasure in heaven, in God’s care, is not subject to loss. Thieves cannot get at it:
“treasures of faith were sealed” (4 Ezra 6:5). Wisdom tradition in Greco-Roman
sources sometimes offered the same advice: “Acquire the things of the soul, because
they are secure” (Sextus, Sentences 77); “Acquire those things that no one can take
from you” (Sextus, Sentences 118).
There is another important reason to lay up treasure in heaven rather than on
earth: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 21). Preoccupation
with earthly treasure will inevitably lead one’s heart astray. And, conversely, the
type of treasure that one accumulates is a reliable indicator of what one values.
Accordingly, it is not surprising that the ancient sage warns his hearers, “Keep your
heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov 4:23), and the
Psalmist counsels the faithful, “if riches increase, do not set your heart on them”
(Ps 62:10b).
Jesus’ saying seems proverbial, but no exact matches have been found. Greco-
Roman ethicists have given expression to approximations of Jesus’ teaching: “Where
your mind is, there will be your good” (Sextus, Sentences 316); “For where one can
say ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ there must the creature incline” (Epictetus, Discourses 2.22.19).
True enough; where a person invests his time and resources, there we may expect to

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 Matthew 6:19–24 – Laying up Treasure in Heaven 155

find his loyalties. One Jewish author describes the greedy as “those who . . . hoard up
silver and gold, in which men trust; and there is no end to their getting” (Bar 3:17).
Quite so; the treasures of earth never satisfy.
To connect the teaching about where to lay up treasure (vv. 19–21) and the teach-
ing about choosing between God and wealth (v. 24), Matthew inserts the eye met-
aphor (vv. 22–23). The first part reads: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your
eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (v. 22).211 Jesus’ metaphor is
based on a widespread belief in antiquity that eyes possessed light, whose rays went
forth and illuminated what could be seen (as in 2 Sam 12:11; Sir 23:19), a notion
probably encouraged by the strange glow in the eyes of cats and various nocturnal
creatures. Thus we hear the expression the “light of the eyes” (Prov 15:30; Tob 10:5).
Poor eyesight was understood as eyes having become “dim” (as in Gen 27:1; 48:10;
Deut 34:7).
There are texts that describe the eye much as Jesus does here: “his eyes like flam-
ing torches” (Dan 10:6); “seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps
that are on the top of it . . . these seven are the eyes of the Lord” (Zech 4:2, 10); “my
eyes, acting as lamps, were watching” (T. Job 18:3). Jesus is not teaching that “the eye
is the window of the soul” (a modern perspective) but rather that one’s eyes bring
illumination to what is being viewed.212 One can then see things and evaluate them
for what they are. Strong, bright eyes illuminate and discern all, and they are a good
indicator of inner well-being.
This is why Jesus says, “if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of
light.” That is, a bright, healthy eye offers proof that one’s body is full of light. Bright,
clear eyes indicate not only that one’s being is full of light but that one can see clearly
and discern well. The word “healthy” (sometimes translated “clear”) literally means
“simple” or “single” (Greek: haplous). This means eyes that are focused and see a
sharp, single image; they do not see double and are not blurred.

211
An allusion to this metaphor is found in a second-century Gnostic work called the
Dialogue of the Savior, where Jesus the “Savior” says: “The lamp of the body is the mind,
as long as you are upright . . . then your bodies are lights. As long as your mind is dark-
ness, your light which you wait for will not be” (125.18–126.1). The shift from eye to mind
is in keeping with Gnosticism’s emphasis on knowledge (gnosis).
212
The ancients believed that the eyes were themselves the source of light, that one in effect
looked out at the object (called “extramission”). This idea is expressed in Hellenistic texts,
as is emphasized in H. D. Betz, “Matthew vi.22f and Ancient Greek Theories of Vision,” in
E. Best and R. McL. Wilson (eds.), Text and Interpretation: Studies in the New Testament
Presented to Matthew Black (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 43–66; H. D.
Betz, The Sermon on the Mount (1995), 442–49. But the idea is also found in Scripture and
other Jewish texts (such as Dan 10:2–9; Zech 4:1–4; b. Shab. 151b; 2 Enoch 42:1; T. Job 18:3).
Matthew the evangelist was familiar with the idea as it circulated among Jews, making
it unnecessary to hypothesize a Hellenistic source. See D. C. Allison, Jr., “The Eye is the
Lamp of the Body (Matthew 6:22–23 = Luke 11:34–36),” NTS 33 (1987): 61–83.

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 156 Matthew 6:19–24 – Laying up Treasure in Heaven

The danger lies in having the opposite condition: “if your eye is unhealthy, your
whole body will be full of darkness” (v. 23). An unhealthy (poneros, literally “evil”)
eye indicates not only inner darkness but also that one is not in a position to shed
the light of truth outside oneself (cf. T. Benjamin 4:2, “a good man does not have a
blind eye”). Accordingly, Jesus exclaims, “If then the light in you is darkness, how
great is the darkness!” In other words, if one does not possess inner light, then one
is in no position to shed light on the surrounding darkness. If what is supposed to
produce light produces darkness instead, then “how great is the darkness” indeed.
The eye that is unhealthy (“evil”) evokes sinister associations. In Scripture, we
hear of the “hostile” eye (Deut 15:9), the “evil” eye (Prov 28:22), an evil man with a
“grudging eye” (Sir 14:8; Tob 4:7), the “impudent” eye (Sir 26:11), and the “winking”
eye that plans evil deeds (Sir 27:22). Similar terminology is found in rabbinic liter-
ature (e.g., in m. ’Abot 2:9 and 5:19, “good eye”/“evil eye”; b. Ber. 20a and 55b, “evil
eye”; b. Qiddushin 82a and b. B. Mesia 87a, “grudging eye”).213
Jesus concludes his teaching with a declaration that “No one can serve two mas-
ters” (v. 24). Jesus’ statement is another instance of hyperbole, for one can in fact
serve two masters, as do most Christians today (e.g., an employer, as well as God).
Jesus’ point is that one cannot give total loyalty to two masters, especially if they
have competing and conflicting interests. This is why Jesus says that attempts to
serve two masters will fail, “for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,
or be devoted to the one and despise the other.” The believer will have to choose
between the competing masters, thus hating the one and loving the other (and
again, “hate” here should be understood in a relative sense, as offering less respect,
love, and loyalty compared with the master that one loves; see the commentary on
Matt 5:43–48).
If one tries to serve two masters whose morals and values conflict sharply, one
will “be devoted to the one and despise the other.” It is unavoidable. Thus, the disci-
ple who wishes to be faithful will have to choose. The choice, of course, is between
God and earthly treasure: “You cannot serve God and wealth.”
The word translated as “wealth” in the NRSV is translated as “mammon” in
other translations (e.g., RSV, NASB, KJV). It comes from either Hebrew mamon
or Aramaic mamona. Probably the best explanation for the meaning of the word
is that it is from the root aman, from which “amen” is derived, meaning “firm,”
“sure,” or “certain.” Therefore, “mammon” (“wealth”) is whatever one relies upon,
which could be money, property, or wealth of any kind. Although not found in

For more on this interesting metaphor, see H. J. Cadbury, “The Single Eye,” HTR 47
213

(1954): 69–74; R. L. Roberts, “An Evil Eye (Matthew 6:23),” RestQ 7 (1963): 143–47; F. C.
Fensham, “The Good and Evil Eye in the Sermon on the Mount,” Neot 1 (1967): 51–58; K.
Syreeni, “A Single Eye: Aspects of the Symbolic World of Matt 6:22–23,” Studia Theologica
53 (1999): 97–118; M. F. Whitters, “‘The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body’: Its Meaning in the
Sermon on the Mount,” ITQ 71 (2007): 77–88.

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